Milton C. Portmann

Milton Portmann was born October 20, 1888, in Jackson, MN, the second born of three sons of Dr. William C. Portmann and Emma Ball.[4] His father moved to the United States as a 10-year-old from Herbetswil, Switzerland with his parents in 1869.[5] His uncle E.O. Portmann was President McKinley's at home physician and after the president died was the First Lady's physician.[6] His mother Emma Ball was the youngest daughter of American inventor[7] and U.S. Civil War Colonel Ephraim Ball. Portmann had two brothers, a roentgenologist Ursus[8] and Arthur. Portmann married Dorothy Clampitt in 1923. They had three children together. Both sons were World War II veterans.[9][10]

Portmann studied Law and was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He had a role in the 1907 and 1908 OAC Championship title in football and was captain of the Western Reserve Football team in 1909/10.[11] In track, he set two school records in one day at the Big Six Meet in Columbus. Those records in the hammer and discus throws stood unchallenged for several years.[12] He also helped Western Reserve to a pair of victories on the ice versus CIT in 1909 and was selected to the WRU 50-Year Football All-Star Team at offensive tackle.[13] He was inducted in the Case Western Reserve Hall of Fame in 1976.[14]

In 1911 Portmann had his rookie professional season with the Shelby Blues. The team went 9–1 under coach and quarterback George "Peggy" Parratt.[15] The Blues won the Ohio League title.[16] In 1912, both Parratt and Portmann moved to Akron.[17] Going 7–3, Akron was defeated by the Elyria Athletics for the title.[18] In 1913 and 1914, Portmann continued play for Akron under Parratt.[19] They won Ohio League titles in 1913, going 8–1 and 1914 going 8–2.[20]

Portmann played in the Ohio League in 1915 with the Massillon Tigers and in 1916 with the Cleveland Indians. In the 1915 season with Massillon, he started and played three games.[21] In 1916, Parratt joined the Cleveland Indians and recruited players including Portmann to join. He started in five games and played in six.[22] The 1916 Cleveland Indians season was their first season in existence. In the Ohio League, Cleveland posted an 8-3-1 record. Play ended in December 1916. The following year in 1917, Portmann enlisted in the United States National Army.

Milton Portmann and the 1913 Akron Parratt Indians

Milton C. Portmann
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1917–1919
Rank	Major
Unit	89th Infantry Division 177th Infantry Brigade 353rd Infantry Regiment Company E
Commands held	1st Battalion & 2nd Battalion
Battles/wars	World War I St. Mihiel Offensive Meuse-Argonne Offensive Defensive Sector Lucey Sector (Lorraine) Aug 4 – Sept 11 1918[23] Euvezin Sector (Lorraine) Sept 18 – Oct 8 1918[23]
Awards	Silver Star Purple Heart WW1 Victory Medal (3) Battle Clasps Order of Leopold (Belgium)

Portmann enlisted into service on August 27, 1917, at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Lawrence Township, Indiana as a Private in the Officers Reserve Corp of the National Army. He was assigned to Company E of the 353rd Infantry Regiment of the 89th Division AEF. He was stationed at Fort Benjamin Harrison from August 27, 1917, to November 27, 1917. From November 27, 1917, to May 23, 1918, he was assigned to Camp Funston in Fort Riley, Kansas and was promoted to Captain on November 27, 1917.[24] He was stationed in Camp Funston until the 89th Division embarked on its voyage to Europe preparing for war.

Capt. Portmann (Seated) of Co. E with 1Lt Alvin Seith of Co. M of the 353rd Infantry at Camp Funston before deployment. 1LT Seith was KIA September 30, 1918

On June 3, 1918, Portmann and the 89th Division in New York City boarded the SS Karmala. They arrived in Liverpool, England June 17, 1918. On June 25, the 2nd Battalion of the 353rd Infantry arrived in Saint-Blin, France[25] for combat training. Portmann assumed command of the battalion.[26] On August 3, the 2nd Battalion left Saint-Blin to accompany and support the 1st Battalion that had already moved towards the front lines. The path of the 2nd Battalion was Saint-Blin through Liffol-le-Grand, Neufchateau, and Toul. Portmann gathered three other men of the company and patrolled No man's land. They were to take a German soldier back for questioning if possible. All three made it through the barbed-wire to encircle a German sentry without being seen. Portmann used the butt-end of his trench knife to knock out the German. They dragged him back to AEF lines before the raid was known and shooting started.[27] The men of Company E would hold this position until August 22, 1918, when they fell back to Manonville in lieu of the 3rd Battalion.[28]

On September 11, 1918, Portmann crashed through German barbed wire that lined their trench. Using his Army issued field glasses he looked for the MG-08 machine gun that was causing heavy casualties and a machine gun burst fired at him missing his head by a foot. The machine gun bullets had hit rocks beside him fragmenting bits of stone and bullet embedding into his face. Another gun shot went directly through his left hand.[29] "Every officer of the company was either killed or wounded in the first 15 minutes of the fight, but Captain Milton C. Portmann, though painfully wounded continued to lead his men against these guns and put them out of action."[30] Portmann was the only officer left in the fight.[31] Iodine and gauze from medics treated his wounded hand and face.

Path of 353rd Infantry 89th Division World War I by the 89th War Society

During routine command patrol morning of September 17, 1918, an aid to Brigadier general Frank L. Winn, then commander of the 177th Brigade, noticed men of Company E were in plain sight of German aircraft or balloon forces.[32] Portmann, then command officer of E, was court-martialed for this offence.[33] 353rd infantry Col. James H Reeves defended Portmann stating, "The action of the Commanding General causes the deepest humiliation to one of the bravest, ablest, most brilliant officers I have ever known..." He recommended a promotion to a higher grade.[32] Portmann was reinstated on September 18, 1918.[33] For his gallantry in action during the Battle of St. Mihiel, Portmann was cited by Commanding General John J. Pershing on May 27, 1919, for his actions.[34]

On October 21, 1918 in the drive to Argonne, German artillery shelling increased in the Bois de Bantheville where Portmann commanding the 1st Battalion with the 353rd infantry regiment was located.[35] Portmann received artillery shrapnel through his right thigh. Severely wounded, he was evacuated to Regimental base hospital.[36] He spent the next five months in various hospitals.[37] He was moved by ambulance train and arrived in Hyeres Base Hospital #99 by direction of his brother Ursus, where as a United States Army physician was stationed.[38] He was home in May 1919 with an open wound still in his leg.[39]

Portmann took the bar exam in 1911.[40] He and Clayton C. Townes then opened law offices of Townes & Portmann.[3] The firm grew to Townes, Krueger, Portmann, and Belton in 1921.[41] In August 1919 Portmann and five other veterans founded the Army-Navy American Legion Post 54 in Cleveland,.[42] He continued litigation and ran his law firm with his son Richard that was Portmann & Portmann until his death from leukemia on August 14, 1967, at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.