The Remains of Company D: A Story of the Great War

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By James Carl Nelson

 St. Martin's Griffin, 2010

Reviewed by Bruce Sloan

The Remains of Company D is journalist and author James Carl Nelson's tribute to his Grandfather and fellow Doughboys, who fought in the first, and all the subsequent major battles of the AEF.  It follows the story of the men of Company D, 28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division, from enlistment to combat and beyond.  Nelson spent years researching, interviewing surviving family members, and familiarizing himself with the Great War and Company D's history. As the Library Journal's reviewer aptly stated, "The author's meticulous and persistent research in tracking down the descendants of the combatants to uncover their letters and diaries makes his work the standard for research into the story of the American Expeditionary Force.”

Company D's involvement in the battles of Cantigny, Soissons, St. Mihiel, and the Argonne are well researched and written, from the perspective of history and of the soldiers themselves. The men come alive in the book, displaying their strengths, weaknesses, and incredible bravery. Continuing the attack when friends were falling or being blown apart; fighting on after being wounded; charging massed German machine guns; lying wounded in a shell hole until found at night; or single-handedly capturing fixed positions, these Doughboys showed their mettle.

 

Two Doughboys of Company D
Future Senator Sam Ervin and the Author's Grandfather, John Nelson

Finally, The Remains of Company D covers  the war's aftermath for those who survived and the effort to determine what happened to those who fell in the service of their country. Sam Ervin later served in Congress and gained fame during the Watergate hearings. Nelson's grandfather John, wounded at Cantigny , never fully recovered. Marvin Stainton, who couldn't wait to get in the war, fell in the Argonne when the war was nearly over, his remains undiscovered until 1924.

Although  many descendants of the soldiers were interviewed, there was very little of the combat they could tell, as those who were really in it did not talk while they were still alive. At first this reader felt that Mr. Nelson was slightly overindulging in prose and supposition, but further into the manuscript, it became clear that this was the result of his developed understanding of the individuals and their character.

Thank you, Mr. Nelson, for a very readable and fascinating slice of history. It definitely held my interest.

Bruce Sloan