We know Joyce Kilmer (1886 – 1918), was known best for his 1913 poem, “Trees”, but we often forget that he was outraged by the antics of the German Kaiser during the First World War – and when America went to war against Germany in April of 1917, the poet volunteered to fight alongside the men of New York’s famed 69th Regiment. His unit saw a good deal of the fighting and by the war’s end the poet had been promoted to Sergeant, but on July 30, 1918, Kilmer took a German bullet to the head. He was buried not far from where he fell.
This short piece reported of the despoiling of that grave by his fellow Doughboys.
