AMERICAN LEGION REMEMBERS TWO JACKSON MEN WHO CARRIED TORCH

JACKSON - The war in the Persian Gulf where American men and women have been fighting for freedom and liberty for Kuwait has ended. But the aftermath will take a long time to resolve.

At the county courthouse in Jackson, the American flag waves high on the pole near the statue of a stone soldier in World War I uniform. The massive dome of the courthouse and the large stone columns that support the arch over the south entrance to the building form an impressive background.

On the front of the statue's pedestal is a bronze name plate listing 40 Cape County area men who gave their life for freedom and liberty during World War I. The list is not complete; These names were the first received. More names followed because 89 men from the area died, from 1916-1918. The additional names of casualties were later engraved on the memorial pillars at Freedom Corner at Capaha Park.

The bronze plaque on the pedestal of the stone soldier lists Benjamin H. Thompson first, and Clarence Altenthal second. George Lacy is last on the list of 40 names.

When World War I ended, veterans post began organizing. The Louis K. Juden Post of Cape was the 63rd post formed in Missouri. The Jackson Post was 158th formed in the state, and it has always been one of the 10 most active. It was named for Clarence Altenthal the first resident of the town killed in action and Clark Adams Joerns, the second, in 1918.

Both men had volunteered as privates in the infantry and were trained to be field gunners, as was their buddy, Otto Jesse Davis, also of Jackson. Davis was the only one of the three to return to Jackson alive after the war.

Clarence George William Altenthal was born in Jackson in March 25, 1896. He was born in the large American colonial farmhouse built by his grandfather, Henry Altenthal in 1869, that is still standing on the farm of the late Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Henderson, Highway 72.

The farm on which the house was built formerly belonged to Jessie Criddle where that family resided from 1840 until after the Civil War began and Criddle died. It then passed to Joseph P. Bridwell and his wife, Prudence, who in turn sold to Clarence and Caroline Altenthal, grandparents of Clarence.

When the bombing and trench warfare was fierce, Altenthal calmed his mind recalling the farm and the history of the family and the house.

The Altenthals came from Germany during the migration of 1838, from Germany and Austria. They settled in the Sandy Ridge School District near Gordonville where Grandfather Henry was a carpenter and farmer. They moved to Jackson after the Civil War. Clarence's father, John Henry Jr., and his mother, Minnie, purchased the house in 1899. The family consisted of the parents and 10 children: Cora, Emma, Henry, Amelia, Minnie, Alvin, Annette, Anrin, Ella and Clarence.

"Someday I'm going to assemble Grandfather's tools, shine them, pack them carefully for his great grandchildren to see."

Altenthal, Joerns, and Davis were put in the same company "L" Headquarters Company, 140th Infantry, 6th Regiment. They camped several nights in Old Fairgrounds Park before being shipped to Camp Clark, Nevada, Mo., then Fort Sill, Okla. for basic training.

At Christmas, his mother sent him a Khaki sweater and a helmet she had knitted. The package came before the order to "move out." They left Fort Sill at midnight on a date not made public. The outfit was composed of men from Missouri and Kansas. The division was large and called "The 35th."

Converted luxury liners transported the soldiers sailing from Heboken, New Jersey or Newport News, Va. An escort ship accompanied the ships and opened fire on the "U" boats that policed the Atlantic and into the North Sea. The entire coast of France, England, Belgium and Holland, and Spain was zoned.

Their stay in England was short, and the channel crossing was rougher than the Atlantic. Box cars took them to the fighting sector in France where they were briefed for several weeks before moving them up to the front lines in France, to relieve tired English and French troops. They were fitted with proper guns.

The Americans did not have guns when the war began. They were given new seventy-fives GPF guns for thirty divisions. The American factories were producing only 109 seventy-five millimeter guns, hardly a match against the big guns the Germans were using, especially the huge 42-centimeter. Gen. Ferdinand Foch was now in command of all Allied forces, and a change in strategy had taken place and the Allied forces were on the offensive.

In August, American poet Joyce Kilmer, 31, was killed on the battle field, but not before he penned some immortal lines about a field of poppies and brave men waiting to catch a flaming torch of freedom.

August in France was very hot in 1918, and the troops were moving up.

On Aug. 14, 1918, the order was given to divide the company into two sections, and Altenthal moved from Davis' side across the road. On this day they were on the north bank of the Meuse River west of the Argonne Forest, firing at a road intersection over which the Germans had been moving supplies.

Then it happened. Davis and Joerns did not know about the accident until later. Altenthal was killed. Three years passed before Altenthal's body was returned to Jackson and identified.

The small black banded white card sent to friends read:

Clarence George William Altenthal

Born March 25, 1896

Died August 14, 1918

Killed in action in France. Age 22 years, 4-months, 19-days. Funeral will take place Sunday, June 12, 1921. Brief services at home of parents, two miles west of Jackson 10 o'clock a.m. Service at Emmanuel Evangelical church 10:30 a.m.

American Legion will be in charge of service at the grave. Interment in Jackson City Cemetery.

Although their lives were short, Altenthal and Joerns were friends since boyhood. Today their names are often heard because the American Legion Post 158 is named Altenthal-Joerns: a constant reminder that freedom and liberty is possible because of young Americans who catch the torch and hold it high.