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Gone West This page is dedicated to the passing of the once great legions that fought the Great War of 1914-1918. As time takes its toll and the final members of this heroic band pass into history we will post a notice of their passing on this page. May God Bless them, the nation they left for us and the Freedom we all enjoy today. Glenn Hyatt, Curator Fredericksburg Memorial Military Museum Please send notices to be added to: |
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WWI MIA REMAINS FOUND Argonne Forest, France, 2005 The remains of two Americans Doughboys have been recently found in an unmarked grave on the 1918 battlefields of France. One has been identified as a soldier from Ohio the other a mystery, possibly from Washington State. In the battlefield grave with the remains there were bits of uniforms, buttons and a medal apparently issued to a soldier who was from Washington State. The medal was a private purchase item for service on the Mexican border in 1916. One of the uniform fragments had mounted on it two collar disks 2nd Regiment Co. D and Washington State National Guard collar disk. It has been determined that the uniform fragment is from the top of the belt area of the trousers and not the collar where regulations determined the designated unit of the soldier was to be displayed. The 2nd Washington National Guard was on the border in 1916 and was nationalized as WWI was declared. The 2nd WA NG became the 161st Infantry assigned to the 41st Division. After training the 41st Division was shipped to France where it was designated as a replacement unit. It provided men as trained replacements to the combat divisions. The remains and artifacts are currently in the possession of the US Army center for POW MIA identification in Hawaii. Details as they are discovered will be posted on this site. Any information you may have on the medal or Washington MIAs may be mailed to fbmmm1@yahoo.com and will be forwarded to the identification team in Hawaii.
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Note: The identity of these remains has not been resolved. The medal company that made the border medal was still in business but had trashed it records in 1966. More than likely the Washington Veteran was serving in the 1st Division. However, unless more evidence is turned up these fallen American heroes of the Great War will remain
"Known But To God".
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GONE WEST April. 2006 As if April 2006 the count for the surviving veterans of the Great War is as follows: US: As of Sept. 2005 the Veterans Administration issued a press release stating that there were only 8 American survivors of the Great War still drawing benefits. Since then they have lost count. Canada: There are 3 surviving WWI veterans in Canada . Britain: As of 04/18/06 there are 9 Great War survivors in GB. British Parliament debates the appropriateness of a State Funeral for the last veteran. State Funerals have traditionally been reserved for Royalty. France: The French government recognizes 7 survivors two of which have just been recognized as serving in WWI.. Belgians: All have passed. Australians: Only 1 non combatant survives. New Zealand: All have passed. Italy: 10 living veterans are recognized. Germany. Estimated 5 German Veterans survive. Austria. All have passed Turkey. The last Turkish veteran has just recently passed. World wide it is estimated that the survivors of the Great War number less than 50. Russia, Unknown Last Wounded U.S. WWI Veteran Dies at 108, Fri Jan 9, 2005, 1:30 PM ET ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Alfred Pugh, the last known combat-wounded U.S. veteran of World War I, has died. He was 108, just 10 days short of his 109th birthday, when he died Wednesday. Pugh, who often told visitors the key to a long life is "keep breathing," joined the Army in 1917 and fought in France during World War I with the 77th Infantry Division. In 1918, he was wounded during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, one of the war's bloodiest battles. He died at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Bay Pines. VA officials said he was the oldest wounded combat veteran in the United States, and one of fewer than 1,000 remaining American World War I veterans. Born Jan. 17, 1895, in Everett, Mass., Pugh raised 16 foster children, played the organ into his 100s and was an avid football and baseball fan Three Royal Sussex soldiers and a Frenchman have also been identified from personal numbers etched on to bandoliers or cartridge pouches at an excavation in Flanders. The dig is taking place because of lobbying by the British all-party war graves and battlefield heritage group, which wants the Flemish authorities to make sure they know exactly what they are doing before allowing the A19 to carry on for the final 10 miles to Ostend. |