Kent Moody Military

Here are several news articles and photos about the military and social life of Kent Moody, 2nd generation in my family to be born in Oregon City, Oregon. The articles first appeared in the Oregon City Enterprise newspaper and the date appears if known.

Oregon City Enterprise 1917

CHEERING CROWDS SEE THIRD OREGON DEPART FOR SOUTH

A large crowd of people gathered at Southern Pacific depot this afternoon to say farewell to the Third Oregon regiment. Many boxes containing good things were presented to the soldiers on the first train, and as it was the desire of the patriotic people of the city to remember each one, it was necessary for many to get busy after the departure of the first section and prepare luncheons for the second section.
Fruit, lunches, tobacco and cigarettes and other articles that boys desired were presented. Many of the boxes contained spring chicken. Watermelons and boxes of peaches were presented to the soldiers.
The first section arrived here about 12:30 o'clock and remained for about 20 minutes. The regimental band accompanied this section, and played at the depot previous to the boys continuing their journey south.
(continued next column)

All men on board the train were in the best of spirits, and noticeable among these were young men about 20 or 21 years of age, who were in theri glory with the hopes of seeing active service. Chaplain Gilbert saluted the people as the train moved out and caused much amusement especiall among the women as he threw a farewell kiss. He was cheered, and many were heard to say "Goodbye, Bill, " this being for Captain W. R. Logus, of this city; or "Goodbye, Chaplain Gilbert," and then again, "Kent, goodbye"; Kent, being the son of Sheriff and Mrs. W. J. Wilson, who is with the hospital corps. On the second section was another Oregon City boy, this being Kent Moody, only child of Mrs. H. S. Moody. Kent was one of the most popular men on the train and he was well remembered. Many of their boxes contained pies, and as the boy's eyes caught sight of these, they exclaimed "Why, these are the kind that mother makes, aren't they?"
This leaves Camp Withycombe deserted. Many of the boys have been stationed at Camp Withycombe for some time, and have made many friends in Clackamas and it this city, and their departure on Monday caused hundreds of people in this city much re-

(the rest of this article is missing)

December 24, 1918

OUR DAILY SOLDIER LETTER

The following letter was received recently by C. G. Miller, of this city, from Kent L. Moody, with the A. M. E. Forces, France:
Junglinster, Luxembourg
"Dear Mr. Miller:
I suppose you have heard of the opportunity the boys have over here about writing letters to their fathers and say almost anything they want to. So my opportunity will be to you. To start off with we are on our way to the Rhine and at present resting in the town, as mentioned above, which is about eight miles from Germany. In a few days we expect to be in some large city of Germany. When the notes were signed to cease firing we were in the town of Dun-sur-Muese, France. It was in the Verdun sector, which was about the most interesting place we were in. This is the place where the most terrible fights of the war existed. The ground for miles and miles was nothing but shell holes and it looked like a body of brown water with rolling waves. The towns that lay around the vicintiy of Verdun were shelled so much that the only way you could tell a town was there, is by a sign stuck on some post, for the direction of traffic.
The city of Verdan itself was not damaged very much, that is in accordance with what it has gone through during the war.
continued next column

It was a city almost impossible to capture. It is situated on a big hill surrounded by large brick walls and undermined all over. There is from six to eight floors underneath the ground and it can accommodate thousands of soldiers as well as trains running in and out. A few miles to the left of Verdun is the Argonne Woods, which the Americans had such a hard time in pushing the Germans out of. It covers an area of about 5x15 miles around and is full of thick brush. These woods were occupied by the Germans for the past four years and they made it a good place for resistance. They built strong dugouts, good machine-gun nests and artillery positions. The way they cleaned them out, was mostly with aeroplanes dropping bombs on them. At one time there were 350 American aeroplanes went over in a bunch to drop bombs in these woods.
Then we were at Chateau-Thierry and Soissons. There was also some hard fighting there, especially Chateau-Thierry on the Marne river.
At present we are very busy on our move toward Germany and now that we have a chance to write what we want, I will explain things further some other time.
Wishing a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to yourself and family and all the boys, I remain,

Sincerely yours,
KENT L. MOODY, Hdgrs. Troop, 3rd Corps, A.P.O. 754, American E. F.

News From One
of Our Boys

Mrs H. S. Moody received a telegram from her son, Sergeant Kent Moody, Sunday saying he arrived at New York from overseas. Sergeant Moody is one of the popular boys leaving the United States for France two and one-half years ago. He has been with the Army of Occupation and was one of the first Oregon boys to arrive in Germany when the armistice was signed. Kent's many friends are anxiously awaiting his arrival to give him a most cordial welcome.

KENT MOODY IS ADVANCED TO A SERGEANT'S RANK

Kent Moody, of this city, formerly corporal of company G, has just been promoted to the rank of sergeart of the mounted scouts, and will take charge of the mounted scouts of the 3rd Oregon regiment.

Oregon City Boy Returns

Mrs. Sophia Moody of Oregon City has received word of the safe arrival of her son, Sergeant Kent L. Moody, in New York, after being with the army of occupation. Sergeant Moody went overseas with the 3rd Oregon in December, 1917, and was in action at the front for several months before the armistice. He left Henweid, Germany, May 9. He is a nephew of Major William R. Logus of Oregon City.

Hunting trips with his father Harry Smith Moody	Kent, on right, and fellow soldiers ready for duty in 1917	Kent Moody and his two children, Harry Moody & Ginger Moody (my Mom) at their home on Center Street in Oregon City, OR about 1929
Kent Moody and friends as teenagers in Oregon City around 1915	My grandfather joins his schoolmates in mock Tom Thumb ceremony in early 1900s. He's in the back row second in from the right.	Oregon City Automobile & Bike Shop Kent Moody as a teenager behind counter 1910
Kent Moody as a child near Singer Hill and the OC railroad tracks below.		Ready to serve his country in WWI
Kent Moody, Salesman Miller Dodge downtown Oregon City abt. 1920 See the "New Oldsmobile Eight Pacemaker" Young Kent escorts princess in Oregon City parade	Kent Moody and his Dad, Harry S. Moody	Toddler Kent with his Mother Sophia Logus Moody about 1899.
Kent Moody and his classmates at Barclay School in Oregon City about 1903	Kent Logus Moody and Rose Uptegrove Moody (my Grandparents)	Kent and his classmates with Barclay School in the inset about 1902

It's hard to realize that Kent Moody is dead. News of his passing Last Saturday came as a shock to his many Oregon City friends- his old pals at the Elks Club and his business and professional acquaintances. That this fun-loving individual should die at middle-age was almost unbelievable.

Saddened more than the rest were "Cap'n Moody's boys" -- the 120 men who left Oregon City in 1940 to enter federal service with the national guard, ultimately to fight in World War II.

Kent Logus Moody was a retired army major when untimely death took him last weekend at the age of 54. But to his "boys," including the writer, he was "Cap'n Moody." We still found it difficult, after he won a hard-earned major's leaf, to pin his new title on him. For we had known him best when he did his best work-- as an infantry company commander in the Oregon national guard.

To say that an army officer is a builder of youth, a moulder of good citizenship, smacks a little of recruiting poster propaganda to the professional soldier and to nearly everyone else. But however trite the expression, Kent Moody was that kind of man.

He never thought of himself as a battler against juvenile delinquency. He would have exploded, with that familiar parade ground bellow he used (with a twinkle in his eye) when he dressed down an erring soldier, had only one of us ever called him a "social worker." He wasn't a youth leader in the usual sense of the expression, but Oregon City owed him something for his work with teen-agers of the middle 30s--an accomplishment he himself probably never fully comprehended.

Kent Moody wasn't a Boy Scout leader, he was a soldier. But soldiering to him wasn't just a job of teaching men to kill an enemy. The traditions of the honorable, pre-Hitlerian man of arms were graven deep within him. The army was not his profession but it was one of his greatest loves; he had the military acumen of the better professional soldier tempered by the independence and individuality of the citizen-soldier. He was a true patriot.

Once, as we toasted our old company at the climax of one of the unit's annual reunions, Kent Moody turned to two of us and with just a glimmer of a tear in each eye, said: "They are all my boys. I feel like the proudest father in the whole damn' world."

Cap'n Moody shepherded most of the young men at that reunion through many of their teen-age problems. He co-signed notes for them when they ran short of funds or he lent them money out of his pocket; he even bailed some of them out of jail when they found themselves in the law's hands after a rougher-than-usual juvenile escapade.

When we finally became part of the active army his job of "building" continued, but on a different level. He kept after delinquent letter writers, urging them to write the folks at home; he still retained his active interest in their personal problems. But, greatest of all, he built them into a first-class fighting unit-- an accomplishment which probably saved the lives of some of these young men who later went into combat with the enemy.

Now, Kent Moody is gone. But testimonials to his ability as a leader and builder of men live on. Look over Company D's old roster, check off the names and see what the men who wear them are doing, what are their accomplishments. A good many of us are better citizens as a result of this man's efforts. He helped buld a fighting unit which contributed its measure to the successful prosecuton of World War II. And he did his bit toward building America's Youth.