An Engineer's Diary of the Great War
 Edited by Terry M. Bareither
 (Reviewed by The Editor - Rebecca Brown)
 2002 Purdue University Press
  ISBN: 1557531706


The 1917-1919 diaries of Harry Spring, mine specialist, as he goes through basic training before being shipped via England, to the front in France, through to Armistice & his return Stateside to peace.

In April 1917, after 3 years of neutrality & unprepared for modern warfare, the US declares war on Germany. General John Pershing, after touring the battlelines in France, orders the rapid creation of an American Expeditionary Force, as well as a special engineering troop to operate & repair all the mechanical & electrical equipment languishing in disrepair. Thus the 37th Engineers Regiment was formed.

Harry Spring, born in 1888 on a farm near Dayton, Indiana, graduated from Purdue University in 1911, where he had been a member of the Purdue Cadet Corps (a forerunner to ROTC.) He went to work for General Electric in their test department & then their power & mining department in Schenectady, New York, where he was a member of F Company, 2nd Infantry of the New York National Guard.

In 1913 he married his childhood sweetheart, Elsie Virgin. In 1915 they moved to GE's Milwaukee, Wisconsin branch, where he became a mine specialist & worked with various equipment, including cranes & coal bridges.

We follow 2nd Lt. Harry Spring when he goes on active duty in the Army, September 1917, & serves until March 1919. From his training at Fort Leavenworth & on to Fort Myer; from his trip Across the Atlantic to France; on to The Baccarat Sector: Support of the 37th Division to The Meuse-Argonne Offensive & Final Push.

To the change of pace in Keeping the Peace -- The Armistice & Narrow Gauge Railroad Work; Verdun to Etain: Telephone Line; to Luxembourg & Coblenz, Germany; With General Pershing: Corne, France; St. Nazaire, to Going Home, Across the Atlantic to Newport News, & finally home to his beloved wife & children. Harry Spring details in brief & illuminating notations his everyday life in a war zone, of coping with obstacles, death-defying escapades, faulty timetables, constant shellings, & sudden moments of terror, frustration, incredulity & humor.

Terry M. Bareither writes, in his Preface: “I became interested in Lt. Harry Spring's story while working on my first book, Somewhere in France, about a doughboy in the 89th Division. Harry Spring's granddaughter, Susan Mannina, mentioned to me that her grandfather, an engineer like me, had written a diary of his experiences in World War I and had preserved his World War I maps and other valuable memorabilia.

Harry Spring's original diaries were first transcribed by his daughter. For readers' convenience I have made minor corrections, such as the spelling of place names and people's names, and deleted the daily rosters. Explanatory notes have been added at the back of each section.”

While Harry Spring kept detailed diaries all through his life, until he died in 1974, he never intended or expected his diaries to be published. They are, therefore, fascinating glimpses of his personal & authentic reflections of the prevailing social customs, language & prejudices of his time.

When he returned to civvies, Harry Spring went back to work for General Electric from which he retired in 1953.

For any history buff, An Engineer's Diary of the Great War, filled with replications of notations from the frontlines, idiosyncratic comments about military personnel & superior officers, photographs of people, places & group poses, embarkation orders, permits, telegrams & discharge papers as well as all sorts of memorabilia, coupled with Terry Bareither's exhaustive research notes, Appendices of Rosters, Glossary & Regimental Songs, is a treasure trove of remarkable proportions.

An Engineer's Diary of the Great War is like finding in your grandfather's attic, your great-grandfather's army trunk & taking out all the things that made up that thoughtful, quintessential American's participation in The War to End All Wars.

A unique, worthy addition to your military library. It will give you hours & hours of absorbing, fascinating reading.
(08/25/02)

Rebecca