In anticipation of Veterans Day on November 11, 2024, Blake Watson is providing six short stories from his recently published book, Kansas and Kansans in World War I: Service at Home and Abroad. The book along with other book selections (https://kansaspress.ku.edu/veterans-day-titles-from-upk/) are currently available for 30% off with free shipping* by entering code: 24VETERANS at checkout. *free shipping is for US addresses only*
CAMP FUNSTON
From 1917 to 1924, Fort Riley was the site of Camp Funston, a hastily constructed cantonment built to train soldiers. Captain Francis Blake described his stay in Kansas as follows: “No … cool days, no cool nights, no drinks, no movies, no dances, no club, no pretty women, no shower bath, no poker, no people, no fun, no joy, no nothing save heat and blistering sun and scorching winds and sweat and dust and thirst and loud and stifling nights and working all hours and lonesomeness and general hell—that’s Fort Riley Kansas.”
Camp Funston rivaled Topeka in population, covered more than 2,000 acres, contained 1,500 buildings, and had 28 miles of paved streets. It was the home of the 89th Division, which included the 353rd Infantry, the so-called “All-Kansas” Regiment. The 89th was also the home of the 342nd Field Artillery, known for its famous collegiate and professional athletes, including two future Jayhawk coaches—George “Potsie” Clark and Adrian “Ad” Lindsey—as well as Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander.
Part of the African-American 92nd Division also trained at Camp Funston. Residents of Junction City and Manhattan, including the acting president of Kansas State Agricultural College, protested the Army’s decision to bring thousands of Black soldiers to central Kansas. As noted by one African-American, the 89th Division and the 92nd Division were kept apart “by an imaginary line, yet a thoroughly distinct one.” On March 28, 1918, the white commander of the 92nd Division instructed his troops “to refrain from going where their presence will be resented” and from “doing anything, no matter how legally correct, that will provoke race animosity.”
William David Bly was a Black officer in the 92nd Division who led his company into battle on November 10, 1918, the day before the armistice. Although severely wounded, Lieutenant Bly told his wife he was “slightly” gassed and anxious to get home: “You don’t know what a God’s sent blessing it was for the war to end before winter.” Bly is buried in the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, and his Leavenworth residence is now the Richard Allen Cultural Center and Museum, which preserves the stories of the Buffalo Soldiers and other African Americans in the military.
NEXT: KANSAS RECIPIENTS OF THE MEDAL OF HONOR.
