About Herbert W. McBride

Born in Waterloo, Indiana to Robert W and Ida S. Chamberlain McBride, Herbert had a long family tradition of military service. His grandfather was killed in the Mexican War, and his father served the Union cavalry during the Civil War. Herbert McBride’s memoir "A Rifleman Went to War" is considered one of the best first-person accounts of World War I. McBride’s life was a mixture of honor and valor interspersed with personal failings. He noted in his book that by the end of 1916 he felt in his heart “the game was over,” and a series of alcoholic binges resulted in his court martial and dismissal from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in February 1917. He was wounded a total of seven times while in the service of the Canadian Army. McBride joined the Indiana National Guard as a Captain in 1917 and was assigned as an instructor to the 139th Machine Gun Battalion, 38th Division. He served out the rest of the war at Camp Perry teaching rifle marksmanship and sniping tactics. After the war, his alcoholism apparently under control, he worked in the Oregon lumber industry for most of his later years. McBride died in Indianapolis of a heart attack on March 17, 1933, shortly after finishing “A Rifleman Went To War.” He served honorably and with valor for both his adopted Canada and his native United States He lies at rest today in a family plot at the Crown Hill Cemetery of Indianapolis, Indian