91HUB

From Alabama's Own in France by William H. Amerine

"Cook Leach, of Selma, who was a member of Company K, had a large audience around him as he told of his experiences. He paid the highest tribute to Capt Mortimer Jordan, who was killed in action. He said that Capt Jordan did not stay back and order his men over, but he was always to be found in the front line, and his command was always 'Let's Go'." p. 299

"As showing the ever-present consideration Captain Mortimer H. Jordan, K Company, from Birmingham, Ala., had for others, which endeared him to all who knew him, the following story is told of the wounding which later caused his death: Captain Jordan was making his way up a wooded strip along a tributary of the Ourcq River in the Chateau-Thierry drive, July 29, 1918, to see Lieutenant-Colonel Walter E. Bare. The Huns were shelling the area. One shell landed near the captain and he was knocked down. At first Captain Jordan thought he was only shell-shocked. 'Don't trouble about me,' he said, 'look after those wounded men out there.' Finally he consented to be removed, and on August 2nd died in the field hospital from the effects of a serious wound." p. 313-314

Amerine, William H. Alabama's Own in France. Eaton & Gettinger, 1919. . 

From Send The Alabamians: World War I Fighters in the Rainbow Division by Nimrod T. Frazer

The Rainbow Division was one of four American combat units in France through the winter of 1917-1918, which were essential to the war effort. In a letter to his brother before leaving for France, Captain Jordan wrote of the 167th, "Our division is in the peak of condition and the morale is very high. Our regiment is the most feared and respected here..." p. 44

"...the Rainbow was the first American unit to receive training in the Chaumont region, and they were the first Americans that many local people had ever seen." p.48

"Most of the men on the 167th had been together for a long time, and they had been tested - and unified - by the epic march a month after their arrival in France. A bond of mutual confidence and understanding existed between officers and the men and from the men to each other. The friendships between some of the Alabama men further substantiated such confidence.The 167th also exhibited a substantial amount of satisfaction in its identity as a volunteer unit belonging to the first National Guard division to see combat in the war." p. 68

"The Alabamians themselves remained pleased, as evidenced by Jordan's description of events in a letter to his wife: 'We have met the Boche and found we can whip him any day. He is a good mass fighter, but is no match for our men in the hand to hand affair. What pleases me most is our men have shown the most calm and desperate courage, lying unmoved under continuous shell fire.... The French are loud in their praise.' Interestingly, in focusing on the accomplishments of his men, Jordan modestly refrained from reporting his own heroics. Other accounts reveal that he left his bunker and rushed to the aid of a private wounded by shell fire. After administering first aid, Jordan carried the private through bombardment for 150 yards to safety. Jordan was decorated with a Distinguished Service Cross for this action." p. 102-103

Frazer, Nimrod T. Send the Alabamians: World War I Fighters in the Rainbow Division. , 2014.