Clyde C. Handley was born Mar 21, 1894, to Jefferson and Ella Handley. He lived and worked on a farm in the Culloden area. He was inducted into service on May 25, 1918. He trained at Camp Lee, Virginia, before being shipped overseas on Aug 6, 1918, on the MADAWASKA. He was transferred between several units but ended up as a Private in Company C, 131st Infantry Regiment, 33rd Division, American Expeditionary Force, US Army. This regiment was formerly a part of the Illinois National Guard.
This unit took part in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, and advanced across the Meuse River near Consenvoye in the early morning of October 10th, 1918. They continued to advance and take the Bois de Chaume and part of the Bois de Plat-Chene by the end of the day. (“Bois” is French for “Woods”) This steep, wooded area was heavily fortified with German dug-outs and machine gun nests. According to a Private in his company, “During the Meuse-Argonne offensive, in our action east of the Meuse, Company C was occupying a position on the bald hill about a kilometer north of the Bois de Plat-Chene. On October 11th at about 3:30 PM. I was returning with other stretcher bearers from the rear when, upon reaching a point in the ravine between Bois Plat-Chene and Bois de Chaume, the enemy began to shell the locality heavily and we entered a dug-out for protection. Before we emerged from the dug-out to continue, Pvt. Handley and Worden of our company passed along with a supply of water which they were carrying to the front. A moment later we left the dug-out and continued our way to the front. We had gone but about a hundred yards when a high explosive shell struck a short distance in front of us, but out of our view on account of the density of the woods. Upon reaching the point where this shell struck, we found that it had instantly killed Pvt. Handley and Worden and one machine gun man and seriously wounded a second machine gun man whose name I do not know.”
According to their chaplain, Handley, as well as the others, were buried near each other very close to where they fell, all under wooden crosses. However, when the time came to rebury the bodies at home or in proper cemeteries, only those of Worden and the machine gun man could be found. An investigation was commenced, and it was found that, though Handley and the others were probably buried in close proximity, the coordinates recorded upon retrieval of the two were incorrect. They managed to find the correct valley where he died, including the spring from which the water he was carrying was most likely taken, but there were no crosses still standing and the ground was moss-covered, making it hard to see any impression from a grave. There were a few unknowns in the larger vicinity, but they were uncertain if they matched Handley’s description. They even wrote his mother for dental records, but, as far as she knew, he had never had anything done to any of his teeth. The investigation was completed in the late 1920s, and Handley was still reported as Missing in Action.
Handley was memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in France. His mother, Ella, was able to visit his grave later via the Gold Star pilgrimages offered at no charge in the early 1930s to mothers and widows of soldiers buried overseas. Over 6,500 women took the trip, where they placed a wreath at their son or spouse’s grave and visited sites of famous battles and other important locations, such as the Arc de Triomphe. However, she didn’t report that she had diabetes to the medical director. When she reported headaches the entire trip, it was found out that, though her blood sugar was very high, she had not taken insulin for years and was instead taking the “Indian” treatment from the Wilcox Company, Chicago, IL. They offered to send her to the hospital, but she declined and went home.
The 131st Infantry (First Infantry Illinois National Guard) in the World War; Narrative, Operations, Statistics, Col. Joseph B. Sanborn, Cpt. George Malstrom (1919), Ch. VII. http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm/ref/collection/isl8/id/10724; Individual Page Images, Illinois Digital Archives (http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm/ref/collection/isl8/id/10724).
American Battle Monuments Commission, American Battle Monuments Commission (https://www.abmc.gov/), Home; News & Events; All News; Women and World War I Commemoration: The Gold Star Mothers and Widows Pilgrimages, 1930-33, March 23, 2015; Accessed May 25, 2018. https://www.abmc.gov/news-events/news/women-and-world-war-i-commemoration-gold-star-mothers-and-widows-pilgrimages-1930#.WwjYL0iUvIX.
Cabell County World War I Memorial Boulevard 