Author: Jocke Hallberg

Sometimes intense situations in life can lead to completely new tracks. I was reading digitized old Swedish newspapers from the period between 1914 to 1921, to scan them for interesting information about Swedish born soldiers and their fate during the Great War.

Most of the information is dark and tragic, but this time a small note caught my eyes.

“A Swedish-French War Wedding”. Of course I had to investigate it further about what these words meant.

The small note described the wedding between the Swedish born Sergeant in the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), Nils Widstrand, and miss Marthe Dubeau.

Nils Widstrand was born as Nils Wilhelm Gösta Widstrand in Hedvig Eleonora parish in Stockholm, September 2nd, 1895. He grew up in Stockholm and became a reporter as a son to a Swedish Publisher, his father Otto Wilhelm Widstrand.

Nils emigrated from Sweden through Norway, to North America in 1916, and lived in Toledo, Lucas, Ohio, when he was drafted on June 5th, 1917. He went over to France with his unit, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division, AEF, in November 1917.

In July 1918 his unit was ordered to take a village near Soissons. The name of the village is not known. When I read about the fightings in the history of the 1st Division, and the fightings in July, 1918, it can have been the village of Saconin-et-Breuil, just South-West of Soissons.

The unit with Nils Widstrand reached and took their objectives, and they also took some German prisoners, and put them in a basement. When the situation was over it showed that the Germans had taken some women and had kept them as prisoners. Two specific women showed up. The younger of them turned up to be Marie Madelaine Marthe Dubeau, said in the article to be the daughter of a French Captain, Victor Dubeau, who , according to the daughter, had fallen in the War.

I haven’t been able to find a document that shows the death of a French Captain called Victor Dubeau, but I will ask some of my fellow Great War connections in the Great War Group, if they can help me. It may be some different spellings in the French documents.

Marie Dubeau was born in Montendre, France, on June 25th, 1898. She was raised by her mother Louise Virginie Bernard and her father, Victor Dubeau.

She was, according to the article, very happy to have been released from the Germans soldiers by the American soldiers. Marie said that she wanted to wait in the village before she was sure that her father had received a proper burial.

Then everything seems to have happened very fast.

Nils Widstrand left France with his unit in September 1919. Nils and Marie got married in Bourges in France on July 31st, when Nils still was in France. When I look into some archives it seems like Nils got naturalized through American authorities in Germany in December 1918.

According to the documents found in archives Marie applied for travel documents, to be able to travel to the USA, in August 1918. The document was only valid in France, and for the voyage to the USA.

In the States the Swedish-French couple became parents to two children, their son Herbert, born in November 1919, just a few months after Nils arrived from France, and their daughter Anne Ester, born in December 1920.

I have managed to find some photos that shows Nils, Marie, Henry, and Anne Ester.

The photo of Nils and Henry is from a passport application in 1921, when Nils went home to Sweden to visit his father. Nils mother died in 1910, and his father remarried in 1913. The other photo of Marie and her daughter Anne Ester is from a passport application in November 1921, when they went to Sweden to meet up with the rest of the family.

The adventure that started during an American attack on German positions, which lead to a marriage between a Swedish born soldier and a French girl, lead to a family of four and ended with the family moving to Sweden.

Nils and Marie both died 1960. Marie died in April 1960, and Nils died in November 1960. From the Swedish census documents I know that their son Herbert lived with his parents in Stockholm 1940. The daughter Anne Ester got married to Hans Tillberg in Sweden 1940. I find her living with her parents in Solna, Stockholm, in 1950.

Both Nils and Marie are buried in Norra begravningsplatsen Cemetery in Solna, Stockholm.

I was glad to find this information in the old Swedish newspaper, that shows that not only bad things comes out from war, even if that is true in most cases.

I hope the family had a good life in Sweden. I hope I will find out how it went with Marie’s father Victor Dubeau, the French officer, who died in the war, when searching for more information in the future.

Introduction

The days between Christmas and New Year celebration are often calm and for me it means time of reflection and time to go deeper into the facts I have in my research about the Swedish born soldiers who participated in the Great War.

In this case I was reading the history book about the 108th Infantry Regiment in the 27th US Division and its activities within the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). I discovered that one of the Swedish born soldier who participated and fell in the War also had a brother who participated but survived. I discovered that when searching for the surname and it turned out to be two soldiers with the quite unusual Swedish surname Gylfe.

This is the small story about the Gylfe brothers. One of them didn’t come home. One of them was awarded a very nice French Award. I hope you will find it interesting.

The 108th Infantry Regiment

The regiment was a unit created from personnel within 3rd New York National Guard Infantry. In the history book I found the following text that describes the background:

“General Orders No. 9 HEADQUARTERS, 27th DIVISION, U. S. A.

Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, S. C. October 1, 1917.

Pursuant to telegraphic orders from the War Department, dated September 11, 1917, this division is organized under the provisions of General Orders No. 101, War Department, 1917, as follows:

The 54th Infantry Brigade, consisting of Brigade Headquarters, the 107th and 108th Regiments of Infantry and the 103th Machine Gun Battalion, is organized as follows:

The 108th Regiment of Infantry (3d N. Y. Infantry), Brigadier General James W. Lester, commanding; Colonel Edgar S. Jennings, and Lieutenant-Colonel William A. Taylor.

The Commanding Officer, 74th N. Y. Infantry, will transfer to the 108th Regiment of Infantry, 1,350 enlisted men of appropriate grades.

The Commanding Officer, 12th N. Y. Infantry, will transfer to the 108th Regiment of Infantry, 293 enlisted men of appropriate grades.“

The above order constituted the birth of the 108th Regiment of Infantry, U. S. A.

The 27th Division within the AEF was organized in September, 1917, at Camp Wadsworth, South Carolina, from National Guard troops of New York and had the following insignia.

Pvt. Carl R Gylfe, Company M, 108th Infantry Regiment, 27th Division, AEF

Carl R Gylfe was born as Karl Ragnar Fredriksson Gylfe in Torrskog parish, in the landscape of Dalsland, on August 13th, 1891. He was raised by his mother Hilma Maria Fredriksdotter and his father Gustaf Fredriksson Gylfe. He also had two brothers, Axel Herman and Gustaf Evald.

The Gylfe family emigrated to North America in March 1896, when Karl was around 5 years old. In the American census document from Massachusetts in 1910 I find that the family was extended with two more sons, Fred and Roy. In the document I see that the surname Gylfe was changed to Gilfe, but can be related to how it is pronounced and written in the document.

Carl lived in Buffalo, in the state of New York, when he enlisted in July 1917. He belonged at that time to Company M, 74th Infantry, New York National Guard. He was discharged from National Guard and drafted to U.S Service on August 5th, 1917, and later transferred to 108th Infantry Regiment, 27th Division in October, 1917.

In May 17th, 1917, Carl’s unit went over to France. From September 24th to October 20th, 1918, the 27th Division participated in the Somme Offensive north of St. Quentin within the 2nd American Corps, operating with the British 4th Army against the Hindenburg Line. The outstanding features of this operation were, the severe fighting in the vicinity of Guillemont Farm, Quennemont Farm and Gouy in September 27th to 28th, and the battle of La Selle River during October 17th to October 20th. (Brief Histories Of Divisions, U.S Army 1917-1918)

Carl was killed in action during October 18th, highly likely during the battle of Jonc De Mer Ridge south-east of Le Cateau in France.

His brother Fred Gylfe

Carl’s brother Fred Gylfe was born as Frederick Leif Gylfe on August 13th (14th), 1897, in Worcester, Massachusetts. He enlisted for The New York National Guard in October 1915. Fred was a non-commissioned officer and initially saw service on the Mexican Border. He was like Carl discharged from the National Guard and drafted for U.S service on August 5th, 1917. He was also transferred to 108th Infantry Regiment on October 13th, 1917.

Pvt First Class Fred Gylfe left for France with his unit one week before his brother Carl, on May 10th, 1918 and served in the Headquarter Company within 108th Infantry Regiment, 27th Division.

Fred’s company saw action in both Belgium and in France, with the start in the area of Reningelst and Ouderdom through Dickebush. They also passed the area of Vierstraat south of Ypres in August 1918, towards the Wytschaete Ridge in August and September 1918.

The Headquarter company also participated in the same battles as Carl, in the area between Le Catelet towards Le Cateau, as you can see in the maps above.

Fred went back to the US on March 6th, 1919, and was discharged on March 31st , 1919.

Buried at the Somme

Carl Gylfe was initially buried at the Cross Road British Cemetery which I interpret to Cross Roads Cemetery, in the area of Fontaine-Au-Bois east of Cambrai. He was later moved to the Somme American Cemetery in the area of Bony. I have visited Carl a couple of times during my tours to the Battlefields.

Fred continued his life in the states and died on November 6th, 1999, and became over 100 years old. He was survived by a daughter and a son and three grandchildren.

The younger brother Fred Gylfe was very active with the Berwyn American Legion Post for more than 65 years, and was also a Master Mason in the Berwyn Masonic Lodge, in which he was active for 48 years. He is today buried at the Mount Auburn Memorial Park cemetery in Berwyn, Illinois.

Awarded the French Legion of Honor

One very interesting fact that I found was that Fred Gylfe was awarded the French Legion of Honor.

In the Congressional Record from 1999 I can read the following text:

“A TRIBUTE TO FRED GYLFE, LEGION OF HONOR AWARD RECIPIENT.

Ms. SNOWE.

Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute a veteran from Maine who this week will have bestowed upon him high honors from the French Government for the sacrifices he made during World War I.

Fred Gylfe will receive the most prestigious honor that France bestows, the award of the National Order of the Legion of Honor, in gratitude for the valor he displayed serving in France during the First World War.

Last year, the French Government announced Project 1918–1998, which honors the 80th anniversary of the armistice of World War I. As part of this undertaking, France is awarding the Legion of Honor Award to surviving American veterans who served in France between 1914 and 1918—in recognition for the crucial support American veterans lent to French soldiers fighting to defend French soil.

It is estimated that as many as 1,000 American veterans who served in France during World War I may still be living, and there is a search underway to locate as many of these men and women as possible. Fred Gylfe was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on August 14, 1897. His parents emigrated from Sweden, and he was their first child born in the U.S. He entered the U.S. National Guard in 1916 and departed for France on May 16, 1918. He fought in Ypres/Lys and Saint Quentin Tunnel in the French province of Somme. He was a Sergeant in Headquarters Company for the 108th Infantry 27th division of the New York National Guard. He is the father of two children, and three grandchildren.

I have nothing but the utmost respect for those who have served with courage, honor and distinction, answering the call to duty when their country—and the world no less—needed them so desperately. Indeed, it is no small challenge to put into words the enormous pride I feel for the opportunity to represent men like Fred Gylfe as Maine’s senior Senator. “

Some dates in the text above are different from the the dates in documents from his Military Service. I haven’t been able to confirm his award through his name in other lists that states the names of recipients. Although, it doesn’t mean that he didn’t receive it

The mother of the Gylfe Brothers, Hilma Gylfe, seems to have remarried to Oscar Bove in 1914. I haven’t been able to find a date of death of the father of the two brothers, Gustaf Gylfe, but his death may have been the reason for Hilma to marry the Swede Oscar.

27th Infantry Division in Belgium and France – some snippets from history

A total of six Swedish born soldiers fought and fell for the 27th Infantry Division during the War. Four of them are buried in France and two were reburied in the USA.

It is interesting to find photos and other interesting texts from the digitized history books from the different US Divisions, which you can find online. Below some interesting photos of sites they passed and photos that shows the cooperation with other Armies during the War. (The pictorial record of the 27th Division, PDF)

My own connection to the parish of Torreskog

The above mentioned Swedish born soldier Karl Ragnar Gylfe was born in the parish of Torreskog, at the farm of Gustavsfors. On the other side of the river, on the farm of Gummenäs, my Grandfather’s uncle on his mother’s side, Karl Bengt Karlzén, lived before he emigrated to North America in 1913.

Bengt was born in Högsby, Kalmar county, on September 9th, 1892. He is noted as “Wanted” in the Swedish Army conscript documents, as he left before his expected Army service.

In North America Bengt was drafted in June 5th, 1917, when he lived in Brooklyn, New York, but was never called upon when the AEF went to France.

He went back to Sweden during the mid 1920s, but went back to the States. He died in 1957 and he is now buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Greenwood Heights, Kings County, New York.