1918 American Expeditionary Force "Addressee Returned to U.S.A. With Casualty"

Description

October 4, 1918 Toledo, Ohio letter to 327th Infantry Soldier in Company F fighting in France.
Forwarded to Base Hospital in France, but Soldier had returned to duty with Company F.
By time envelope got back to Company F, Soldier injured again and back at Base Hospital.
When envelope returned to Base Hospital, Soldier gone as returned to the U.S. as a casualty . . .
Most of the Cover Markings are crossed out, but show the detailed and special handling
of a special letter in the war zone and beyond. Its markings include:
(1) "
TOLEDO, OHIO / OCT 4 / 10:30 PM / 1918
" [black circle cancel with waving lines] addressed to "Co F 327 Regt. Infantry / American E.F." [Company F of the 327th Infantry Regiment, American Expeditionary Forces in France]
(2) "
BH #8
" [handwritten in pencil for Base Hospital #8]
(3) "
NOT NOW AT BASE HOSP. 8
" [stamped in blue rectangle] (4) "
July
" [handwritten in pencil to indicate July injury]
(5) "
Co. F. 327 Inf
" [handwritten in red]
(6) "
BH #8
" [handwritten in red]
(7) "
NOT NOW AT BASE HOSP. 8
" [stamped in black rectangle]
(8) "
USA / C.P.O.
" (U.S. Command Post Office, handwritten in red]
(9) "
ADDRESSEE RETURNED TO U.S.A / WITH
Casualty
/ OFFICE
Central PO 1/19/19 / 1290
" [backstamp in black]
(10) "
U.S. [ARMY] / [] / POSTAL SERV[ICE]
" [backstamp in black]
(11) "
RETURN TO WRITER / Directory Service given; / Defies delivery as addressed. / Central Directory Division, / Plec. No. 86, N.R. New York City. / Date
1/18/19 215
"
The complexity of delivering mail to a soldier at war shown in a rare cover. In World War I, the 327th Infantry Regiment served as part of the 164th Infantry Brigade in the 82nd Infantry Division. The 327th Infantry was organized on 15 September 1917 at Fort Gordon, Georgia. After training, the regiment embarked to northern France, arriving in early spring 1918. Elements of the 327th Infantry moved up to the front lines by the end of that summer. On 9 June 1918, Cpt Jewett Williams became the first man in the regiment killed in combat.
The 82nd Infantry Division's first exposure to combat, as a division, occurred on 25 June when it was assigned to the Lagney sector. While this was earmarked as a quiet sector, the 327th actively patrolled and executed raids for several weeks.
Saint-Mihiel
: The 82nd Division occupied the Marbache sector in the Moselle Valley with orders to protect the flank of attacking U.S. forces. But as the Germans were reinforcing this sector in anticipation of a coming Allied offensive, the Division ordered a series of raids to mislead the Germans on the exact location of attacking units. The 327th Infantry, conducted a raid on a German strongpoint known as the Bel Air Farm on 13 September with 2 companies, E and K, as the assault force. After initial success the assault group was pushed back to the original U.S. lines. E & K companies suffered 6 dead, 11 severely wounded, 69 wounded and 10 missing. The 82nd continued operations in Saint-Mihiel until it was relieved on 17 September 1918 by troops of the 90th Infantry Division just west of the Moselle River. The 82nd Division went into reserve to prepare for the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, but the 327th was attached to the 28th Division and remained on the front until early October.
Meuse-Argonne
: The 82nd Division was given a new axis of advance early in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive to attack and fill a gap to the left flank of the 28th Infantry Division which was advancing to capture Hill 223 as part of operations to rescue the 77th Infantry Division's Lost Battalion. Just after this letter was originally mailed on October 4, 1918, the night of 6/7 October 1918, the 327regiment relieved troops on the left of the 28th Division on the Aire River. On 7 October, it attacked toward the Argonne Forest, making some progress toward Cornay. On 8 October rescuers reached the Lost Battalion. The next day the 327th continued to attack towards the high ground northwest of Châtel-Chéhéry. The 327th then continued to fight in the Ardennes region, capturing Conray and Hill 180. On 4 November the regiment was pulled from the line and moved into training area; it was there when it learned of the 11 November Armistice.
The 327th Infantry suffered 331 killed in action, 73 died of wounds and 1959 wounded in the First World War. Members of the 327th were awarded 7 Distinguished Services Crosses (DSC), including one for the 2-327th Commander-Lt Col Harold W. Blanchard.
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