332nd Infantry Regiment Photo Group

Corp. Harry C. Ventling - C Company, 332nd Infantry Regiment

Original WWI grouping named to Harry C. Ventling, a soldier of Company C, 332nd Infantry, AEF which was part of the 83rd Infantry Division during World War One. The soldier was also an amateur photographer so the photos in this group are of high quality. The grouping includes a Yard long photo of the 332nd Camp in the Blizzard of November 23, 1917 at Camp Perry, Six photos of 332nd soldiers including some real photo postcards of Soldiers in the 332nd with writing on the backs, two pins from the 11th Annual reunion in Toledo, Ohio with 332nd Lion insignia and two paper labels with the 332nd Lion insignia.

The history of the 332nd Infantry commenced with its organization on 30 August 1917 at Camp Sherman, Ohio, and assignment to the 83rd Division. The regiment was comprised of large numbers of men from Ohio, including many from Cleveland, Akron, and Youngstown. Those assigned to the regiment came from a variety of socioeconomic and ethnic groups, leading one soldier to claim that the regiment resembled a “polyglot boarding house.”

After initial training and drill at Camp Sherman, the 332nd moved by train on 18 November to Camp Perry, Ohio, for rifle training. Located near Toledo along Lake Erie, Camp Perry proved to be a miserable experience. Upon arrival, the soldiers were greeted by a cold rain, which later turned into wet snow. The camp turned into a sea of mud, and the tents sheltering the troops offered little protection from the elements. As a result, many men fell ill, and a suspected case of smallpox forced the vaccination of the entire regiment. When the 332nd began departing Camp Perry for Camp Sherman on 11 December, the camp was struck by a furious blizzard, further adding to the soldiers’ misery.