A welcome sign and the national colors of U.S. and Belgium greeted SGT MAJ Peter Stassen and his family members as the arrived in the Village of Bremen, Ohio for ceremonies honoring Sergeant Willis Burnworth and seven other soldiers from Bremen who died in service during the Great War.

Four More Questions for Peter Stassen

"All they would ask is that we should never forget what they gave."

By Chris Isleib
Director of Public Affairs, United States World War One Centennial Commission

Author's note: You may remember meeting Peter Stassen in another article earlier this year.  SGT MAJ Peter Stassen is a retired member of the Belgian Army, who lives near the American Cemetery in Flanders Field. Some time ago, he and his family volunteered to adopt the grave of one of the soldiers buried there, SGT Willis Burnworth, from Bremen, Ohio. That simple act of kindness has turned into an incredible adventure for SGT MAJ Stassen and his family. They have done deep research into unit histories, genealogy, they have looked into the stories of people who served and died with SGT Burnworth. They have recruited others to help with the volunteer program, etc. A great culmination of their effort came this autumn, when SGT MAJ Stassen and his wife traveled to the United States to participate in commemoration events for SGT Burnworth in his hometown. We had the opportunity to meet with SGT MAJ Stassen at the Commission office while he was en route to the Ohio events, and to talk to him about this remarkable journey.

You and your family have been busy with your efforts to remember SGT Burnworth - including a trip to America. Tell us about your travels and your research!

Peter Stassen (left) and Sgt Willis Lewis Burnworth, whose grave the Stassen family adopted in Belgium.In August 2014 we adopted the grave of SGT Burnworth who is buried at the Flanders Field American Cemetery, Waregem, Belgium. In June 2015 we visited Bremen, OH for the first time and met several grandnephews. After we returned to Belgium we created a website to remember SGT Burnworth. On this website (https://amarilisvos.wixsite.com/sgt-w-burnworth) everybody can read his history and the different actions we take to remember him. Every time we find a new piece of information we inform the family and update the website.

The book “Heaven, Hell or Hoboken” by PVT Ray N. Johnson, Machine Gun Company, 145th Infantry Regiment, gave us a good idea of what the soldiers of this Regiment encountered during their basic training and overseas. It made it possible to reconstruct which journeys they did by train or with a truck and even what they did on foot.

To understand what they had to endure during the Great War, we visited the areas of Avocourt, Meuse-Argonne, St Mihiel and Lys. All places where the 145th Infantry Regiment saw action.

Also, there was a ceremony in his Ohio hometown, as well. Tell us about what happened, and your role in it.

SFC Joshua Mann, historian of the Ohio National Guard.Because no member of the Burnworth family could come to Belgium to attend the Centennial Commemoration at the Flanders Field American Cemetery on October 27th, we decided to organise a ceremony in Bremen, Ohio with the help of the Mayor, Mr. Mike Henwood and the Ohio National Guard.

When we arrived in Bremen, OH the electricity poles of the main road were dressed with the flags of the United States, Belgium and the Armed Forces all the way to the centre of the town. At the town hall was a welcome sign with our names on it and also at the Bremen Area Historical Society. We felt very welcome and grateful.

On Saturday November 3rd 2018 a Centennial Commemoration was held in Bremen, Ohio to remember the sacrifice of SGT Willis BURNWORTH and seven other soldiers who lived in Bremen, OH during the Great War: PVT George Dewey BIGHAM, PVT Emil Dean BLOSSER, PVT John Franklin COEN, PVT Edward Ray MOYER, PVT Oscar Huston McVEIGH, PFC John Felix SCHMELZER and PVT Carrol Thomas TURNER.

The ceremony started in the Bremen Bethel Presbyterian Church where descendants of these soldiers were gathered to attend the first part of the service.

The Color Party of the Ohio National Guard presented the flags of the 37th Division and the 145th Armoured Regiment followed by the National Anthem.

Tributes were given by: SFC Joshua Mann, historian of Ohio National Guard, Mr. Joseph Woodrum, president of the 37th Division Veterans Association and SGM Peter Stassen (ret. Belgian Army), adopter of the grave of SGT Willis Burnworth.

A great great grandniece of SGT Willis Burnworth, Megan Kessler, read the Flanders Field poem.

The second part of the service took place at the Grandview Cemetery. A wreath was laid at each of the eight white crosses. Members of the American Legion Oscar Mc Veigh, OH Post 20 fired volleys, followed by Taps and Amazing Grace performed by the Aladdin Shrine Pipes & Drums.

At the end of the service at the Grandview Cemetery, CSM Jeff Schuster, Command Sergeant Major of the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team put a shoulder sleeve insignia of the 37th IBCT on the cenotaph of SGT Willis Burnworth and a group picture of the Burnworth family was taken.

Megan Kessler, great-great-grandniece of SGT Willis Burnworth, reads the "In Flanders Fields" poem.After the service everybody was invited to the Bremen Area Historical Society for a lunch offered by the Burnworth family. At the end of the day the Mayor presented the key of the village of Bremen to us for contributions to local veterans.

Most of the work was done by the Mayor, Mr. Henwood. I gave him a proposal of script to work with. My biggest achievement was to convince the Ohio National Guard to have the flags be present at the ceremony.

When the Ohio National Guard visited France and Belgium in August this year, I attended the ceremony they held at the Flanders Field American Cemetery. I spoke with SFC Johua Mann, the historian of the ONG and he introduced me to COL Cory Lusk, Commander of the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. It was there that Col Lusk assured me that the ONG would be present at the Centennial Commemoration in Bremen, OH. The Burnworth family, my spouse and I cannot thank them enough for taking the time to honor the service of these brave men and having the Flags of their unit be present.

At the ceremony I gave a tribute about the life of SGT Willis Burnworth and the recent discovery about the name of his girlfriend. A lot of the Burnworth family heard for the first time what happened with their granduncle. This was definitely a very emotional moment for me and the family.

During our 6 day stay in Bremen we had the opportunity to meet the closest relative to SGT Burnworth: his niece Carolyn Jo (Burnworth) Akrom and a lot of the grandchildren of SGT Burnworth’s brother Ira Newton.

A report and pictures of the ceremony are on the DIVIDS web site.

You also uncovered new information about SGT Burthworth, and about other soldiers from his unit who are buried at Flanders Field American Cemetery. Tell us about that incredible new info.

In November 2017 we got a copy of some off the letters SGT Burnworth wrote to his parents. Mr. Frankie Van Rossem purchased them on eBay and these letters can be seen in the Hippo.War museum, Waregem, Belgium. In these letters he talked about several women. But one in particular: Alice. We assume she was her girlfriend. To find the lady we went to the Fairfield County District Library to search for any information in the Bremen Derrick, an old local newspaper. We were lucky, we found a letter of SGT Russell Householder, a cousin of him who served in the same Regiment, a letter of Lt D. Forbush, his platoon commander during the Lys Offensive and an article of the memorial service that was held on January 5th 1919 in Bremen, OH. A Miss Alice McCandlish did a solo at the memorial service. In the letter that he wrote on May 29 1918 when he was at Camp Lee, Petersburg, VA, he mentions that he saw Russell, the brother of Alice, that Russell has a wife and that it would be nice if Alice and Lurline could visit him.145 Infantry Regiment Insignia

With this information we went to the Fairfield County Heritage Association and the Fairfield Genealogical Society to find Alice Mc Candlish. And we found her. The information we knew out of his letter and the memorial service, could be confirmed. Russell McCandlish served in the Veterinary Hospital of the Veterinarian Training School in Camp Lee, he married March 20 1918, he had a sister Lurline Eleanor McCandlish and a sister Alice, but her actual name is Sarah Alice McCandlish. Alice eventually married Raymond McCullough and became 103 years old.

In the burial file of SGT Burnworth is a Grave Location Blank form with the coordinates of the place where he was buried on the battlefield. We visited this place in Olsene, Belgium and it is still a corn field. Another adopter contacted us and with the information on the burial file of PFC Clarence Hyde. He was buried at the same location on the battlefield. The number of the graves indicated that there had to be more soldiers who were buried at this graveside on the battlefield. Some weeks after we returned from Bremen, OH the National Archives put the Burial Registration Cards online. Unfortunately they were not indexed. So we had to read them one by one. With a little help of some others we managed to find the names of the other soldiers who were buried next to him on the battlefield. They are:

#1 - PVT Marshall Thomas, Co D, 145th Inf, Saint Francis Xavier Cemetery, Overton, PA
#2 - SGT Burnworth Willis, Co H, 145th Inf, FFAC – plot C – row 1 – grave 8
#3 - PVT Crangle Charles, Med Det, 145th Inf, Riverside Cemetery, Cleveland, OH
#4 - PVT Kicka Paul, Co I, 145th Inf, FFAC – Plot D – row 2 – grave 6
#5 - PVT Steffy Harvey, Co G, 145th Inf, Fairview Cemetery, Denver, PA
#6 - PFC Hyde Clarence, Co D, 145th Inf, FFAC – plot C – row 1 – grave 9
#7 - CPL Niles Frederick, Co E, 145th Inf, Chestnut Grove Cemetery, Ashtubla, OH

- What has the whole recent experience taught you about who SGT Burnworth was, as a person and as a soldier?

Willis BurnworthWhat we know about SGT Burnworth as a person, we learned through his letters to his parents and the ones that were published in the Bremen Derrick. He was a religious man and well educated. He did not see the war as an adventure. He truly believed he fought for a good cause: “We have serious business on hands. Which is to make our country safe for democracy, that education and religion might prevail and future America take her place in the world that so rightly belongs to her. We will follow the stars and stripes across the ocean and onto foreign soil that we may be present when the Kaiser is laid to rest and the world is free”. He also understand that a war is not only won by soldiers. He was pleased to read that Bremen certainly has been doing her bit on the war chest and that even some inhabitants had to make a real sacrifice to give to the Liberty Loan. It was for him and his fellows good to know that they were backed up at home. But like every person he had problems handling the unknown and the uncertain. Reading the Bremen Derrick gave him the opportunity to give him an idea what he can expect when he goes across, because the Bremen Derrick published letters of soldiers who were already “over there”.

He had to be a very well-known man in Bremen and the surrounding villages. And when I show his picture to women, they all say he is quiet a catch. He mentions in his letters that he writes to several women and that he made a decision: “I should worry one girl is enough if she is true and I think Alice will be”. We will never be sure if they were romantically involved.

What we are sure of is that he was liked by his fellow soldiers. His cousin SGT Russell Householder said: “Everybody has a good word for him and I have heard any number of them say he was the best they ever knew”. And his Platoon Commander LT Forbush testified: “His name is one that his comrades always speak with pride and reverence in their voices”.

SGT Willis Burnworth was the example of a leader of soldiers. He was not one of those who lead from the rear, but was at the front of his men. He was competent, responsible and had the welfare of his soldiers in mind. In his squad he had three Italians, one Polish boy, one English boy and two Yankees. He did not except shortcuts and was creative when needed. In his letters he was not allowed to write specific details. Therefore he used the age of one of his sisters to tell his family how far he was from the action (“We are about the same distance from the firing line as Goldie is old”, his sister was 33 years at that time) or when he will go in the trenches (“We will likely be in the trenches about Edgars Birtday” (his birthday is September 4).

We will never know the exact reason why Sgt Willis Lewis Burnworth voluntary engaged. His actions on the other hand, speak for themselves. He became a Corporal during his basic training, he was promoted to Sergeant a week before the Lys offensive and he got a Silver Star citation for his courage under fire.

The dreams of these soldiers became our tomorrows.

All they would ask is that we should never forget what they gave.

It was his hope to return safely. Therefore we will keep honor and remember SGT Wills Burnworth who has fallen for his country and our freedom.

Descendant family members of SGT Burnworth 

 Flags in village of Bremen, Ohio for the commemoration ceremonies.

 Ohio National Guard and American Legion members post the colors for the ceremony honoring SGT Burnworth in his hometown of Bremen, Ohio.

 Grave of SGT Willis Burnworth in the American Cemetery at Flanders Field, Waregem Belgium (left) and the corresponding marker at the Grandview Cemetery in Bremen, Ohio.

 Key to the Village of Bremen presented to SGT MAJ Peter Stassen and his wife.