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The Tragedy Of War - Young Men Die Captain Charles L. Sheridan (Bozeman) also of the
163rd and a friend of Captain Anderson, both had been
temporarily reassigned to the 128th Infantry, 32nd
Among those elected to receive Division, and reported the death of his friend.
the degrees of Masonry by A German machine gun nest in the vicinity of Belleau
Montana Army Lodge No. 1, U. Wood was mowing his Company down. Captain Anderson
D. was Orville L. Anderson of called for volunteers to take the guns and save the rest of
Kalispell, MT. Before he could be the Company. He selected twelve from the number who
initiated, Captain Anderson was volunteered, and placing himself at their head, led the
killed in action on August 1, 1918, charge. In this heroic attempt, he lost his life, as did all
near Fismes, France, at the age of the men under him.
25 years. Only two weeks before
his death, he had been cited for The night after the battle, Captain Sheridan, learned of
gallantry in action. It was said of the death of his friend Captain Anderson. Calling some
Captain Anderson that his bravery of his men, they went to the battlefield and recovered
was above question. his body and buried Capt. Anderson at the village of
Roncheres. The bodies of the other twelve were also
Captain Anderson was born on July 31, 1893, at recovered and buried near Roncheres.
Chillicothe, MO. His family moved to Kalispell, Montana,
where Orville graduated from Flathead County High Captain Sheridan, of the One Hundred and Sixty-
School in 1911. Orville had also served as President of third Infantry, was awarded the Distinguished Service
the Montana Epworth League. At various times he was Cross, for extraordinary heroism in action on Hill 230,
a reporter for Kalispell Bee and InterLake Newspapers near Cierges, France, July 31 and August 1, 1918. He
and the Journal staff. Anderson also served two sessions demonstrated notable courage and leadership by taking
as Assistant Chief Clerk of the Montana House of command of the remnants of two companies and leading
Representatives. them up the hill and into the woods against violent fire
from the enemy. He personally shot and killed three of
Anderson had enlisted at age 17 (with his parents’ the enemy, and under his direction, six machine guns
permission) as a Private in Company F of the 2nd were put out of action, and the hill captured.
Montana Regiment at Kalispell. He rose to the rank of
Second Lieutenant and went to the Mexican border with
his Company in 1916. Upon returning from Border duty,
First Lieutenant Anderson served as acting Adjutant
General. He issued the call for the mobilization of the
Montana National Guard when the United States declared
war on Germany in 1917. After the Regiment and troops
had been mobilized, Lieutenant Anderson was promoted
to the rank of Captain and assigned to Company K of
Billings. He was sent with the Regiment to the east for
training. Once in France, he was temporarily transferred
to Company C of the 128th Infantry with whom he was
fighting when he met his death, which occurred on August
1 during the Aisne-Marne Offensive, which marked the
turning point in the fighting on the Western Front.
Captain Orville L Anderson is buried at Oise-Aisne
Early in the afternoon of August 1, 1918, Companies of American Cemetery, Fere-en-Tardenois, France, Plot A Row 11
the 127th and 128th Infantry were converging near Hill Grave 6.
230. This hill was the highest elevation in the ridgeline. Montana Casualties During World War 1
The German soldiers who held Hill 230 were well armed
with machine guns, light mortars, and ammunition. They Men from Montana served in greater numbers and
were excellently placed for their purposes and had orders suffered more casualties per capita than any other state:
to hold at all costs. The hill provided a favorable field
of fire, and its trees helped conceal the German Troop Killed in Action or from Wounds sustained 681
movement. Company C of the 128th had advanced up Died from Other Causes 253
Hill 230, head-on into a German machine gun. Minutes Total Dead 934
after the German machine gun opened fire, Captain O. L. Wounded in Action 2,469
Anderson, commanding, was dead, the other officers were Missing in Action 52
either dead or wounded, leaving the Company without Total Casualties 3,455
officers. The Company had 200 men when it advanced
after fifteen minutes is was devastated from direct fire During World War 1, over 25 per cent of the entire
from the gun. When the Company finally reassembled male population of the country between the ages of 18
four days later, 65 men remained. Before the machine gun and 31 served in military. More than 24 million men
nest was taken, another company attempting to capture registered for the draft, and almost 2.7 million men were
the same machine gun succeeded at the loss of half of its furnished to the U.S. Army by conscription. The number
personnel. of volunteer enlistments was over 300,000.