Private Orville Grant Shuman
3106266
Born 1879 – Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Emigrated to America – Kansas City, MO
Killed in Action Sept 29, 1918 and Buried at Crest Cemetery in Raillencourt, France
Private Thomas Archie McArthur
6106214
Born 1898 Montreal Quebec
Emigrated to America – Kansas City, MO
Killed in Action Sept 29, 1918 and Buried at Crest Cemetery in Raillencourt, France
Private John Edmund Kelly
3106189
Born 1885 – Montreal, Quebec
Emigrated to America – Springfield, IL
Killed in Action Sept 29, 1918 and Buried at Crest Cemetery in Raillencourt, France
Three Canadians were all emigrants to the United States. They left their homes in the great white north to travel to The Land of Opportunity, America, in search of their fortune…or at least try to attain it. Yet…on one early December morning in cold snowy Toronto all three found themselves together in the same line to enlist with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. One was a grizzled veteran, a 38 yr old man from Kansas City, Missouri. His name was Orville Grant Shuman. He was single, of average height and build and worked as a machinist assistant. Just a few steps away in line was the slight waif of a man. Thomas Archie Macarthur also from Kansas City. This barely legal gent barely registered on the scale weighting in at only 114 lbs. The third man of the trio was John Edmund Kelly. He was a beast. A 33 yr old man from Springfield Illinois who towered to a height of 5 ft 11 and ¾, (to be precise) brown hair and brown eyes…with tattoos on both arms. He was a pillar of strength probably earned from his time spent in the US Navy.
The men who gathered alongside Orville, Thomas and John were all latecomers to the war. Earlier in 1917 the Military Services Act was passed by Parliament. This enacted conscription requiring all men between the ages of 19 and 45 to sign up for military service. The majority of the men who attested that day were men looking to sign up before having to be conscripted. There was thirst for bodies to bolster the ranks in the trenches and if Canadian men did not join voluntarily, they would be compelled to participate. However, there was another group of men who travelled to Canada to enlist. These were men from America. Whether they be expat Canucks or Brits or full-blood Yanks, it was well known that the fastest way to the front was with the CEF. Incredibly, 40,000 Americans enlisted with and fought with a Maple Leaf stitched to the shoulder on their uniform. In the case or Orville, Thomas and John, these three took it upon themselves to the journey across the border, find the Canadian Expedition Grounds and join up for the war effort.
The specifics regarding their individual experiences in Britain and France is not well documented, however we know they all did it together. The three men enlisted on the same day, spent the next two months preparing for departure together, and all three packed on to the SS Scandinavian for the trip across the pond to arrive in Liverpool on Feb 18th. The trio were together transferred to the 8th Reserve Battalion and all participated in basic training at East Sanding Camp before being sent to the 116th.
The men would have learned how to salute together. They would have learned to march around the parade grounds with increased proficiency together. Once by one they would be cheering each other for musketry competitions or when it was their turn to jab the imaginary Germans with his bayonet. Whether it be the cold incessant rains of winter in the south of England, the slimy mud from within the mock trenches or the unbelievable pleasantry of a spring evening laughing with your mates over a pint at the camp canteen…the men would have always been together.
On the 20th of August 1918, ten days after the Big Push kicked off, the men would land together in France with a draft of replacement soldiers. Their sole job was to replace those who have fallen in battle. By the time they joined the battalion in the field, 152 men would have been killed in the previous 22 days. A multiple of that would have put out of commission after being wounded, gassed or succumbing to a mental breakdown from the constant artillery, death, gore and destruction. Ready or not, these men were needed and the war welcomed their arrival.
The men were effectively joining a battle in mid-attack. There was no room for practice nor solace for the men. The only thing they would have of comfort or familiarity would have been each other. The previous 8 months would cause them to become the only family they had, and the only family they would ever have. They may have leaned on John for leadership because of his military experience. Orville may have taken young Thomas under his wing and looked to protect him like a son. Young Thomas would have needed it…he claimed he was 18 when he joined, however as he did leave a Boys Home in Kansas City to enlist experience could deduct that he might have been closer to 16 than 18. Yet, together they would trudge forward as soldiers. On the morning of their last day they would have passed the jug of rum to each other, shared a wee shot of courage together they would have waited together for the signal to move forward. The three were together on the far-left sections of men preparing for the attack that morning. And as the sound of the guns died down after the ferocious battles that took place that day, the three Americans, the three mates, would all lie together in a field outside of a village of Raillencourt.
Lest we forget.
(photo if John Edmund Kelly...if you have photo's of Thomas or Orville please post)