Gehard H. Olson, Sole Survivor
Private Gehard H. Olson from Fingal, North Dakota, served in World War I from 1917–1919. He was in Company 132 of an infantry battalion consisting of 1,320 men. Under extraordinary circumstances, he was the only man of the original battalion to survive and return home.
This November 11th, countries around the world will mark 100 years since the end of the First World War. To help commemorate the World War 1 Centennial, I’m sharing the stories of servicemembers from all across North Dakota who often made the ultimate sacrifice to keep their country safe. Read Private Gehard H. Olson’s incredible story below, as shared by his nephew, Wayne Olson.
The story of Private Gehard H. Olson of Fingal, ND, as told by his nephew, Wayne Olson.
My uncle, Private Gehard H. Olson, served in World War I from 1917–1919. He was in Co. 132 of an infantry battalion consisting of 1320 men. This story is being told because of the extraordinary circumstances of his survival, as he was the only man of the original battalion to survive and return to the States.
This story recounts some of his experiences on the battlefields of France. It reinforces the fact that there is no glory in war. These events are an indelible part of my mind, never to be forgotten.
Many times he survived over the top charges while trying to dislodge the enemy forces. If they did not succeed, the survivors would drop and hide among the dead and the shell holes and try to make their way back to their own trenches.
The enemy machine gun fire never touched Gehard as the men around him were killed. As soon as they had time, the men sat at night in the bunkers to sew up the bullet holes in their uniforms. This happened many times and he survived. Standing in the trenches, shoulder to shoulder with his company, men on both sides went down, but he was never hit. Once, he was wounded in the hand when a cannon shell exploded in the trench, killing all those around him. Yet he survived and received the Purple Heart.
My uncle said when they first got to France, the men were laughing and complaining about the heft of their packs and began throwing off useless bits of heavy equipment. Usually, the first thing to go was the gas mask. This carelessness came back to haunt them as one night, 7 miles of allied soldiers were wiped out by a poison gas attack next to Gehard’s position. He had kept his gas mask. The Germans had no idea their gas attack was so effective as it was done late in the evening. The allies had time to close the gap late that night before the enemy realized the devastation their attack caused. Had the enemy realized the effects of their attack and immediately advanced, there could have been a different outcome to the war.
Another time uncle Gehard and six other soldiers were pinned down in an abandoned farmhouse with no food or water and very little ammunition. They believed a sniper was outside and drew straws to see who would run to the well and back with a canteen of water. On day seven, Gehard was looking out the window and thought he saw the glint of a telescope. Gehard and the other remaining soldier trained their rifles on the stumps and emptied their clips. With that, the sniper fell out of the stump. They were all able to get water and survived, but it cost the lives of five men.
It is my belief that for some piece of mind, Uncle Gehard had to reveal to me every so often the real horror of trench warfare in 1917–1919. I also believe this horror of never ending nightmares, years later, were a contributing factor to his early demise.
We are making Gehard’s WWI story public as a tribute and memorial to all the men who fought and died for freedom and liberty of this country.
— Wayne M. Olson
