On the front page of the Boston Post an article dated November 17th, 1918 entitled: 'Major Whittlesey of Pittsfield and His Lost Battalion.'

Major Charles White Whittlesey, a Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient was the Commander of the Lost Battalion in the Argonne Forest in early October of 1918.

As a Major in the 77th Division 308th Infantry he and his men were surrounded by the Germans. Without supplies or food they held on against overwhelming odds refusing surrender. His reply to the Germans when a message was sent demanding the commands immediate surrender, was "Go to Hell."

At the end of the ordeal out of 550 men only 194 were left alive and were able to escape through the pocket of the Argonne. In recognition of his valor he was made a Lt. Colonel. Along with Captain McMurtry and Captain Holderman, they were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

After the war, as a graduate of Harvard Law School he attempted to return to his law practice. Working as an attorney at the Wall Street firm of White & Case, but found himself in constant demand for speeches, parades, and honorary degrees.

The pressure wore on him intensely and he once complained to a friend: "Not a day goes by but I hear from some of my old outfit, usually about some sorrow or misfortune. I cannot bear it much more."

In mid November of 1921, Whittlesey acted as a pallbearer at the burial of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, along with fellow Medal of Honor recipients Samuel Woodfill and Alvin York.

On November 24th, 1921 he booked passage from New York to Havana aboard the S.S. Toloa, a United Fruit Company ship.

On November 26th, 1921, the first night out of New York, he dined with the captain and left the smoking room at 11:15 p.m. stating he was retiring for the evening. It was noted by the captain that he was in good spirits. It is presumed soon after leaving the dining room, Whittlesey went to the railing of the ship and jumped.

He left no explanation, but he had written his will in New York, leaving his property to his mother, before embarking on the journey. He also left several letters in his cabin addressed to family and friends. He left the famous German letter asking for the surrender of the 308th to Captain George McMurtry.

My grandfather Frank G. S. Erickson was a member of the 308th Infantry and the 77th Division when the men of the 308th were part of the Meuse Argonne Offensive in September of 1918.

Frank was a rifleman with Company H and served directly under Captain William J. Cullen as a runner. By October 8th, 1918, Frank was a very fortunate surviving member of the famed 'Lost Battalion.' Out of 554 men of the 308th that went into the Argonne, Frank was one of only 197 that escaped through the pocket. The remaining 357 men were mostly killed and some were taken prisoner by the Germans. It was an intense and memorable period of his life that he would never forget.

Frank joined the American Expeditionary Force in 1917 and entered training at Camp Lewis near Tacoma, Washington. In the late Spring of 1918 he and Company H traveled by train to Camp Kearney near San Diego for additional firearms training. From there they traveled to Camp Upton in Long Island NY where H Company joined the 308th. On August 8th they shipped out of the Brooklyn Harbor heading to Liverpool, England.

In early September they were on the Western Front in France.