Soldier of the Argonne - Preface

I had been researching a large amount of diverse information for a number of years which would eventually be brought together as the Life and Times of Julius Holthaus. One day I needed a break from the tedium of making a living, so I switched to a project that I came to enjoy…researching the long forgotten fragments of Julius’ life. As my research progressed, there had been a nagging question, as to just where and when Julius met his fate. Of course the exact spot where he was killed still existed somewhere in the Argonne Forest…as did the cartridge case and the 8 mm projectile that brought his life to a premature end. Once again I went through Julius’ disinterment records looking for some clue which I may have overlooked. On the Grave Location Blank which listed all of the specifics regarding the recovery of Julius’ body from the battle field, I found a set of grid coordinates; E295.2 / N 272.8. On a hunch I unrolled a copy of a French map of the Argonne region which was used by the AEF in WWI. I took the first three sets of digits from the grid coordinates and moved my fingers along the map to the right; then I took the last set of digits and moved up the map. Where these two points met crossed was the spot where they had recovered Julius’ body. I now knew where he had fallen in this shell pocked forest!