77th Division
The men of the 77th division, who held the Charlevaux ravine were mostly from New York City. The 77th division is also known by other nicknames such as the “liberty” division which was due to the Statue of Liberty emblem the group picked out for themselves. However, they were mostly referred to as the “Metropolitan” division because of where most of the men hailed from. “… but it was first known as the Metropolitan Division and under that moniker, it was to gain fame.” Most of the men had grown up on the streets of New York City fighting from a young age for food. These attributes acquired on the streets are seen by many historians as one of the reasons that this group survived in the Argonne. The 77th division was trained at what became a prestigious camp located just outside the city called camp Upton. Furthermore, this would be where Charles Whittlesey would be assigned upon completion of his officers training. This camp was located a half mile from the town Yaphank, New York which was located on Long Island in Suffolk County. “Yaphank? Where the hell is Yaphank?” This was common expression heard amongst the new recruits of Camp Upton.
Read more about this topic: Lost Battalion (World War I)
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