Ernest H. Haucke, KIA: World War l & and Haucke Post 236

All over America plans are being made for Memorial Day weekend, which marks the beginning of summer for many. There will be camping trips, weekend trips to water parks and zoos, baseball games and more. There will be parades led by American Legion Color Guards, and Legionnaires will form the parties firing the salute at cemeteries with graves holding veterans of all this country’s wars. In anticipation of the event, the Auxiliary and others will be marking each veteran’s grave with a flag.

Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was once called, came about with Southern women who decorated the graves of fallen soldiers, and by May 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic (Union soldiers) established the day to decorate graves of the dead with flowers. Memorial Day, as a designation, came into vogue after World War ll and became the day’s official name in 1967.

The Sons of Veterans (of the Civil War) oversaw Ahnapee/Algoma Decoration Day events from the beginning through 1919. Ernest Haucke American Legion Post was founded in March 1920, and since then has planned Decoration Day activities in Algoma.

Algoma’s Ernest Haucke was the first of the Kewaunee County men to die on the battlefields of Europe in World War l. Born on April 11, 1896, Ernest was Grandma’s first cousin, and was the same age. Fifty years later, he was not forgotten, but frozen in time as a 22-year-old man.

In July 1917, young Ernest was in Two Rivers, in a National Guard unit, and waiting to be called. Men had draft numbers, and Ernest’s was 47. February 1918 found Ernest at Camp Merritt in New Jersey, a camp for transient troops that was one of three camps under the control of the New York Port of Embarkation. In a letter written from Camp Merritt, he said how glad he was to be sleeping in a fine spring bed and to be out of the canvas cots and tents of Camp MacArthur in Waco.

Ernest wrote about his train trip from Waco, Texas to New Jersey . The 4 ½ day, 5 night journey began in Waco’s warm sunny weather and ended with the snow and ice of New Jersey.

The young Algoma doughboy traveled through states he had never been in. He thought most of the larger cities were great, that the Appalachian mountains were prettier than the Cumberland mountains and reported seeing a prison camp for German spies. Periodically, the train stopped so the men could hike for a mile or so. Its first stop was Pine Bluff, Arkansas, which, Ernest wrote, was known for its beautiful women. Arriving at Washington, D.C. at 10:30 at night was disappointing since the captain promised they’d detrain at Washington and parade around the capitol. As it was, they had to be satisfied with the glow of city lights offering a view of the metropolis. Camp Merritt was within 15 miles of New York City, prompting most men to take advantage of a 24 hour leave.. The leave gave Ernest the opportunity to see his relative, Fred Busch, who managed one of the larger New York hotels.

Camp Merritt agreed with Ernest who said it was more like home with snow and heated buildings. There were 60 men in a building and 30 in a room which, Ernest thought, made for “jolly good times” for men who were beginning to feel like brothers. Ernest said he didn’t expect to be in New Jersey long before being shipped to France, knowing Algoma folks read about the sinking of the Tuscania. Troops aboard were in the 32^nd Division, the division that Ernest’s company was a part of. The company knew many of the men who had gone down.

According to Ernest, the YMCA was the first place the men tried to find in New Jersey. The “Y” gave the men something to do to escape lonesome hours, and he generally spent several hours an evening there.

Ernest encouraged friends to write to him at Priv. Ernest H. Haucke, Co, G., 128^th Inf. U.S.N.G., A.E.F. via New York. The address would get letters to him in camp and in France.

A little more than 5 months later, an Algoma Record Herald headline announced Ernest’s death on the battlefields of France. Ernest was the 2^nd city man to enlist – Jerry Jerabek was the 1^st - and the first in the county to be killed in action. He died on July 20^th, but it was weeks later before his family knew it and learned that Ernest was a part of a great allied victory at Chateau-Thierry,  

Ernest was among the other Algoma men who began their training in Sturgeon Bay before going to Camp Douglas for a short time. Then it was to Camp MacArthur for intensive training before going to New Jersey and to France. His parents last heard from him toward the end of June, and when Rev. Schlei spoke at his funeral service at St. Paul’s, he paid tribute to Ernest saying he died a Christian death that was most honorable. Schlei called him a young hero and asked the congregation to offer special prayers for the man buried beneath a white cross in France. Ernest’s body was eventually returned to his family in Algoma, and he is buried at the Evergreens.

As a youngster, Ernest attended school in the Town of Ahnapee and in Algoma where he always lived with his parents. He was employed at Ahnapee Veneer and Seating Co. and was described as a clean-cut young man who was highly thought of. Just after he joined the military, he told his brother Arnold he joined to “do his duty.

Ernest’s story is much the same as the Algoma men who died in World War I, and those who survived. But, because Ernest was the first to be killed, the Legion Post was named for him. Chartered in March 1920, one of the 15 charter members was Jerry Jerabek, Algoma’s first volunteer. In April 1920, the paper announced that 10 new members were added in one week. The Haucke Post was open to men in northern Kewaunee County and southern Door County.

The American Legion was growing and when the Haucke Post was chartered, there were over 8,000 posts. More posts were predicted as the Legion expected to serve 2 million men by the end of 1920. The G.A.R. posts, founded after the Civil War, reached the height in membership in 1910 when its roster listed a half million members. Going forward, the World War l veterans took over duties performed by the Sons of Veterans. That included Memorial Day ceremonies.

Ernest Haucke Post 236 remains in existence at just under 100 years old. As it did for 98 years, the Post will honor veterans for the 99th time in ceremonies in Algoma on Monday, May 27.

Sources: Family history and Algoma Record and Algoma Record Herald. Photos are from the Record Herald.