James Nelson Platt |
James Nelson Platt | World War I, 1914-1920
Army
12th Machine Gun Battalion, 4th Division
LaTurne, Paris, and Chateau Thierry, France
Sergeant
Pomfret, CT
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James Platt sailed for Europe in the spring of 1918 as a private and returned home eight months later as a sergeant. Not long after landing in France, he volunteered for typing duty and was given corporal's stripes; he soon became a map reader and then was promoted to mess sergeant. When his company's commanding officer was killed, Platt took over briefly. His familiarity with maps helped him guide his men out of trouble. In his memoir, he vividly describes the war's devastation and is honest about his fear of being shot.
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