World War I

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This is a poem from my father's memorabilia...Bob Lehnherr

YANKEE PEP
by Walt Mason

The war was old and dreary, it ceased to make a hit;
the struggling hosts were weary of blood and mud and grit;
then came the Yankee fighters (laughed at by German writers
as brash and untrained blighters), to speed things up a bit.
The Kaiser would not credit the tale that Yanks could scrap;
he cooked up bunk and fed it to every German chap;
because we were not willing to spend our lifetime drilling,
we'd be no good at killing, or tearing up the map.

The war was stale and dragging, the armies badly mired;
the generals were sagging, the soldiers sick and tired;
then came the Yankees trooping, a-whistling and kerwhooping,
to spur the spirits drooping, with energy all-fired.
And now, behold the wonder; the tired Allies rose,
and like a streak of thunder went zipping through the foes;
they sent the Bulgar chasing, the Turk they gave a lacing,
and started Fritzie racing until he tore his clothes.

The Yanks are blithe and skittish, in camp or in the trench;
''They're wonders,'' say the British; ''They're heroes.'' say the French
the Allies all are laying the roses where they're staying;
by what the Kaiser's saying possesses sulphur's stench.

Copyright by George Matthew Adams
It was very likely published originally by the Sabetha Herald, Sabetha, Kansas in 1920.

June Lodeen Lehnherr, 1928

This is my father in his WW I Army uniform completed with breeches and wrap leggings.   It was taken in 1928.  Every Memorial Day and Armistice Day in those years he would put on his uniform and pose for a picture in front of a stretched, and hanging Olive Drab wool Army blanket. 

Machine Gun,German Maxim

This is a picture of a German Maxim Machine Gun, that somehow my father obtained after the war.  While still very young I learned how to 'strip' (dis-assemble) the weapon, clean, oil and re-assemble.  It was that background that made it possible for me to enlist in the 110th Ordnance Company, where I was immediately assigned as a specialist in the Small Arms Repair Section.  I then learned how to inspect, repair and maintain all weapons, size 50 calibre and under.  After I left for the Army he gave it to a VFW Post in El Dorado Kansas.

These memories are from Bob Lehnherr.

June Lodeen Lehnherr in World War I | Discharge (Front) | Discharge (Back)
Inspiration on the Battlefront | War in Mexico

Air Force | Army | Navy
Memorials
The Grooms Crew | The Story of Joe Adams
Joe in uniform | Joe in flight suit | Memorial Day Speech | Joe's Plaque
The World at War
World War I | World War II
Robert Lehnherr a.k.a IFMO

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Last updated June 8, 2001