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Homer J. Henney Photographs 1917-1918

CP SPC 15

Biographical Note

Homer Jay Henney was born to Eddy Forest and Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Denton) Henney in Horton, Kansas on October 22, 1896. He was one of eight children, including Helene Angela (1887-1970), Harrison Morton (1888-1889), Forest Jesse (1890-1979), Frank LeRoy (1891-1938), Esther Matilda (Henney) Rousey (1893-1968), Harold William (1898-1979), and Florence Anna (Henney) Carter (1901-1991).

Homer Henney enlisted in the Kansas National Guard on March 24, 1914 and was assigned to Company B of the 1st Kansas Infantry stationed at Horton. He was honorably discharged on August 4, 1917 in order to be assigned to federal service. The 1st Kansas Infantry arrived in Fort Sill, Oklahoma and was consolidated with the 2nd Kansas Infantry to form the 137th Infantry of the 35th Division on October 1, 1917. The 137th arrived in Le Havre, France on May 9, 1918 and was assigned to join British units near the Somme. They were stationed at Hadol (June 1918), Oderen (June 1918) and La Bresses and Gornimont (July 1918) before being assigned to the front at Le Collet in August of 1917. They were relieved by the 6th Division on September 4, 1918 and served as reserve troops for the St. Mihiel offensive before travelling through Nancy to take part in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, which began on September 26th. The 35th Division was relieved by the 1st Division on October 1 and travelled to Camp Bouee in the Somme-Dieue sector to relieve French troops on October 14. The 35th left Camp Bouee on November 6 and was returning to the Meuse area when the armistice was declared on November 11, 1918. Homer Henney was promoted twice during the war, first to 2nd Lieutenant on April 1, 1918 and then to 1st Lieutenant on October 25, 1918.

After the war ended, Henney remained in France, where he studied at University of Montpellier. He returned to the United States in June of 1919 and was honorably discharged in August of the same year. Henney continued his education at the Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, where he earned his B.A. in 1921. He later earned an M.A. in Agriculture, taught Agricultural Economics at the Kansas State Agricultural College, and served as Dean of the Division of Agriculture and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at the Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Colorado State University) in Fort Collins. During World War II, Henney served as the Deputy Director of Agriculture in Berlin and was among the first people to enter the bunker where Hitler committed suicide in 1945. While in the bunker, Henney discovered and removed a copy of Die Sagan: Das Leben der Herzogin Wilhelmine von Sagan Prinzessin von Kurland by Clemens Brühl from under Hitler's bunk.

Henney moved to Arizona in 1960, where he served as an economist statistician for the State. Henney died in Phoenix on January 24, 1979 and was survived by his wife, Grayce Helen (Cole) Henney (1900-1987), and his son, Edward N. Henney (1925-).

Scope and Content Note

This collection includes 33 photographs documenting World War I in France during approximately 1917-1918. Among the scenes depicted are American and French artillery units, soldiers wiring trenches, cemeteries, and the results of shelling. These images appear to be part of a commercially produced and distributed set, not original photographs taken by Henney.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.

Related Material

Interested researchers may also wish to consult MSS 47: Homer J. Henney Papers (guide available at http://www.azarchivesonline.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/asu/henney.xml.

Henney's dog tags and rank insignia were transferred to the Artifacts collection.

Access Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Homer J. Henney Photographs, CP SPC 15, Arizona State University Library.

Provenance

Homer J. Henney donated these photographs to the Arizona Collection (Accession #1977-00035).

Other Finding Aids

All of the images described in this finding aid have been indexed in the Special Materials Index and can be searched using the interface at http://spmi.lib.asu.edu/.

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