Norwich ― Former state Troubadour Tom Callinan will have a traveling companion in the car when he drives to Washington, D.C., on Friday to perform at this weekend’s dedication of the new World War I memorial.

But the passenger will not be conversing or sharing driving duties on the long trip. Callinan is bringing a mannequin dressed as his great-uncle, Jeremiah Coleman of Middletown, an American soldier who was killed in action in Chateau Thierry in France in 1918 at age 24.

The mannequin wears an authentic WWI uniform with a patch from Coleman’s division and a helmet decorated with a handpainted illustration of the Statue of Liberty, same as great-uncle Jerry wore in a photo Callinan’s family held dear.

Callinan, a prolific songwriter about all things Connecticut, was invited by The Doughboy Foundation ― a lead sponsor of the World War I Living History Weekend that runs Friday through Sunday ― to perform two sets of WWI-themed songs at the memorial dedication events on Saturday. U.S. infantrymen in WWI were nicknamed doughboys, a term still used today for them.

The National World War I Memorial has been decades in the making. The centerpiece is a 58-foot-long bronze sculpture frieze titled, “A Soldier’s Journey.” From left to right, with 38 different figures, it depicts a soldier leaving his wife and daughter, marching to war, engulfed in battle, with fallen comrades around him and then returning home.

“Great-uncle Jerry”

Callinan has penned songs about Norwich soldiers killed in WWI, one about a captured World War I German artillary cannon Norwich received after the war, one about the famous New Haven war hero dog, Sgt. Stubby, another about Gold Star families, and of course, a song about great uncle Jerry.

His song, “Searching for Great-Uncle Jerry” recounts how Callinan researched his ancestor, obtained Coleman’s 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Division records and even found his draft card online.

Seeing that signature, Callinan said, and wrote in his song, helped bring his great-uncle to life. Coleman was the brother of Callinan’s mother’s aunt, Mary Donahue.

“My mom was very close to her,” Callinan said of his great-aunt Mary. “We would go there all the time, and there was always this picture of Uncle Jerry on the wall. He was always present even though he died in World War I in 1918.”

In the refrain of his song, Callinan sings:

“Great-Uncle Jerry died in Chateau Thierry,

One of millions killed in the war.

He swore to defend our land with his life –

Which he did, at age twenty-four.“

Coleman’s death also made his family a Gold Star family. During wartime, families with loved ones serving in the war hung red banners with blue stars in the center. If their loved one was killed, the blue star was replaced with a gold one.

When Callinan saw that the National Gold Star Mothers Foundation was participating in this weekend’s memorial dedication, he sent the organization’s president the lyrics of his song, “When the Blue Star turns to Gold,” which revisits his family’s connection to the Gold Star tradition after Coleman’s death.

The refrain:

“That's how it was for my Gold-Star family,

Who waited almost three years,

For his mortal remains to sail back home

Through an ocean of tears."

Callinan’s songs honor other Norwich vets

Callinan’s song about William Durr tells how the Norwich soldier, a member of the First Congregational Church at the Norwichtown Green, was blown to bits without a trace. With nobody to return home, the church created a stone memorial on its grounds and planted a memorial tree.

“The spruce tree they planted on Decoration Day, lived for ninety-eight years, before it withered away,” Callinan wrote in his first verse of his song, “William Durr Remembered.”

Paul Alexander’s story was strikingly different than most WWI doughboys. Alexander was wounded and lay recovering in a French hospital, where a French general befriended him. Alexander returned to battle on the last day of the war, Nov. 11, 1918, was badly wounded and thought to have been killed.

The general, Henri Gouraud, sent troops to find Alexander’s body. They instead brought him back alive, Callinan said. Two bullets were removed, but a third was lodged too near his heart. Alexander recovered, returned to Norwich and opened a sandwich shop downtown.

The final verse of Callinan’s song, “It All Happened A Century Ago,” tells how Alexander’s story ended:

“He opened a business, Alexander's Luncheonette,

He was living the dream of a World War I vet.

But forty-years after he'd been shot in the war,

That old bullet shifted – and he died in his car.”

Callinan, 77, marks his 47th year as a full-time musician. In addition to concerts, he does programs for schools, libraries, senior centers, civic and military groups and at events throughout the state and beyond.

He is working on a collection of his songs about Connecticut people who made significant contributes to the American Revolution. Like the WWI songs, the songs often highlight lesser-known individuals and their roles in the big conflicts.

“There’s so many stories out there, and nobody knows about them,” Callinan said. “So, I write songs about them.”

c.bessette@theday.com