Friday, May 24th, 2019
Postcards from The Great War
Local men treasure ancestor's souvenirs
By Tom Stankard
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
Jim Rentz of Coldwater holds postcards his father, Alfred, sent home while serving during World War I. Alfred Rentz, Chickasaw, served in the Army as part of the B308 Ammunition Train. He sent numerous postcards home while overseas. They have become family heirlooms.
CHICKASAW - Alfred Rentz had gown up on his family farm in Chickasaw never seeing the rest of the world - until he got the call to serve in the Army during World War I.
The 22-year-old was called to fight for his country on April 27, 1918, his grandson Nick Rentz said. Alfred Rentz was stationed in St. Eulalie, France, and was assigned to deliver large ammunition via truck as a member of the so-called B308 Ammunition Train, his son, Jim Rentz, added.
"Blown away by his surroundings," his grandpa enjoyed collecting and sending home numerous postcards containing pictures of the cities, buildings and monuments he came across Nick Rentz said. On the backs, the young soldier wrote messages so he could remember details about what he had seen and share them with others.
"They are his souvenirs," Nick Rentz said. "Postcards were the only photographs since he didn't have a camera. So he sent postcards home to Chickasaw."
While in St. Bernard De. Comminges, he wrote on the back of a card picturing a cathedral that the commune "has been built and destroyed on four different occasions. The population at one time was 60,000, now it's 500."
Traveling back from Luchon one day, he traveled through Pau, a city Rentz referred to as "the most beautiful city I have seen in Europe."
After the Armistice on Nov. 11, 1918, Rentz and two other soldiers stayed with the Laütz family in Heimbach, Germany, for about month, Nick Rentz said. They stayed with the family under a part of the armistice stating families would house American troops.
While in nearby Koblenz farther along the Rhine River, Rentz saw the Kaiser Wilhelm monument.
"Seen this monument on Jan. 4. It is actual life-size, costs, 500,000 marks and is made of copper," he wrote on the postcard. "But it has lost its value as the Kaiser is no more." On another card from the statue, he wrote "the boat in front of the statue is still in use, but now the stars and stripes are flying in the wind."
Rentz wrote he was having a good time in Heimbach, Germany, near the Rhine.
"Plenty of good German beer. May stay here for some time," he wrote.
He was honorably discharged on May 14, 1919, and traveled home aboard the USS Orizaba, which was also used in World War II.
He kept postcards of the ship that show the wheelhouse, officers' mess room and pantry, the troops' mess hall and gallery, operating room, carpentry room and engine room.
The veteran got a job delivering mail after returning home. He served with the postal service for more than 40 years, Jim Rentz said.
Alfred Rentz frequently wrote back and forth with the Laütz family, his grandson said. As the German economy worsened during World War II, the Laützes reached out to the Rentzes asking for help in any way, Jim Rentz said.
The veteran responded by asking the Chickasaw community to help fill boxes of clothing, Jim Rentz said. More than 20 boxes were sent overseas to the family in need. The family wrote back, saying they wanted to return the favor when times got better.
The economy improved, and Alfred Rentz's wife, Frieda, told the Laützes she wanted a cuckoo clock, Jim Rentz said. The clock hung on the wall in their memory, until a young Nick Rentz hung on its strings and broke it, Jim Rentz said.
Nick Rentz said he enjoys looking at the postcards and seeing his family history.
About a year-and-a-half ago, he and his brother, Doug, traced their grandfather's footsteps in Europe.
"It was incredible. It was neat to see. What was crazy was how much the towns looked similar to the cards he sent home," Nick Rentz said.
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
Jim Rentz of Coldwater holds postcards his father, Alfred, sent home while serving during World War I. Alfred Rentz, Chickasaw, served in the Army as part of the B308 Ammunition Train. He sent numerous postcards home while overseas. They have become family heirlooms.
Submitted Photo
Alfred Rentz, Chickasaw, served in the Army as part of the B308 Ammunition Train during World War I. He sent numerous postcards home while overseas. They have become family heirlooms.
Submitted Photo
This is a postcard of the dock in Bordeaux, France, for the USS Orizaba, a transport ship Alfred Rentz took back home.
