WWI UNIFORM GROUPING 51st PIONEER INFANTRY NAMED

WW1 US Army 51st Pioneer Infantry of the IV Corps. The veterans name was Andrew J. Berwick and was inducted on 5/28/18, after training Berwick shipped over on 8/11/18 with the 51st Pioneers, who were assigned to the IV Corps for the duration overseas as Corps troops. They served with the IV in the St. Mihiel and the Meuse0Argonne battles, and participated as members of the 3rd Army of Occupation in Germany, shipping home in July of 1919. This grouping consist of his uniform and patches taken from the coat, collar disk, dog tags, 3rd Army ring and New York State medal and winged Victory Medal with three bar. All the loose items were removed from the pocket. The men of the 51st Pioneer Infantry were mostly draftees. While other soldiers fought with rifles, they used shovels. They also saw combat. As shells went off around them, the pioneers filled holes with rubble collected from destroyed villages. Those roads were the battlefield lifeline, allowing troops and supplies to move forward, while ambulances took the wounded back to hospitals. They cleared the roads that had been booby-trapped by the retreating German Army. They marched at night to hide from the enemy. After the Armistice, they marched into Germany to be part of the Army of Occupation. The Pioneer Infantry provided labor where ever and when ever needed, including guarding railways and bridges, and burying the dead.