William Ballard Preston

I had the great pleasure of talking with Ballard Preston, the son of First Lieutenant William B. Preston, company commander for Company A, 313th Machine Gun Battalion. Mr. Preston shared a few stories with me that his father conveyed to him about his experiences during the war. Lieutenant Preston survived the battle of the Meuse-Argonne, and was very lucky, as the following story will illustrate. (Photo shows William B. Preston with his Captain bars May 1919).

The battalion was in the heat of the offensive near the town of Nantillois. It was during the days of October 4-6, 1918 that the 313th Machine Gun Battalion suffered their highest rates of casualties, both in terms of men killed, as well as men being taken out of the battle as the result of being wounded or gassed.

Lieutenant Preston told his son that he remembered being at the front and a fragment of a shell burst near him causing him to be thrown into a shell hole. Preston knew that he had been hit in the groin area and he thought for certain that the fragment must have penetrated him because he felt numb. He reached his hand down into his tunic and pulled it back out expecting to see blood, but there was none. He opened his tunic and found that the piece of shell had smacked him on the inner thigh, landing flat against his leg. Can you imagine his luck? The shard hit him in such a manner that it did not tear into his body. He told his son that his entire thigh and groin area was badly bruised and eventually turned black and blue, but he was indeed fortunate.

It was during this assault of the Bois des Ogons that he recalled how terrible he felt about losing two-thirds of his company to casualties. On October 4, 1918, during the battle, Lieutenant Preston sent this message to his Battalion Commander, Major Huidekoper. It reads, “Battalion consolidating. Badly in need of ammunition. Send to Regimental P.C. situated Nantillois. Lt. Mackey severely wounded. 1st Platoon badly shot up, out of action, reorganizing here. No casualties in 3rd Platoon. 2nd Platoon not heard from.” This message speaks to the gravity of the situation he was enduring at that moment.

One other story that I was told has a familiar ring to the antics of the men in this Battalion. It likely occurred in March 1919, when the war was over, and the men were nearing their return home. Lieutenant Preston mentioned that his men were going to be reviewed and were at the at the top of a muddy hill. Major Huidekoper came up from the bottom of the valley to meet the men, and shouted out, “Paaaass-in-review.” One of the Doughboys sarcastically replied, “Assssss-hole.” The men in the company snickered and laughed under their breath. The Major was not too pleased. He came right over to Preston and said, “Was that one of your men Preston?” Lieutenant Preston quickly replied, “No sir, sounded like a man in the next company to me.” The Major headed for the next company commander. Preston smiled, knowing quite well it was one of his men having a little fun with the Major. Preston let it go.