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| George Washington Hillman (Source: family photo) |
With the United States entering World War I in 1917, it looked like he would be putting away his blacksmithing tools to enter the army.
But, that is not what happened. As I quote from Batesville's local newspaper,the Herald-Tribune (date unknown), "Uncle Sam also made good use of Mr. Hillman's skill as a blacksmith and his Army duties consisted of -- you guessed it -- shoeing horses for the cavalry. This was a full-time job as horses were used extensively in those days."
According to the newspaper article, he enlisted in the Army on 8 April 1917. The draft registration card below shows a date of 5 June 1917.
"United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-L1HN-ZTT?cc=1968530&wc=9FCR-4WG%3A928312201%2C928821401 : 14 May 2014), Indiana > Ripley County; A-Z > image 1358 of 3446; citing NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
The newspaper article also stated that he served overseas in France and Germany during the war. He was not mustered out until the spring of 1920 as he was a member of the occupation forces in Germany following the war.
In addition to the information that I was able to glean from the local newspaper, I have also always heard that he was a part of the famous Rainbow Division.
Since I am not that familiar with the Rainbow Division, I did a little research on it. I found a wonderful article on the Army website that describes it well.
The article, ~ " 'Rainbow Division' that represented the United States formed in New York in August 1917" by Eric Durr (New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs) written July 24, 2017 ~ is very well written and should be read in its entirety.
But, I would like to offer the following quote that best explains the purpose of the Rainbow Division. He states:
~ "So Major Douglas MacArthur-later to be five-star general Douglas MacArthur during World War II and the Korean War-- had a good idea. Take National Guard units from across the country and combine them into one division. That division could then be deployed to France without slighting any particular state or region.
In describing the division, ... MacArthur said the division would stretch across the United States "like a rainbow." ~
George Washington Hillman was the only brother to my great-grandmother, Carrie (Hillman) Haessig. As I said earlier, I wish that I had gotten to know this interesting man. He passed away in March 1967. I was born the previous spring of 1966. If I had met him, I was much too young to remember!
From all that I am discovering about this man, I am not only proud, but honored to be a part of his extended family.
George, thank you very much for the service that you gave to our country. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Sources:
https://www.army.mil/article/191270/rainbow_division_that_represented_the_united_states_formed_in_new_york_in_august_1917
Very interesting post. And very interesting given names--Thomas Jefferson and George Washington!
ReplyDeleteGreat tribute and a very interesting read! I was not familiar with the Rainbow Division.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marie! I am not all that familiar with the Rainbow Division myself, and would like to learn more. You should take the time to read the whole article from which I quoted. He did a fantastic job in describing the Rainbow Division. I learned quite a lot!
DeleteThank you, Marion! I thought so, too! As a kid, it always made them easy to remember! LOL
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post honoring your great-uncle's service in WWI as a blacksmith. I hadn't heard of the Rainbow Division before. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Liz! I didn't know much about it either. The article I mentioned in the post was very informative, if you get a chance to read the whole article. Also, there is a book on my library's bookshelf about the Rainbow Division. I need to pick it up soon, and read it!
DeleteA very interesting, well researched profile of George Washington Hillman. I do like the family Christian names honouring American presidents.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I am just now getting into Thomas's family, so, I am not quite sure how deep that goes. I might find out that was very common with the Hillmans! Lol
DeleteVery interesting, thanks Diane.
ReplyDeleteGlad that you enjoyed it, Randy!
DeleteInteresting! Thanks, Diane
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ann!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this post. As an Australian with no American connections (so far) I found the American perspective
ReplyDeleteSo interesting #geneabloggerstribe. Shared on SM
Thank you, Jennifer! As I was reading the blog posts about an English stretcher bearer, and the Australian ancestor, I was fascinated by the other perspectives that I encountered, too.
DeleteI also wanted to thank you for sharing on social media!
DeleteThanks for sharing this post! My great-grandfather was in the Red Arrow Division, and while I was doing research, I found a directory with all the division names. They were quite unique! I loved that they each had an emblem to identify each of the divisions. I always wondered how the Rainbow Division got its name! Now I know. :) And thanks for sharing a little bit of your great-great uncle's story!
ReplyDeleteThank you, EveAnne!I had never heard of the Red Arrow Division. So, I will now be doing a little more research!
DeleteThis is a beautiful tribute to your ancestor. I'm also so grateful to all who sacrificed and served. I had not heard of the Rainbow Division so thanks for bringing that to our attention. I'm off to read the full article you linked.
ReplyDeleteSue (Kindredpast.com)
Thank you, Sue! I learned quite a bit about the Rainbow Division from that article. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.
DeleteGreat post. Love the photo of him!
ReplyDelete