Charles "Charlie" Knobloch of Monroe City was one of more than 2 million American soldiers to serve in France during the Great War. As part of the the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), Charlie trained at Camp Greene, North Carolina. He sailed to Europe as a Private in the 47th Infantry Regiment, and came back as a Private F.A. in Battery D of the 16th Field Artillery.

Below are several artifacts of his journey as well as a diary, in his own hand, of his movements in France and Germany. His story is typical of the doughboys. A farm boy from Southern Illinois, he first saw the New York City skyline from the deck of a troopship bound for France. He marched across France to each of the legendary AEF battlefields on the Western Front: Chateau-Thierry where he fired his first shot on 7 August 1918; Saint Mihiel; Belleau Wood; and ultimately to the Meuse-Argonne Front where he served until the Armistice was rung. After The Armistice, Charlie served nearly 8 months in Occupied Germany before returning home.

I knew Charlie well. He and wife Mary lived a simple, peaceful life in Monroe City. They maintained one of the best gardens around, and grew nearly all their food. Charlie owned a car, but it seldom came out of the shed.

But I never knew Charlie's story. After his death, I found his diary from the Great War. On this 100th anniversary of the end of the War, we pieced together these few artifacts to add a bit of color around his sparse diary entries.