Fort George G. Meade: The First 100 Years

Restoring History: The 314 th Cabin
WORLD WAR I YEARS
53
My grandfather, John Blazosky, was a coal miner and
farmer in the mountains of Pennsylvania when the United
States entered WWI. He joined the Army and was trained
at Camp Meade to be a soldier, and was assigned to the
314 th Infantry Regiment, 79 th Division.
Camp Meade was a great flurry of training and building
during that time. The boys and men of the 314 th were an
industrious group, and in addition to their regular duties,
they built a log cabin near their regimental headquarters to
serve as an officer’s club and day room. It was constructed
from trees that they cut down and from salvaged material
such as spikes forged from old horseshoes and chandeliers
fabricated from wagon wheels.
The 314th shipped out to France on July 6, 1918. The
regiment suffered heavy losses in the Meuse-Argonne
Offensive. According to regimental records, when firing
ceased, it was found that the 314th Infantry had made the
farthest advance east of the Meuse River of the American
Army.
My grandfather was wounded twice during that time.
The surviving soldiers set sail for home on May 15,
1919, aboard the Princess Matoika. During their 11 day
journey they crafted a plan to keep their battle-worn family
together, forming The Veterans of the 314th Association,
electing officers and developing their new organizational
structure.
They arrived in Hoboken, New Jersey, on May 26, 1919,
where their regimental commander, Col. Oury, said the
following about his men: “These boys don’t know how to
retreat. They never even made a strategic retreat. When
they went at a thing they just kept everlastingly hammering
until they got it.”
The Veterans of the 314 th met throughout each year
by regions in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New England;
meeting annually as a large group for a memorial service
to honor their fallen. These family times were important
to the men of the 314 th ; my grandfather attended several
of the memorial services.
In 1922 the president of The Veterans of the 314 th
sent a unit directory out to all the veterans. The mailing
included the following update:
By Nancy Schaff
"And DO YOU KNOW that we are planning to
move from Camp Meade, our log cabin and to have
it set up at Valley Forge, as a shrine and a great
memorial to those of the dear old 314 th Infantry who
can never join us again.
It is our wish that the sending of all these letters
and directories and histories and the taking down
and putting up of the cabin etc. could be done for
nothing but as you know that cannot be done. It
takes something they call money to accomplish these
things. That is why we have to ask you to pay 2 cents
a week or one dollar a year so that we can keep the
ball rolling. Think these things over and get in line
with us. DON’T PUT IT OFF.
And above everything else do not forget that a
man’s success in life does not depend on the pile of
cash he can accumulate but on the friendships that
he has made and the ones that he keeps and when
you think about that the closest ones that you have
ever had or ever will have are the men who were up
against it with you in the good old 314th Infantry.
They were real friends. Are you with them or will
you let them pass and forget?
Most cordially yours, R.V. Nicholson, President"
Although President Nicholson was requesting $1 a year, I
was told that my grandfather donated $.50 a year as that
was the most that he could afford.
The veterans of the 314 th were able to purchase the
cabin from the War Surplus Department for $50. They
deconstructed it, transported, and rebuilt it on the
grounds of the Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley
Forge Park. The men provided all of the labor, and it was
indeed a labor of love driven by duty, honor, and family.
They dedicated the cabin on Sept. 30, 1922, the
anniversary of when they went "over the top" during the
Meuse-Argonne Offensive. They had many dignitaries at
the dedication service, but of particular note was the first
National Commander of the American Legion, Franklin
D’Olier, who accepted the Log Cabin Memorial "In the
Name of the American people".
The veterans maintained the cabin, displaying hundreds
of their personal artifacts, and kept it open on weekends