Top of page

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
  • Unit of Service: Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
  • Location of Service: Section #1, Paris, France
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant

View full service history

"We had passed unnoticed all through France, the French being inured to war…but here [Riviere] the whole town had turned out to meet us with flags and flowers." From Bayon's memoir, "A Thrilling Adventure", pg.3

After the fighting in World War I ended, Edward Bayon, formerly a staff sergeant with the Army, married a French girl and decided to stay in France when he signed on with the American Graves Registration service. In April 1923, he was charged with taking a barge laden with the caskets of 952 American soldiers through the canals of France, Holland and Belgium, on their way back home. Bayon recorded his memory of this singular event in the one document in his collection. He was not prepared for the remarkable reception that the Belgians provided him on his mission.

View Enlarged Image
[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

View 6 images in sequence.
[ A Thrilling Adventure ]
Transcript: XML

About this Item

Title

  • Edward J. Bayon Collection

Names

  • Bayon, Edward J.
  • Hughes, Marianne
  • Daughters of the American Revolution, National Society
  • Bayon-Hauser, Grace

Headings

  • -  Bayon, Edward J.
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army Air Forces/Corps.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1914-1918

    • Location of Service: Section #1, Paris, France
    • Dates of Service: 1917-1945
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: Bayon also notes the American Graves Registration Services as activity.

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
    • Unit of Service: Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Memoirs [2 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of Photographic Print [1 item] -- Photograph (collected 1943)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/5816

Cite as

  • Edward J. Bayon Collection (AFC/2001/001/5816), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Bayon, Edward J, Marianne Hughes, National Society Daughters Of The American Revolution, and Grace Bayon-Hauser. Edward J. Bayon Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.05816/.

APA citation style:

Bayon, E. J., Hughes, M., Daughters Of The American Revolution, N. S. & Bayon-Hauser, G. (1917) Edward J. Bayon Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.05816/.

MLA citation style:

Bayon, Edward J, et al. Edward J. Bayon Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.05816/>.