ID'ed WW1 African American Grouping 505th Engineers Service Battalion Co. B

ID'ed WW1 African American Grouping 505th Engineers Service Battalion Co. B This amazing grouping of C. B. Stripling includes his individual pay book, WW1 Victory Medal with a St. Mihiel Bar, one engineer Co. B Lapel, a US Lapel, Corpral cheveron, Photo of C. B. Stripling in Uniform and C. B. Striplings orginal marriage certificate.
 
Born in Georgia in October 1888 he lived near Chattanooga, Tennessee growing up in the area he worked as a Labor. In 1907 he found himself in jail for breaking company eqiupment with other African American workers, "TORE UP MUD MACHINES, And Now Four Negro Boys Are in Jail on Serious Charge. B. Soan, the manager of the Howard-Park brick yard. yesterday afternoon woreout Warrants for the arrest of four negro boys in the employ of the firm-Dave Patton, aged 17: E. Davis, aged 17: Cal Davis, aged 14, and C. B.Stripling, aged 18. The charge against these boys is that of malicions mischief. It is said to be a most aggrarated case, at that. The boys worked on one of the mudmachines. Stripling is said to have been the ring leader of the four, and is said to have purposely committed the crimeas as an act of revenge for some wrong. The mud machine is so fashioned that a rock. In passing through. will be crushed without damage to the machine. Metal.however, cannot pass through without damage to the machine. Stripling learned this and induced the other three boys to join him in throwing huge pieces of iron into the machine, The result was that the apparatus was torn to pieces. Endangering the lives of the other employes who worked about it. This did not occur once, but several times. Each time the firm was placed at a great expense to repair the damage. Several days ago the offense was repeated. By this time the loss had reached into the hundreds of dollars, and it was realized by members of the firm that something must be done in order to end the rather expensive joke the boys were playing. Mr. Sloan therefore appeared before Stafford, city court clerk, yesterday afternoon and swore out warrants the boys Detectives Gault and Bush served the warrants, and now the boys are in jail to expiate their folly." (Chattanooga Daily Times Chattanooga, Tennessee · Sunday, February 17, 1907) In the following years he moved North to West Virginia where he would be drafted into service during WW1 on October 27, 1917. By December Stripling was on his way to europe. He served with the 505th Engineers Co. B. The following information on the 505th Engineers is believed to be from W. E. B. Du Bois' proposed book "The Black Man in the Wounded World". The 505th Engineers Service Battalion was an African-American battalion. The history for the regiment is not well documented but we are able to see a glimps in W. E. B. Du Bois purposed Book.
 
"The men composing the personnel of the 505th Engineers Battalion are from Western Virginia and Pittsburgh and were among the first to respond to the call of their country and to be sent over seas. They left. Pitteburgh on October 30th, 1917, for Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va., where they arrived. November 1st. For five weeks they trained stremously: then came the call for men to go "over seas" immediately to which call the men responded with a will that called forth admiration and praise. On December 11th 1917 after having been reviaed by Secretary Baker, we quietly entrained for Hoboken, N.J. and embarked on the President Lincoln, December 12th, sailing for France the following night. We arrived at Brest, France, after a long and exoiting trip. January 1st, 1918 was a "red letter day", for on that day the battalion was disembarked and proaceded by trained to Camp Genicart, Lormont. France. Forty-eight hours were spent in quarantine, then we started to work on the construction of a dock near Bordeaux at Bassens, which dock in said, by Army Engineers to be one of the most wonderful feats of labor and engineering performed during the war. Day and night, amid all kinds of weather we labored, being aware of the importance of our task, though it was far in the rear of the actual fighting.When this dock wes finished, and this was done in less than theallotted time, we moved on to St. Sulpice, St. Loubes and La Graave. At these places we helped to construet more than two hundred warehouses, sixty miles of railroad, construated highways and drainage systems. These tasks, while of the utmost importance, were as nothing compared to what we later were called upon to do, to suffer and endure. The labors performed in these French towns and their vicinity was carried on without any let up. We had moved to St. Salpice (Co. D), Company "A" at St. Loubes, Co. "G" at Ja Graave and Co. "G" at Bassens on or about March 27th, 1918, and during our story in and about those towns. the men of this command. endeared themselves tothe inhabitants, because of their hard work for the cause of Democracy,
their gentlemanly conduct, fortitude, in the face of obstacles, kindness
and unfailing good nature.
On August 24th the Battalion was ordered to proceed to the "front"
because of its wonderful record for work and efficiency and good moral; being
the first Colored organization of Engineers to be so honored up to that time.
The men of the 505th Engineers were the first Colored engineers in the ad-
vance sector, saw more active service, and advanced farther than any other
Colored Engineers, having gone as far as the "Zone of Occupation."
He left La Grave, St. Loubes and St. Sulpice, Aug. 24th amid
scenes never to be forgotten, tears, handshaking and farewells from the
entire population, men, women and little children fairly over riding the
station guard in an endeavor to bid us God's speed.
Aug. 30th, 1918 saw
our arrival at Bellville, the first stop; stayed there four days then advanced to Mannonville where we stayed one night then marched to Noviant
arriving there Sept. 5th.While here the men labored day and night, all
hour, repairing roads torn up by shell fire and constructing light rail-
ways. All of these things were done under constant gas attacks, shell fire
and aeroplane raids.
Sunday November 10th orders came to advance to Bauinville, which place we reached after a forced marched on the same day, and
on the day that the armistice was signed we were held in reserve, ready
to go "over the top" to help put the "hibosh" on the kaiser with cold steel,
all the time being under a constant stream of shell fire.
The men of this command were at Noviant, near Pont Mousson, on
Sept. 12th, 1918 and took part in the great St. Mihiel Drive of the American
Army, were commended by Officers and men alike of other organization, with
which they were engaged, for their labors and tasks performed under fire and
for the utter disregard of danger. The next day, Nov. 12th, we fell back to Flirey, Essey, Pannes."