The AEF ID Card of Capt. David R. Kerr, Personal Aide to 2nd “Indianhead” Division Commander General Omar Bundy

This is a small group of ephemera belonging to David Renwick Kerr, a Canadian-born American officer who served as Aide to 2nd Division Major General Omar Bundy from September 1917 to June 1918, and then again from September 1918 to December 1918, and yet again after the war at Fort Crook. Bundy was commander of the 2nd “Indianhead” Division from November 1917 to July 1918, commanding the division at the Battle of Belleau Wood. Kerr originally arrived overseas on June 14th, 1917 as a 1st Lieutenant with the 18th infantry regiment, 1st Division before being commissioned a Temporary Captain on August 5th, 1917, and in September he was chosen as Major General Bundy’s Aide.

This Official AEF Signal Corps photograph shows Major General Bundy with his staff at Shaumont-on-Voxin, France on May 28th, 1918. Bundy stands in the center of the bottom row, and Kerr stands to his right in the back row.

The items include Kerr’s original 2nd Division HQ stamped AEF ID Card. The ID card is missing his photograph, if it was ever attached to begin with. This is an extremely early ID card, numbered 15. These would have been issued in blocks and numbered as each officer of the division were issued them, making 15 significantly early. It lists him as a 1st Lieutenant, meaning it was filled out before September 28th, 1917, when he was promoted to Captain. Almost certainly one he carried throughout the war.

The second item is a pass dated April 20th, 1918, denoting that Kerr “has permission to pass all points within the divisional area, at all times, on official business. By command of Major General Bundy”. This is especially significant as Kerr would have been running errands across the division’s headquarters at the bequest of Bundy.

The final item is Kerr’s 1942-dated driver’s license from his time serving as Military Attaché to the United States Embassy, Dominican Republic from 1941 to 1943. He served in several interesting roles during the WWII period.

This newspaper article from 1920 shows the staff of Fort Crook, with Major General Bundy standing front and center. To the right of Bundy is none other than David Kerr, who remained his Aide into the post-war period.

As the Germans advanced before the Belleau Wood fight, the French commander under whom Bundy was serving ordered the 2nd Division to retreat with their French counterparts. Bundy refused and instead launched a successful counterattack. In July, following a negative assessment of his performance by Inspector General of the AEF Andre W. Brewster, Bundy was taken out of his combat role and assigned to command of the newly created VI Corps.

Interestingly, Kerr first arrived overseas on June 14th, 1917 as a Lieutenant with the 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division. He had been appointed a Lieutenant on November 30th, 1916, then serving with the 37th Infantry before being transferred to the 1st Division. While overseas, his influence spread and in September 1917, he was promoted to Captain and chosen by Major General Omar Bundy to be his personal aide. Kerr would serve in this position until Bundy was transferred in late June 1918. Kerr would then spend the next 2 months at the AEF Staff College. He then took on the role of Bundy’s aide once more in September 1918. He remained here until December 1918 when he was transferred to the 7th Infantry, 3rd Division. He returned from France on November 5th, 1918, being discharged in 1920.

According to his obituary, at the end of the war, Kerr was honored by the French government with membership in the Corps de Chassaurs, assigned to the French mountain troops. He was also gassed while overseas, according to another article.

Kerr was born on November 29th, 1892, in Rockway Valley, Laurentides Region, Québec, Canada. Kerr graduated from Columbia University in 1914. Kerr was first appointed a 2nd Lieutenant on November 30th, 1916, and was serving as a 1st Lieutenant on April 6th, 1917. After the First World War, Kerr remained in the army, and would eventually reach the rank of Colonel on April 18th, 1944. From 1941 to 1943, he was Military Attache to the United States Embassy, Dominican Republic, which is why one of the items here is his DR driver’s license. In 1944, he taught at the French infantry school at Fontainebleau, serving as Chief of Tactics, Ground Force Training Center, European Theater of Operations. He had many other duty assignments and concluded his career at the Pentagon by retiring in 1951. He passed away on December 16th, 1992, 18 days after his 100th birthday. He is buried at Arlington.

Kerr’s service has otherwise gone unnoticed by history, and I am honored to be able to share his story.

Michael R. Santoro is a historic researcher & antiquarian of the First World War. After finishing his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Architecture & Historic Preservation at the University at Buffalo, New York, he spent a year developing a museum in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and another year freelancing research in order to preserve the stories of soldiers long forgotten. He now works full time at International Military Antiques in Gillette, New Jersey as a Historical Research Specialist & Authenticator, preserving countless items & stories across all nations and eras.

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