Stories of Service

You can search for the name or unit and you will get a list of the stories that contain them.

James Montgomery Whitmore

Submitted by: Gene L. Whitmore {Grandchild}

58bf0b6909469 James Whitmore

James Montgomery Whitmore served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Unknown .

My grandfather, James Montgomery Whitmore, died before I was born. My father and uncles (Korean War era) related stories told to them about the feelings of the young men in 1916 as the prospect of war participation loomed.

By the 1917 entry of America into the Great War, it was understood that the existing forces arrayed against each other in Europe were at am impasse, and America's participation would tip the scales. Additionally, grandfather related that the Germany and Austria-Hungary alliance were seen at the time as having waited for the slightest excuse to ignite a war to grab land and power, and the Allied Expeditionary Forces were united in their cause of opposing the unjust invasion of many parts of Europe.

Samuel Elly Raiz

Submitted by: Hollace Weiner

58bed425e812c WWI Raiz Samuel KIA card

Samuel Elly Raiz served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known 28 April 1918 to 19 Sept. 1918.

The only Jewish soldier from Fort Worth killed in action during World War I was a 27-year-old doughboy who had immigrated to America ten years earlier, leaving his parents and brother behind in Russia. The soldier’s name was Pvt. Samuel Elly Raiz, and he lived with his Uncle Morris Ginsburg and Aunt Mollie Grobiscjz Ginsburg at their home at 1216 Broadway Ave.

His uncle was part of a large, extended family that operated Missouri Iron & Metal Industries, a pipe-and-supply company. At the time Sam registered for the draft he had not heard from his immediate family in Russia since August 1914, when the war erupted in Europe. When he went missing in action, a telegram was delivered to his aunt and uncle, his closest known relatives.

Earl Dwyer

Submitted by: Jill Sloat-Ferris

58be886442374 IMG 4173

Earl Dwyer served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Unknown .

Calvary

Pfc Clarence Lee Culver

Submitted by: Matthew Culver

58be10950a9f9 ClarenceCulver

Pfc Clarence Lee Culver served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known 23 June 1916 - 15 July 1918 (KIA).

Clarence volunteered for the Alabama National Guard on 23 June 1916 and served on the Mexican Border with the 4th Alabama Infantry. When war was declared on Germany he remained with the 4th, now renumbered the 167th US Infantry Regiment. He left for France with the unit and the rest of the 42nd Infantry from Camp Mills, NY on 1 September 1917.

A member of Company H, 2nd Battalion, Clarence went on to engage the German forces at Brouville, before the 42nd was sent to the defense of Paris at the request of the French command.

Clarence was killed 15 July 1918 at the second battle of the Marne, one of the worst engagements of the war and the 167th's first true taste of combat.

Emil Charles Zimmermann

Submitted by: Colonel (R) Emil Zimmermann {son}

no photo 300

Emil Charles Zimmermann served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known June 1917 to January 1919.

My Dad, Emil Zimmermann, was born in February 1900, and was under aged but tricked his Mother into signing the Enlistment by telling her it was a form he needed or school.

Emil entered the Aviation Branch of the Army Signal Corps.

1. His first day in the Army, on Long Island, NY, they were told to go to the stabled and fill their mattresses with straw, which they did. That night, Emil was selected for Guard Duty; still wearing civilian clothes.

The Corporal of the Guard took him to his Guard Post and told him that when the Officer of the Day (OD) came around to stand at attention, Salute, and report his Post as all secure (Emil though this was a ruse). Emil was sitting on a hay bail and this LT came up to him and said he was the OD. Emil did not stand at attention, salute or anything. The LT asked if the Corporal of the Guard had given him instructions on what to do when the OD came around. Emil repeated what the Corporal had instructed him to do. The LT asked why he did not carry out his instructions when the OD came around. His answer was "You maybe the Officer of the Day but this is night". SO BEGAN HIS MILITARY CAREER.

James A. Mitman

Submitted by: Roger Cook

58a3504faa80a JMitman WWI copy

James A. Mitman served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known 9/1917 to 4/1919.

Enlisted as a cook in the Yankee Division (26th). Lived in Danville, Illinois. He was gassed during his service and spent the rest of his life in and out of Disabled Veterans Homes.

Charles Rosario Spano

Submitted by: Diana Spano {granddaughter}

Charles Rosario Spano mug

Charles Rosario Spano served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known June 13, 1916 to June 4, 1920.

Charles Rosario Spano, U.S. Army
Dates of service: June 13, 1916 to June 4, 1920
His Veteran’s Serial No. 1550833

With gratitude and in honor of my paternal grandfather, Charles Rosario Spano, I am posting the following details of his active duty service during World War l. The information is collected from original documents and copies in my possession, and from memories of conversation with my father, Vincent Rosario Spano (deceased), son of Charles, who also served in the US Army during World War II in Korea with the Counter Intelligence Corps. I am the oldest granddaughter, Diana Spano, and also a veteran having served in the US Regular Army during the Viet Nam Era.

Charles Rosario Spano was born in Italy (Sicily) on March 15, 1895, and served with the American Expeditionary Forces in France, 2nd Cavalry, Troop 'B' under the command of General John J. Pershing. He was naturalized on March 12, 1920 and was honorably discharged on June 4, 1920. After the war, he settled in Philadelphia, PA, and lived at 717 Christian Street.

Emily Victoria Greer

Submitted by: Sonja N. Bohm (great grandaughter-in-law)

Emily Victoria Greer 300

Emily Victoria Greer served in World War 1 with the United States Navy. The dates of service are: Known 28 May 1918 to 31 July 1919.

My husband's great-grandmother Emily Victoria Greer (1895-1972) enrolled as Yeoman 3 Class on 28 May 1918, and served at the Navy Yard in NYC from 31 May 1918 until 11 November 1918. Her inactive duty date (as Yeoman 2 Class) was 31 July 1919.

George Henry Clark, Sr.

Submitted by: Laura Clark (granddaughter)

George center with 2 brothers circa 1930

George Henry Clark, Sr. served in World War 1 with the armed forces of another nation. The dates of service are: Known 8 March 1918-3 August 1918.

My grandfather was born in 1898 in Menahga Township, MN and served in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces, stationed in Quebec. He served as a Hospital Orderly during his brief service. Pictured in center with two brothers.

Martin Ferdinand Maune

Submitted by: Douglas M. Frye (grandson)

MARTIN F. MAUNE SR 300 Martin Ferdinand Maune served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known 4/4/1917- 4/29/1919.

PVT. MARTIN F. MAUNE

138th Infantry Regiment
35th Division

Grandpa Maune seemed to be an enigma whenever I encountered him in the 1970’s and 1980’s. With the centennial of the Great War approaching, I am now attempting to piece together his tale from the medals he received for service in such critical battles as the one near Cheppy, France to better understand the man.
His duty to serve was in his DNA. Grandpa's paternal grandfather, August Heinrich Wilhelm Maune, was born near Dissen, Kingdom of Hannover in 1838 and emigrated to the United States through Baltimore in 1840. His family settled in Union, Missouri, to farm land that August’s father, Jurgen “George” Heinrich Maune, had purchased two years earlier.

By 1858, August was seeking his own way in commerce in the big city of St. Louis. August progressively owned and operated several proprietorships throughout his career, selling beer, then groceries (specializing in cheese and butter), and then real estate. These small family businesses were located at 20th & Dodier, 25th & Dodier, and 22nd & University and involved his wife Mina, sons Leonard and Gustave, daughter Nellie and perhaps some grandchildren.

When Civil War broke out, August enlisted with the Union Army and performed guard duty around St. Louis during two three-month tours (1862 & 1864). His brothers and brothers-in-laws, who were also German immigrants, performed similar duty. On a foundation of such duty and industry undertaken by tens of thousands of newly minted Americans, St. Louis evolved to become the host of the 1904 World’s Fair and Summer Olympics, giving residents a certain hubris.

Louis Carlton Webster

Submitted by: Peggy Durack (granddaughter)

Louis Carlton Webster 300

Louis Carlton Webster served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known April 3, 1918 - June 7, 1919.

My grandfather was born and grew up on the farm that had been in his family for 200 years, the legacy of a Revolutionary War veteran who moved from Massachusetts to settle in Ontario County, NY. Grandpa graduated from Cornell University in 1915 with the degree Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and had begun his own veterinary practice when World War I began. When I learned that he served during the war, I believed that he was in the Army Veterinary Corps, but his service record tells a different story.

Known as "Carlton" (his middle name) to his sister, "L. C." (his initials) to some, most called my grandfather "Doc" Webster. He was 'Grandpa Doc' to me and 'Uncle Doc' to his nieces and nephews. Doc enlisted on April 3rd, 1918 and wrote two letters to the Clyde, NY Times which were published that April and explained his experiences getting to, and the induction process, at Camp Dix, NJ (now Fort Dix). They are light-hearted and express his readiness for "new adventures."