Camiel Roose
Corporal, U.S. Army

Camiel Roose was born on 22 June 1895 in Ruddervoorde, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, the son of Edouardus and Maria Eugenia Warmoes Roose. His family immigrated to the United States in 1912 and settled in Michigan.

In 1913, Roose joined the Michigan National Guard. He served with Company D, 125th Infantry Regiment in the Pancho Villa Expedition (officially the Mexican Expedition) at the Mexican Border. This was a military operation conducted by the U.S. Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican revolutionary, Francisco "Pancho" Villa, from 14 March 1916 to 7 February 1917, during the Mexican Revolution.

After the U.S. entered World War I in April 1917, Corporal Roose’s unit became a part of the Army National Guard’s 32nd Infantry Division, which was activated in July 1917 with units from the states of Wisconsin and Michigan. After the completion of training at Camp MacArthur in Waco, TX, the 32nd Division began its deployment to France on 2 January 1918. The Division arrived in France in February and was the sixth U.S. division to join the Allied Expeditionary Force.

During the next six months, the 32nd Division took a leading role in three important offensives (Battle of Marne; Battle of Oise-Aisne; and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive) fighting on five fronts, suffered more than 14,000 casualties, captured more than 2,000 prisoners, and never yielded ground to the enemy.

At 0700 hours on 28 August 1918, the 32nd Division officially relieved the 127th French Infantry Division in the vicinity of Pierrefonds, near Soissons, during the Oise-Aisne Campaign. During the morning, the 32nd readily gained their objective, the railroad track west of the village of Juvigny. The village was destined to be one of the high spots in the history of the “Les Terribles” Division. Later, the 32nd found that the position they had captured was difficult to hold. They were on high, open ground on the slope of a hill facing the enemy. There was little cover, except shell holes, and they were subjected to artillery and machine gun fire from positions that had excellent observation of their front. The exposed position could not be abandoned without endangering the French; as a result, the casualties were high. Shortly after noon, the Germans counter-attacked in an attempt to dislodge the Americans. The Division’s machine gunners held their ground and, aided by their artillery, was able to repel the German counter attack. After that, the Germans continued their harassing artillery and machine gun fire on the troops in the vicinity of the railroad tracks. It was during this battle that Corporal Camiel Roose was killed in action.

Medals and Awards

Purple Heart
World War I Victory Medal

Honors

HON. SANDER M. LEVIN OF MICHIGAN
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, April 5, 1995

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I wish to extend congratulations to the Roose-Vanker Post 286, American Legion as it celebrates 75 years of service to the community with a celebration on April 23, 1995.

Post 286 was organized on April 20, 1920, received its charter 2 months later, and has been in continuous service to the community assisting veterans’ and their families, and helping preserve our American heritage.

The Post is named after two men, Roose and Vanker, who were killed defending our Nation in France during World War I. Like them, most past and present members of the Post are of Belgian descent and reside in the metro-Detroit area. Members of the Post have admirably served our Nation in every conflict from World War I to the Persian Gulf.

I commend the members of the Roose-Vanker Post 286, American Legion, for 75 years of dedication to their fellow members and their community. I congratulate them on this joyous occasion with best wishes for continued success.

Burial

Corporal Camiel Roose is buried at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial in Fere-en-Tardenois, Departement de l'Aisne, Picardie, France, in Plot D, Row 17, Grave 32.

[Much of the information in this biography was provided by a distant cousin of Corporal Roose; Charlene Doan, and her 98-year old mother, Rosalie DeWaele Bernier.]