Edmond Littlefield and World War I, 1917-1919
Ted and Stretcher
Edmond “Ted” Littlefield was born in Ogden in 1887 and married Marguerite Wattis in 1911. Their son, Edmund Wattis Littlefield was only three years old when Ted decided to fight in World War I. On September 20, 1917, Ted left Ogden bound for New York and France. Only a few days after arriving in Le Havre, France, he went straight to the war front as an ambulance driver for the French Army.
In April 1918, Littlefield received the Croix de Guerre for rapid evacuations under fire. He assisted even the most forward lines and showed courage and endurance. He was the first Ogden citizen to receive this high honor, and would receive it two more times before his service ended. A month later he was bombed out of bed when Germans attacked the French camp. His bunkmate would have been killed had he not been away on leave. Littlefield quickly grabbed what he could then sought shelter until the bombing stopped. He then went out to help the wounded.
Littlefield was promoted to sergeant and no longer drove an ambulance. He served until the end of the war and joined other troops marching through France in victory after the Armistice. He returned to Ogden in 1919 with his brothers Theron and Jack who had also served in the war.
Croix de Guerre Ceremony
Ted and Ambulances
