Great-Grandfather's Secret Military Service Discovered

WHEATON, IL — As fate would have it, the centennial of the first European battle to feature U.S. troops falls on Memorial Day this year. Doughboys advanced out of their foxholes in the French countryside 100 years ago Monday and captured a small village before fighting off three days of counterattacks from the German army, including gas attacks. As the first offensive carried out by American forces in World War I, the Battle of Cantigny convinced European allies the expeditionary forces were capable. Less than six months later, the war would be over.

For those who were there – including more than 1,000 U.S. casualties suffered during the May 28-31, 2018 battle – the experience had a profound impact. Some spoke about their experience there, others remained quiet.

Col. Robert R. McCormick, who inherited the Chicago Tribune and commanded an artillery battalion at the battle, was profoundly affected by the experience. After returning, he renamed a family estate in Wheaton "Cantigny." In 1937, he would return to the location of the battle and deliver a notable speech during a dedication ceremony for a memorial there. Following his death in 1955, his Wheaton property became the site of the First Division Museum and Cantigny Park.

Nearly 60 years later, Jackie Gillaspie, a Glenview native, was interning at the museum. A devoted military history buff, she knew her great-grandfather had fought and was injured in World War I, though he had never discussed his experience with family members. But one day in 2014 while her mother was visiting, they decided to have a look in the museum's archives and discovered the military records of Pvt. Harry Gums.

"To our surprise, we found his name and information about his service," Gillaspie said. "I had no idea when I started working here that he fought in the Battle of Cantigny."

Then last year, Gillaspie learned even more while happening upon her great-grandfather's name and an account of his injury while reading the book "First Over There," by Matthew Davenport. According to the book, Pvt. Gums had been wounded earlier in the battle, shot through the arm while bandaging a comrade in a foxhole. Pinned down, he remained in the foxhole for another hour before being evacuated. The bullet went in his elbow and out through his thumb.

"Our whole family was absolutely shocked. We didn't know, he never talked about it." Gillaspie said her great-grandfather never explained to his family why he was unable to bend his arm for the rest of his life. "My mom was over the moon. She wished her father was alive to know – because her father didn't even know what had happened."

Gillaspie, who now lives in Gurnee, studied military history at Trinity International University in Deerfield. She's now a program coordinator and volunteer at the First Division Museum in Wheaton as she pursues a master's degree.

She was always interested in military history – recalling the only books her mother could get her to read while in school were historical fiction.

But a visit to Japan at age 12 with one of her grandfathers solidified her desire to devote her career to learning about wars of the past. On that trip to to Saipan, Gillaspie's grandpa retold the stories of his experiences while standing in the same spots where he had fought more than half century earlier.

"It was very surreal, it was a very special moment to have and those are memories that I treasure deeply with my grandfather," Gillaspie recalled. "That's probably my favorite memory of him, that entire trip."

Battle of Cantigny Centennial Commemorations

Saturday, executives and board members from the First Division Museum and the McCormick foundation will travel to Cantigny's village center and return a century-old battlefield monument.

The executive director of the museum, Paul Herbert, said the battle was key to bolstering the morale of the European allies at a critical point in the conflict.

"Where we are today started there," he wrote in a 2008 article in On Point Magazine. “Cantigny marked the emergence of the modern, permanently established, combined arms division in the U.S. Army, an organization that remained central to that army for the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st. Furthermore, it was America’s first commitment in blood to democracy in Western Europe.”

The museum has scheduled several events to mark the historic anniversary:

Events at Cantigny Park Monday, May 28

10 a.m. — A memorial ceremony, wreath laying and pigeon release.
10 a.m. - 4 p.m. — Open house at the Robert R. McCormick house.
11 a.m. - 3 p.m. — Re-enactments of McCormick's 1937 speech at Cantigny at the top of every hour.
11 a.m. - 5 p.m. — Experience WWI-themed activities suitable for the whole family and meet some "feathered friends."
2 p.m. — Readings of letters from soldiers in armed conflicts from WWI to the Gulf War at the visitors center theater.
3 p.m. — Performance by the Illinois Brass Band at the bandshell.

Also Monday at Cantigny Park: a WWI photo booth in the lobby, an artistic poppy-themed display incorporated into the museum's galleries and an opportunity to meet WWI re-enactors while exploring its model WWI encampment and historic vehicles.