Vincent Petty Posted 8 August , 2004 Share Posted 8 August , 2004 I was wondering if there might be someone that might help me with service information for an American that served two years with the British army on the Western Front. I am looking for information on John Crum. According to the regimental history of the 318th US Infantry, he had served in Poncho Villa's army and then served 2 years with the British, before joining the American army in the summer of 1917. He was commissioned a captain in Co F, 318th Infantry, and killed in action in late September 1918. Honestly I have never researched British records, so I hope that someone might be able to help me out. Photo of Crum at Camp Lee, Petersburg Virginia Thanks Vince Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Burns Posted 8 August , 2004 Share Posted 8 August , 2004 Hi Vince according to the American 'Soldiers Died' John Crum was from Pocatello Idaho originally. The ABMC webiste's database seems to be non-functioning (again!) so I can't get any information from there. Medal Index Cards The above link is for the three available Medal Index Cards for John Crum two privates and on corporal. Unfortunately not knowing which unit he served with it would be tough to figure out which is his. That being said I would imagine there would be a mention of his transfer to the AEF noted on his card but that's a question for the British experts here. Unfortunately that's all I can help you out with, hopefully someone here can add more. Take care, Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 8 August , 2004 Share Posted 8 August , 2004 The ABMC webiste's database seems to be non-functioning (again!) so I can't get any information from there. Forget that road.... His body was repatriated after the war, so there's no mention of him in ABMC records anyway. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Burns Posted 8 August , 2004 Share Posted 8 August , 2004 Thank you Dave. Is it me or is their website down on a fairly regular basis? Very frustrating. Take care, Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Burns Posted 8 August , 2004 Share Posted 8 August , 2004 (edited) Vince & Dave, This is the only 80th Division group I have Vince I thought you may be interested in seeing it. Capt. Samuel Chudleigh Hicks served with the 319th Infantry 80th Division in France from May 18, 1918 to August 26, 1918. He returned stateside and was promoted to Major in September 1918 and was serving with the 50th Machine Gun Battalion of the 17th Division at the time of the Armistice. His occupation was Farmer, he was from Morristown New Jersey. Dave notice he's got his Regiment on the dogtag, officer privilege or did they remove the units after August 1918? Take care, Neil Didn't realize how dark the photo was bars on the Victory are Somme Offensive and Defensive Sector. Somme Offensive confirmed on his NJ Service Record. Edited 8 August , 2004 by Neil Burns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Petty Posted 9 August , 2004 Author Share Posted 9 August , 2004 What is the publishing information on "Soldiers Died" as I am not familar with it. Also what is the ABMC? It would be nice to find Crums British service information. It seems that the 318th had its share of soldiers of fortune. Another was Major Charles Sweeny. A millionare who had at one time attended West Point. He served with Madero's army in Mexico; he served in the French Foreign Legion rising from the ranks to captain. He won the Legion of Honor, the Military Medal and the Criox de Guerre. In May 1917 he was part of the mission led by Marshall Joffre and was soon commissioned a major in the US army. After the war he served in the Polish army. Vince Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Burns Posted 9 August , 2004 Share Posted 9 August , 2004 American Battle Monuments Commission Hi Vince, The ABMC has an online searchable database of Americans buried overseas which provides name unit, burial place and state the hailed from. It only has men buried overseas and most US war dead were repatriated so it's not perfect. The American Soldiers Died is available from a gentleman from Utah on CD Rom for around $30 I seem to have misplaced his address (which I got from Croonaert!) It is a frustrating work as it provides Name, Rank, Address and How they died (KIA Disease etc) it also has some information on soldiers wounded and has some photos of the casulties. It does not provide unit or date of death making it essentially useless without cross referencing with either ABMC or a unit roll of honor. The CD also has Navy casualty records which are much more thorough with NOK info and home address as well as where the individual served. Any details on Major Sweeney's service with the Polish Army? I'll take a look through what I have on the Polish-Soviet War and see if I can find anything. Take care, Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Petty Posted 9 August , 2004 Author Share Posted 9 August , 2004 What I have at the moment on Sweeny comes from the November 1920 Yearbook for the veterans association. In its alumni section it states -- "Many American and foreign newspapers during the past summer have been carrying long articles telling of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Sweeny, formerly commanding officer of the First and Second Battalions, 318th Infantry and multi-millionaire soldier of fortune, sharing his lot with the Poles and their struggle against the Russian Bulsheviki. Following the armistice, Col Sweeny was attached to the General Staff of the A. E. F. with headquarters in Paris. Upon return to the United States in the summer of 1919 he immediately proceeded to organize a contigent of 200 American officers, all of whom had seen service in France. Col Sweeny sailed for Poland in September of last year with the first of his contingent and was not long in getting into the hostilities. Recent dispatches state that he has been distinguished by his gallantry and leadership and in recognition of his splendid serives Poland has commissioned him a Brigadier-General." Vince Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Burns Posted 9 August , 2004 Share Posted 9 August , 2004 Interesting stuff I'll see if I can find anything on my end. Thanks for that Vince. Take care, Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 2 April , 2020 Share Posted 2 April , 2020 According to an article I found, CPT Crum was born in Lanarkshire Scotland in 1883. He was in the Boxer Rebellion in China, had fought two years in the British army, served as a lieutenant under Madero in "the Mexican trouble" as the article says, served in the Philippines and was engaged in the Boer War in South Africa. In December of 1917, Captain Crum was with my great great aunt when, according to the newspaper, she fell in the street as a vehicle was approaching. CPT Crum made every effort to get her out of the way of the oncoming vehicle and was struck twice. CPT Crum survived but my great aunt did not survive the crash. Newspaper.com has a couple of articles about CPT Crum. But you need to look up "Crum" and Crumm" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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