| | 1ST CL. PVT. ALBERT MAIER
Serial No. 2,026,586
Grand Ledge, Mich.
Maier was inducted into army service at Camp Custer, November 21, 1917, and made First Class Private. His physical appearance made him conspicuous, especially in drill work. He was very tall and, like so many of our doughboys, boyish in manners and face, but the long limbs and peculiar stoop to the shoulders would single him out, especially when coming to “Attention.” His trick of thrusting out his stomach when standing in erect position amused his comrades, and restraint of speech is not a characteristic of military humans, so Maier was “kidded.”
He was assigned to the B. C. Detail, with the duties of Instrument Man, and was later Battery Scout overseas. Maier was a good mathematician and had a gift for drawing panoramic sketches— the first probably accounts for his being the only man in Camp Coetquidan who had an Algebra book, enabling Lieut. Combes to conduct a class of enlisted men.
At the front he was Corporal Vandebunte’s right-hand man, and at the Montauville Position helped to make reconnaissance, as aid to the Captain. On one occasion he was assigned to an Observation Post with a Negro observer of the 92nd Division, shared rations with Negro soldiers, learned to like them and found that color makes no difference in human nature.
Perhaps the officer who appointed Maier as Battery Scout mentally accused him of having Indian instincts for finding the path. Be that as it may, he earned the sobriquet of “Lost Boy,” qualifying for the title the first time when he was assigned to act as runner from Tautecourt Farm to Post Command, Ezerian Woods, to tell Corp. Kern to report immediately to the Captain. Maier got lost but finally delivered the message. At Vibraye he was absent from retreat Saturday night and did not put in an appearance until the following afternoon. He told the Captain he had gone out for a walk and lost himself. The Captain did not think that a good Battery Scout’s alibi, so Maier was confined to area for two weeks, which worried him much.
On one occasion, being detailed to guide Corp. Kern and Private Barry to Battery position over ground that was being heavily shelled by the enemy, Maier suddenly realized that he had left a cap back at the Combat Train and returned for it, leaving his charges to find their way to the Battery, which they succeeded in doing.
Maier believed in taking the decencies of life with him even into an army camp, and had provided himself with a full line of toilet articles, being personally very precise and especially abhoring our close friend, the “cootie.” He had two gas masks—one neatly set aside for inspection, the other for wear. By nature Maier was very provident and salvaged whether in need of supplies or not. He was known to have jelly, chocolate and bread about his bunk, which he would not share with his “buddies” because they good-naturedly ridiculed him, so the boys brought him to trial, inspired by cognac and light wines, with the following court officers and witnesses:
Judge, Bugler Rose; Attorney for plaintiff, Tom Chambers; Prosecuting Attorney, Private Barry. Witnesses: Fleischer, Tibbetts, DeGroote, Bails, Sprague, Vandebunte, Post, Guelff, Wilson and Bittker.
Defendant found guilty. Sentence imposed-that he be given five pedigreed cooties with service stripes, same to be administered. These were conveniently contributed by several of the boys.
Maier’s comrades feared his curiosity would cause his end. During the heavy bombardment which marked the closing hours of the combat, November 11th, when conducting Corp. Kern and Private Barry to Battery position, our 75’s prepared for action on the left of the road, while the three were passing immediately in front of the guns. Battery Commander, fearing the trajectory of fire was not high enough, ordered them to fall on the ground. The other two promptly obeyed but Maier was so fascinated by enemy bursts of shell-fire near by that he remained standing while our shells passed only a foot or so above his head. Standing thus he whispered to his companions on the ground, in a high-strung, nervous voice, “Oh! Look, Look, Look!”
His sanguinary temperament made him quick to arrive at conclusions and as he was homesick most of the time, he had a great scent for news. In circulating rumors he might be called the “articulatory wireless” of the Battery, and as November 11th drew near, most of the news he brought us was in the key of “Hello America, Goodbye France.”
He was one of the few men who saw Paris. His love of investigating and his powers of observation made him, perhaps, the best informed man in the Battery, of our activities and surroundings at the front.
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