Dr. Lloyd R. Boutwell

In stark contrast to Ulysses S. Tebbs, an African-American living in his overcrowded parent's home and working hard, manual labor repairing streets, is Dr. Lloyd R. Boutwell. Dr. Boutwell was a resident physician at Barnes Hospital and had recently married his college sweetheart, a young lady from a politically powerful St. Louis family, with whom he shared a beautiful home in the suburb of Kirkwood. While these two men were leading very different lives, the Great War would be a cruel equalizer and both would share the same fate.

Dr. Boutwell was born on October 26, 1889 in the small city of Hamilton, Missouri, northeast of Kansas City, which also happens to be the birthplace of James Cash Penney, the J.C. Penney founder, just 14 years earlier.

Boutwell's father was a farmer and he was the 3rd of 4 children. Undboudtedly, the keystone moment of Boutwell's life, the event that made him who he was, was the death of his mother. According to the 1900 census, his father was a widow, but his little sister was 2 years old. One can assume that his mother was lost in childbirth, but of course, it could have been any number of illnesses, diseases or just an accident. Either, way young Boutwell lost his mother before he was 11 years old. It isn't hard to imagine that this event would motivate him to become a doctor, a doctor who put service to others above all other considerations.

Boutwell was incredibly driven and apparently very sharp as well. He first got his bachelor's degree at Park College near Kansas City, then earned a master's degree at the University of Missouri and finally he graduated from Washington University Medical School, President of his class in 1916. After graduating, he began working at the General Hospital in Kansas City. While at the University of Missouri, he fell in love with Elizabeth Kiskadden, who was from St. Louis. They must have continued their courtship during medical school here in St. Louis and soon he moved back to St. Louis and they were married in August of 1917.

While he was a serious man, he also had an easygoing social side, he was a member of the Phi Beta Pi Fraternity and was known as "Bowser" to his friends.

Already his story was amazing, the son of a widowed farmer with 4 children to feed, going to medical school and marrying the daughter of St. Louis lawyer, but Dr. Boutwell was determined to make an extraordinary difference in the world as a doctor. The Rockefeller Foundation named Dr. Boutwell to be chief of staff of the Man Tung Cho Hospital in China. Dr. Boutwell and Elizabeth were planning on moving to China to serve others when America's entry into WWI changed their plans. The Army Medical Corp inducted him on Jan 6 of 1918 and in May of 1918 he sailed for France, his wife about to give birth to a son he would never see.

Ulysses Tebbs' Gravesite

One of my history research projects that I am working on right now is about a WWI soldier named Ulysses Tebbs. Tebbs was an African American soldier from St. Louis that was a member of the famed 369th Infantry Regiment, The Harlem Hellfighters. A few months ago I wrote the American Battle Monuments Commission and asked for a photo of Tebbs' gravesite. Not only did I receive the photo, but they also sent a poster of the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in which he is buried. I also received photos of the two Hetzler Crew members that are buried in Europe as well. Really cool stuff!

Skip Berger

Thursday morning, I had breakfast with local veterans Skip Berger and Alfred Katzenberger. Berger was instrumental in rescuing the WWI bronze medallions (see photo for examples) from being locked away perpetually in storage. Katzenberger is a member of the Jefferson Barracks Chapel Association, a group that is working to establish a permanent display at the chapel for the medallions. I had planned to take pictures of the event, but I forgot my camera. Luckily, Mary Morgan, a reporter for the Java Journal, was kind enough to allow me to use her photo for this entry. She wrote a couple of excellent articles that tell the story of Berger's quest to honor these veterans:
http://www.javajournalonline.com/archive_200805/index_8.php
http://www.javajournalonline.com/articles/art_ww1_112008.php
Of course, the men and women represented on these medallions died a long time ago and nothing will change that, but they risk being forgotten. Essentially, Berger and others have rescued the memory of these people. As Berger put it: "These men deserve to be remembered". I never would have researched Ulysses Tebbs, if I hadn't been inspired by his medallion. Many of the medallions, including Tebbs', are currently on display at Jefferson Barracks (Old Ordnance Room). Also, Berger and his group have a great website http://www.stl-lestweforget.org/ that details their mission and how to donate to the memorial fund.

Colonel William Hayward and the Victory Parade

The Harlem Hellfighters were commanded by a white officer: Colonel William Hayward. When they left for Europe, the 369th was not allowed to participate in the farewell parade. Upon their return, the heroes were honored with this parade in New York City. According the the National Archives: "Colonel Hayward pulled every political string he could to assure his men would be rewarded with a victory parade when they came home in February 1919." In all 380,000 African Americans served in the Army during WWI, 200,000 were sent to Europe and 42,000 of those men saw combat (source: National Archives and Photo also courtesy of the National Archives).

Purple Heart Update: Today, I emailed Senator Bond's office about the Purple Heart, I am trying to have awarded to Tebbs posthumously. Maybe, we will have some luck with his office. Now Congressman Carnahan's office told me that they would only help if I were a direct relative. I am still confident that Private Tebbs will get the medal he deserves. Our plan is to have the medal permanently displayed at the Jefferson Barracks History Museum when it is finally awarded.

The Black Rattlers

Here is a monument to the 369th in New York City. It is a replica of one in France. On the marker that you can see on the lower right, it notes that the 369th fought as part of the Fourth French Army and that they "showed exceptional bravery" liberating Sechault on September the 29th, 1918. It also notes that "a third of the regiment suffered casualties" on that day, which includes Ulysses Tebbs. Note the crest with the rattlesnake insignia near the top of the monument. In addition to being known as the "Harlem Hellfighters" they were also known as the "Black Rattlers".

Battle to take Sechault

This painting depicts the battle to take the town of Sechault on the very day that Tebbs was killed.

Croix de Guerre

Here are some of Tebbs' comrades that survived the war. The 369th saw more continous battle than any other regiment in the AEF. The entire regiment was award the Croix de Guerre by the French government for liberating the town of Sechault on September 29, 1918. Tebbs was killed in action on that very day, so I have another goal, to get him his Croix de Guerre and the Purple Heart. My ultimate goal is to have these medals displayed with his medallion at the new memorial when it is completed. Note that Tebbs' fellow soldiers are all proudly displaying their medals.

Battle for the Purple Heart

My work to get Tebbs his Purple Heart continues. Today I spoke

with Congressman Carnahan's office. In order to get the Purple Heart we need proof that he was killed in action. As you know, the records here in St. Louis are at the moment lost, but I pointed out that I had records that the state of Missouri kept and faxed them the information you see to the right. As you can clearly see, it states that he was killed in action. So, it should be just simply a matter of time and perseverance to get this done.

The Draft

Here is Tebbs' draft card. Notice that the corners are missing. The draft boards would tell all of the African American men to do this. Turns out it was a really quick way of making sure they were drafted without having to read through the card and see what color they were. As noted in his obituary, Tebbs was one of the first African Americans drafted from the St. Louis area. I am really curious about the 1 child he lists as a dependent.

The Purple Heart

This week I have been working on getting Tebbs his Purple Heart. He was not awarded one during the war, nor were any of the other casualties or deaths. But, in 1932 a law was passed reinstating the medal and veterans or their families could apply for it retroactively. By 1932 both of Tebbs' parents were dead, so now it is up to me to get him his medal. Now that I know that he doesn't have the medal, I wrote Congressman Carnahan's office again today to ask how to proceed on this matter. According to what I read today, this will take some time to accomplish, but should give my speech a real punch if I can pull it off for him.

Obituary

Here is the obituary for Private Tebbs that ran in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in late 1918. The St. Louis library (downtown) has these old newspapers on microfilm.

A Temporary Setback

Not what I was wanting to hear...oh well, I will call them and see what we can do.

Update: (5.16.09) I was never able to reach a live person at the records center. I have written Congressman Carnahan's office for help with this matter and I am also hoping if they can find out if Tebbs ever received the Purple Heart.

Private Tebbs' Home?

I found Private Tebbs' address (2587 Montgomery) in his obituary a few months ago. Today, I toured his old neighborhood, which lies just northwest of downtown St. Louis. At first, I thought for sure that this was Tebbs' home, but upon further investigation, I am afraid that his home might have been situated just to the left of this one which is now a vacant lot. Most of this neighborhood, which is known as the St. Louis Place Neighborhood is gone, with only a few occupied or remaining homes here and there. Now my quest is to somehow find a photo of the home before it was destroyed.

The Inspiration

I was inspired to write this after I read an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a few years ago. It was about the Gold Stars, made of Bronze, each with the name of a local WWI soldier who had died. The Gold Star mothers then put all of these in a memorial that was later destroyed in the 1980's for a construction project. A local veteran, Skip Berger, recently found many of these medallions in storage and is on a campaign to have them permanently displayed in a new memorial. I took a look at the partial collection a few months ago and I chose a few names to research and see how much I could put together of their former lives. I am beginning with Ulysses Tebbs. The name had a nice ring to it.

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive

Private Tebbs lost his life on September the 29th, 1918 in the horrific Meuse-Argonne offensive. He was a member of the 369th, an all African American unit in which he was a machine gunner. The 369th fought so fiercely that the Germans called them the Harlem Hellfighters. A name that stuck with the unit. Tebbs is buried in the Meuse-Argonne cemetery in France.

Ulysses Tebbs

My new research on which I am building a new Keynote speech is about Ulysses Tebbs. He was a WWI soldier from St. Louis. Unfortunately he was not with his comrades pictured here on their return trip to America from Europe.