Campion Jesuit High School - Knight Yearbook (Prairie du Chien, WI)

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ilmer, the soldier Just 17 days after war was declared on Germany on Aprll 23 1917 Joyce Kllmer though over the first draft age and havmg a Wlfe and four small chlldren volunteered for the Army Frlends and prlests trled to dlssuade him but Kllmer felt he had a call from God a true vocatlon hence God would take better care of my wlfe and chlldren than I should ever hope to do Close frlends later recognlzed somethmg almost mystlcal 1n h1s dec1s1on a deslre a pre destlnatlon clearly felt for somethmg hlgher more noble more satlsfymg than anythlng the world could glV6 In add1t1on to his desire to serve h1S country and follow Chrlst 1n sufferlng by natural d1spos1t1on he was a fighter Th1s fighters Splflt led hlm first to transfer to the famous Flghlllllg 69th Reglment because It was Irlsh and Cathol and would go to France sooner then 1n Apr1l 1918 to transfer from h1s safe statlstlcs work to Reg1mental Intelllgence so he could be up Front scoutmg enemy pos1t1ons, and finally at the height of the great battle of the Marne to volunteer for the first battallon because h1s own would not go up that day Here It was as leader of a patrol to locate a machlne gun nest, that Kllmer dled a bullet 1n h1s forehead th -Yxov4A,g,,,,., lqlq dgS..v9-J 'V'Y, Lqpsnobu-Wax rw.,J,,,.,.-Au- 'avJn-I wQb,,,.,9..l E !,,..,-J-4 Lu'- LVD -u-aL In five days of fightmg Sgt Kxlmer was w1th me throughout durlng these five days I not only came to see his fine qual1t1es as an mtelllgent and 8Ct1Ve soldier but h1s real courage and gallantry Col William Donovan then Major of the Fnght ng 69th of New York whlch became the 165th Reg ment of the Rainbow Du s on Azw'-0-fvt obhsg-9.1-.50 tx I,,,9.a-o-'D -weft'-2 GA Al Q,-v'-vb wp O-0x 'l 6B v-saufyol ,T o,l,bL,,-lvhxo 'G new H+-4 'l ,Mawf1'f'f'MN 990V-9'cY0AAN He was absolutely the coolest and most lndlffer ent man 1n the face of danger I have ever seen It was not for lack of love of l1fe It was partly from h1s mborn courage and devot1on he would not stmt h1S sacrlfice partly hxs deep and real bellef that what God wxlls IS best Father F ancs Duffy famous chaplam f the Rainbow Dv 0 He would always be domg more than h1s orders called for 1 e gettmg much nearer to the enemy s pos1t1ons than any officer would be 1ncl1ned to send h1m Nlght after mght he would l1e out 1n No Mans Land crawlmg through barbed wlres ln an effort to locate enemy pos1t1ons and enemy guns and tearmg h1s clothes to shreds Yn-if Sgt Major Esler Knlmers comrade at the front Sal-'j'M 'N-MJ-Daz'-1-1qfex 'L .T-QM,,,,.,n1,w:fbvG lu 9 1 y 9 7 ' 7 , T H . . u ' ' . . . . . . . H . ' 7 y Q . . . . ,, . . . . l , - X n , l U n 4 ll ' - H ' u' ' ic u, ' ' , 7 7 ' ss u ' ' ' . . . . . 7 f if n ' - ' 1 . . . . . , . M- 'rr' 3 - , 1 I . H . . . , v - . . . ,Y u Y ' . . I V , , 1 ' - - ' p I. i .. - ' ' I 'vi I . , V . ' u - - - 7 . l . , . hwy- - , , , D - . . . ,, . Q r I , ' Q ' isi . g, vw and , ' n ' u ' - . ' ' v ?, Y ' 'Y , . . 7 Y 5. ' ' v . , , . U ' ' ' .I . . L I . . - A,-,,,'1 ' 2

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in hc Joyce Kilmer Library The library at Campion which is, I believe, of all memorials the one Joyce would have loved best. -Mn. Aline Kilmer, Joyce's wife. On a beautiful fall day, October 31, 1937, the bond of friendship between Kilmer and Campion was immortalized in the solemn dedication of THE JOYCE KILMER MEM- ORIAL LIBRARY by His Excellency, Will- iam R. Griffin, Bishop of La Crosse, before 2000 guests including civic, army, and re- ligious dignitaries. Specially honored guests were two of Kilmer's children, Deborah, now Sister Michael, O.S.B., and Christo- pher. The dedication was made possible by money willed to Fr. Claude Pernin, S.J., Whom Kilmer met on his Visits to Campion. Fr. Pernin, then English Professor at Cam- pion, was a brilliant teacher, writer, speak- er, conversationalist, and companion who became Kilmer's admired friend. Treasure of this 40,000 volume library is the finest display of Kilmer mementos in the country: his 51 letters to Fr. Daly, his notebook car- ried at the Front which contains his three War poems, quoted in these pages, his glasses, his Catholic identification card, his dog tag or official identification medal LAL! I he wore at his deathg the richly bound vol- umes of his complete works and those of his poet-wife, Aline, and the copy of his citation for bravery, the Croix de Guerre. KiImer's children, Sister Michael and Christopher, at the dedication of the library honoring their father. Display case an-1 iamii of personal Kilmer mementos as students see it daily.