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Modern War Studies
Scarlet Fields: The Combat Memoir of a World War I Medal of Honor Hero
Memoirs of John Lewis Barkley during world war 1 in France.
268 pages, Hardcover
Published April 1, 2012
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131 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 8, 2012
Recently, I bought this memoir on the recommendation of a Goodreads friend. Two days ago, I began to read it and finished it a few minutes ago (it's 8:59 PM EST now).
Barkley, at first, was rejected for Army service because of a stutter he had. But, with the help of a doctor on his local draft board, he was accepted and went through a variety of training. Barkley proved to be so skilled a shot and adept with firearms (growing up in Missouri, he loved spending as much time as he could in the woods, tracking and hunting game) that he was placed in a special intelligence unit of soldiers tasked with carrying out special missions inside enemy lines. (Barkley also earned the respect of his comrades through his proficiency in smuggling liquor into the barracks whenever he wangled leave.)
By April 1918, Barkley was in France with the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. Two months later, his unit was in combat at Chateau-Thierry to stem the German advance on Paris. Barkley has a way of bringing the reader into his confidence as he relates, in great detail, his experiences as a combat soldier, which ranged from the Marne River, to Saint-Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne, which proved to be the bloodiest battle the U.S. Army had been involved in up to that time. It was in the latter battle that Barkley earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for holding off singlehandedly a major German counter-attack in an abandoned French tank with a machine gun. Barkley, though he had sustained a slight wound in an earlier action, relished combat and had, along with his 2 closest comrades, Jesse James and William Floyd (both Native Americans), proven himself numerous times to be steady and reliable under fire. But Barkley retained his humanity, steadfastly protecting a young German soldier he had captured in the Argonne Forest from being killed by his comrades until he was able to place him in the rear with a detail charged with caring for POWs.
After the Armistice, Barkley's unit moves into Germany, where he has some interesting encounters with the people there. (Not too many Americans I doubt are aware that the U.S. had occupation troops in Germany along the Rhine from 1919 to 1923.)
Now that a year has passed since the death of the last U.S. veteran of the First World War, reading this memoir (which had been forgotten for decades) gave me a sense of immediacy about an era so distant and remote as to make it palpable and almost real in my consciousness.
Barkley, at first, was rejected for Army service because of a stutter he had. But, with the help of a doctor on his local draft board, he was accepted and went through a variety of training. Barkley proved to be so skilled a shot and adept with firearms (growing up in Missouri, he loved spending as much time as he could in the woods, tracking and hunting game) that he was placed in a special intelligence unit of soldiers tasked with carrying out special missions inside enemy lines. (Barkley also earned the respect of his comrades through his proficiency in smuggling liquor into the barracks whenever he wangled leave.)
By April 1918, Barkley was in France with the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. Two months later, his unit was in combat at Chateau-Thierry to stem the German advance on Paris. Barkley has a way of bringing the reader into his confidence as he relates, in great detail, his experiences as a combat soldier, which ranged from the Marne River, to Saint-Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne, which proved to be the bloodiest battle the U.S. Army had been involved in up to that time. It was in the latter battle that Barkley earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for holding off singlehandedly a major German counter-attack in an abandoned French tank with a machine gun. Barkley, though he had sustained a slight wound in an earlier action, relished combat and had, along with his 2 closest comrades, Jesse James and William Floyd (both Native Americans), proven himself numerous times to be steady and reliable under fire. But Barkley retained his humanity, steadfastly protecting a young German soldier he had captured in the Argonne Forest from being killed by his comrades until he was able to place him in the rear with a detail charged with caring for POWs.
After the Armistice, Barkley's unit moves into Germany, where he has some interesting encounters with the people there. (Not too many Americans I doubt are aware that the U.S. had occupation troops in Germany along the Rhine from 1919 to 1923.)
Now that a year has passed since the death of the last U.S. veteran of the First World War, reading this memoir (which had been forgotten for decades) gave me a sense of immediacy about an era so distant and remote as to make it palpable and almost real in my consciousness.
September 15, 2021
A warrior’s perspective
History textbooks chronicle the conflicts leading to World War I along with the economic and political underpinnings. But this is a front line account of a soldier’s experience. This is the real deal. Read it in a day and reflect on the sacrifices of the working class in times of American conflict. These are the men who answered the call of duty.
History textbooks chronicle the conflicts leading to World War I along with the economic and political underpinnings. But this is a front line account of a soldier’s experience. This is the real deal. Read it in a day and reflect on the sacrifices of the working class in times of American conflict. These are the men who answered the call of duty.
March 17, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a very quick and easy read. I had read other soldier's narratives but this was the first American one I had read. I enjoyed the way the book was written and how it flowed from one scene to another. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in reading a soldier's view of The Great War.
February 8, 2024
Wonderful read, and the most moving thing in the book is the brotherhood Barkley steadily builds with his fellow soldiers, all from different races and walks of life, in the midst of World War I. Barkley challenges the idea that soldiers in the Great War were held down in trenches the entire time, again and again showing that American troops not only had more agency than we give them credit for, they were also able to accomplish great feats of heroism.
October 2, 2023
Pretty enjoyable as the author had a kanck for good story telling and he had some exciting experiences to talk about.
December 31, 2024
Interesting personal view written by a medal of honor winner. Amazing feats of bravery.
October 27, 2020
Scarlet Fields is the American doppleganger to the French "The Price of Glory." It is the simply-told tale of an American farm boy who fought a stutter to be accepted into the Army. He won that battle and was sent to France. He had a rather unique experience as he was assigned scouting duties due to his skills in the woods and countryside. He teamed up with a couple of Native Americans in his company and they all helped keep each other alive through some of the brutal fighting that occurred in the short few months the American Army was in action in France.
He was a modest man and tried to do his best in the war. Ultimately, he did pretty well, receiving the Medal of Honor from Black Jack Pershing, himself (who accidentally pinned it right through the skin under his blouse--this was back before it was a neck-hanger, apparently). Barkley got the award months after it was earned. In the closing days of the war, as both armies heaved and tumbled in no mans land in desperate attempts to force a conclusion to the war, Barkley, sent to scout, found himself right in the line with a company of Germans approaching. He grabbed a deserted German machine gun and climbed into a knocked-out French tank--and these were just little things, not much bigger than an over sized pickup truck-- and got to work on the crowd. He gives no estimate of how many he killed that day, and his citation just says "many" but it must have been over a hundred. From his writing, I suspect he was embarrassed and a little ashamed for having sent so many men, even the enemy, to their maker.
He fired that machine gun until it overheated and froze up. Just as he was exiting the tank to make a run for it, he found a can of oil, so broke down the gun, oiled it, poured the rest in the water jacket and went back to work. He was shelled and one explosion flapped the tank tread onto the hull where it hit the protruding machine gun barrel sending the stock crashing into Barkley's chin, knocking him out. He came to, tightened up the now-loose stock, and went back to work. It didn't help that he had mustard gas burns on his head from an earlier battle.
Barkley had a hundred adventures before and after his MoH effort and the book is a wonderful read for a snapshot of life during that struggle.
After the war, Barkley returned home, was touted around America a bit, and settled right back in Missouri, where he spent the rest of his life, dying in 1966.Wonderful tale by a humble, honest man, the kind that fought out two wars for freedom before the turn of the century. John Lewis Barkley, you are remembered. I hope you are in the arms of your Valkyrie, and that Jesse and Floyd and Tom and Mike are all there sharing a fire-roasted chicken and a canteen of brandy. -Mr. Cracraft
He was a modest man and tried to do his best in the war. Ultimately, he did pretty well, receiving the Medal of Honor from Black Jack Pershing, himself (who accidentally pinned it right through the skin under his blouse--this was back before it was a neck-hanger, apparently). Barkley got the award months after it was earned. In the closing days of the war, as both armies heaved and tumbled in no mans land in desperate attempts to force a conclusion to the war, Barkley, sent to scout, found himself right in the line with a company of Germans approaching. He grabbed a deserted German machine gun and climbed into a knocked-out French tank--and these were just little things, not much bigger than an over sized pickup truck-- and got to work on the crowd. He gives no estimate of how many he killed that day, and his citation just says "many" but it must have been over a hundred. From his writing, I suspect he was embarrassed and a little ashamed for having sent so many men, even the enemy, to their maker.
He fired that machine gun until it overheated and froze up. Just as he was exiting the tank to make a run for it, he found a can of oil, so broke down the gun, oiled it, poured the rest in the water jacket and went back to work. He was shelled and one explosion flapped the tank tread onto the hull where it hit the protruding machine gun barrel sending the stock crashing into Barkley's chin, knocking him out. He came to, tightened up the now-loose stock, and went back to work. It didn't help that he had mustard gas burns on his head from an earlier battle.
Barkley had a hundred adventures before and after his MoH effort and the book is a wonderful read for a snapshot of life during that struggle.
After the war, Barkley returned home, was touted around America a bit, and settled right back in Missouri, where he spent the rest of his life, dying in 1966.Wonderful tale by a humble, honest man, the kind that fought out two wars for freedom before the turn of the century. John Lewis Barkley, you are remembered. I hope you are in the arms of your Valkyrie, and that Jesse and Floyd and Tom and Mike are all there sharing a fire-roasted chicken and a canteen of brandy. -Mr. Cracraft
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews