Individual Details

Alt name

This is the name on his military records

Birth

Birth record shows the wrong year. He appears on the 1900 census and his age is shown to be 4/12.
So the 1903 DOB can not be correct.

Draft Registration

Based upon newspaper article - 3-AUG-1918

Military

World War I
Near Mézy, France, July 1918. Here the German Army made its last great attack of World War I. It struck in the Marne River area along the road to Paris, and the weight of the blow fell on the 38th U.S. Infantry Regiment under the command of MG Ulysses G. McAlexander, of the 3rd Division. This was their first fight. Firing in three directions, blasted by artillery fire, taking all flesh and blood could stand, the regiments held on doggedly and threw the enemy back across the Marne. This defense checked the Germans' assault and made an Allied offensive possible.

The 3rd Division was activated in November 1917 during World War I at Camp Greene, North Carolina. Eight months later, it saw combat for the first time in France. At midnight on 14 July 1918, the division earned lasting distinction. Engaged in the Aisne-Marne Offensive as a member of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) to Europe, the division was protecting Paris with a position on the banks of the Marne River. The 7th Machine Gun Battalion of the 3rd Division rushed to Château-Thierry amid retreating French troops and held the Germans back at the Marne River. While surrounding units retreated, the 3rd Infantry Division, including the 4th, 30th and 38th Infantry Regiments, remained steadfast throughout the Second Battle of the Marne, and COL Ulysses G. McAlexander's dogged defense earned the Division its nickname as the "Rock of the Marne".[3] The rest of the division was absorbed under French command until brought back together under the command of General Joseph T. Dickman and by 15 July 1918 they took the brunt of what was to be the last German offensive of the war. General of the Armies John "Black Jack" Pershing, who commanded the entire American Expeditionary Force, called this stand "one of the most brilliant pages in the annals of military history".

Burial

CLANDERS, Micheal John, New Orleans.
Is: John Michel CLANDERS
Note
Michael J. Clanders
Sergeant, U.S. Army
4th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division
Entered the Service from: Louisiana
Died: July 15, 1918
Buried at: Plot A Row 06 Grave 46
Aisne-Marne American Cemetery
Belleau, France
Source: ABMC - Search the World War I database

Internet Archive

See Page 419

Zooniverse American WWI Burial Cards Project

Remember they spelled the name Clanders, not Calanders