Rouge Bouquet

For the 1918 poem by American poet Joyce Kilmer, see Rouge Bouquet (poem).

Rouge Bouquet is a part of the Forêt de Parroy near the village of Baccarat, France. It was the site of a German artillery bombardment of American trench positions on 7 March 1918 at 15:20 on the Chausailles sector of the Western Front during World War I.^[1][2] The bombardment resulted in the burial of 21 men of the 165th Infantry Regiment (originally the 69th Regiment of the New York National Guard), 42nd Rainbow Division of whom only a few survived. The 22 men, including their platoon commander 1st Lieutenant John Norman, were assembled in a dugout when a German artillery shell landed on the roof of the dugout. Major William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan quickly began a rescue attempt to dig the men out, but the effort were hampered by mud-slides and continued enemy shelling.^{[2][3]: pp.167–171} Two men were rescued and five dead were recovered before efforts had to be halted. The voices of other men could be heard for a while, but the remaining fifteen men died before rescue efforts could resume.^{[3]: pp.167–171} Donovan was awarded the French Croix de Guerre for his actions during the attempted rescue.^{[3]: pp.209–210}

"Rouge Bouquet" by Emmett Watson.

Memorial service held by soldiers of the "Fighting 69th" for 19 men lost in the 7 March 1918 Rouge Bouquet bombardment

Poet and literary critic Joyce Kilmer, a corporal at that time, wrote the 1918 poem "Rouge Bouquet" (also called "The Wood Called Rouge Bouquet") as a eulogy to commemorate the soldiers in his regiment who died.^{[4][3]: pp.175–176} The poem was first read by Chaplain Francis Duffy at "the funeral service held at the collapsed dugout, the tomb of the regiment's first men slain in battle" a few days later.^{[5][3]: pp.175–176} It first appeared in print in the American servicemen's newspaper Stars and Stripes—published two weeks after Kilmer died in combat in the Second Battle of the Marne on 30 July 1918.^[6][7][8]

References

1. National Archives and Records Administration - Washington, DC. CR Rouge Bouquet held by 2nd Btn 165th A.I.R. 7–8 March 1918, NA/RG 120: World War I Organizational Records: 42nd Division, Box 27, Folder—Rept. Of Events in CR Rouge Bouquet
2. Duffy, Francis Patrick. Father Duffy’s Story. (New York: George H. Doran Company, 1919), 350.
3. Harris, Stephen L. Duffy's War: Fr. Francis Duffy, Wild Bill Donovan, and the Irish Fighting 69th in World War I (Washington, DC: Potomac Books Inc, 2007).
4. James, D. Clayton (1 October 1970). The Years of MacArthur Volume 1 1880-1941 (1st ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 158. ISBN 978-0395109489. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
5. James, D. Clayton (1 October 1970). The Years of MacArthur Volume 1 1880-1941 (1st ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 158. ISBN 978-0395109489. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
6. Kilmer, Joyce. "Rouge Bouquet" in Stars and Stripes (16 August 1918).
7. Mitgang, Herbert. Civilians Under Arms: The Stars and Stripes, Civil War to Korea. (SIU Press, 1959), 146-148.
8. United States Army. Army Expeditionary Force, 1917-1919. (New York: G.P. Putnam's sons, 1919), 78-80.