It would continue with the young officer in a Marine Corps uniform. Erskine’s career as a Marine was young, despite being seriously wounded in the greatest war the world had ever known until that point. As one team of Marines carried the remains of the Unknown Soldier, the rest saluted and fired off a volley of salute. When the Olympia arrived in Washington, the Marines had enough time to polish their shoes and their brass before carrying the casket to the U.S. As Marines were swept across the deck, tying themselves to the rails, and watching their boots swept overboard, they never left their watch. It killed eight people and caused $10 million in damage (more than $165 million in today’s numbers). It wasn’t just any storm, however, it was one of the largest hurricanes to ever hit the continental United States. With the coffin lashed to the deck of the ship Erskine had his Marines stand four-hour watches. Shortly after the Great War ended, Erskine, then a captain, had the honor of leading the Marines escorting the Unknown Soldier home. Pershing himself cited Erskine’s Silver Star medal. There, he was so wounded that he had to be sent back to the U.S. When World War I broke out, he joined the Marine Corps and sailed for France with the 6th Marine Regiment.Īs a Marine in the American Expeditionary Force, he fought at the Battle of Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood, and the St. Erskine cut his teeth in combat on the American border with Mexico, fighting bandits and rebels who were raiding American towns as a soldier in the Louisiana National Guard. Graves Erskine, not knowing the dangers of the trip ahead, would come face-to-face with that difficulty. By the time he’d boarded the Olympia with his Marines, the ship had already seen combat as Commodore George Dewey’s flagship in the Battle of Manila Bay, patrolled the American East Coast during World War I, and ferried American troops to Russia during the Polar Bear Expedition.Ĭarrying the Great War’s unknown soldier home for the last time would be the Olympia’s crowning achievement, but it wouldn’t be easy. By the end of his time in the Marine Corps, his career would be almost as storied as the USS Olympia. The ship and its Marine detachment were escorting the Unknown Soldier of World War I from Le Havre on a trip that was as trying and difficult as anything Capt. Erskine was as salty as they came by then, and had a lot more years left in him. Aboard the storied ship were 39 United States Marines. 9, 1921, the steamer USS Olympia sailed into Washington Navy Yard.
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