On Saturday, April 12, 2008, Christopher Sims and Patrick Lernout provided a wonderful two-hour PowerPoint presentation on the research they've been doing over the past decade on the New York World War I soldiers buried in Flanders Field. A large percentage of those in attendance were relatives, including some descendants, of those New Yorkers. Because so many of their living family members are no longer in close proximity of New York City (although we did have a group come in from Pennsylvania, and another family planning to attend from Florida had to cancel at the last minute due to weather related airport delays) we received several requests to make the presentation information available in some format.
As a result Mr. Sims and Mr. Lernout graciously provided the following excerpts from their presentation on the thirteen New Yorkers they discussed:
Durand, Anthony P.
Private Co I, 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Division; DOW (died of wounds) November 2, 1918; Plot D, Row 04, Grave 05.
Anthony P. Durand was born October 23, 1887 in Romelfingen, Lorraine, Germany. In 1890 his parents (Philip Durand (1859-1928) and Mary Blaising (1859-1934)) emigrated with their two children (his brother Emil was one year older) to New York. They lived in Albany, where seven more children were born: George, Mary, Madeline, Loretta, Philip, Rose, and Gertrude.
Anthony was drafted April 5, 1918. After his training with the 153rd Depot Brigade and the 10th Training Battalion, he was inducted in the 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Division on June 10. He made the crossing to Europe with this unit. On October 25th he wrote home that he expected the war to end within a month.
His mother visited his grave in Flanders Field in 1930 with the Gold Star Mother Pilgrimage. Very exceptionally, Mary was allowed by the military authorities to visit her relatives in Lorraine (now France) for five days.
The last time she had seen her brother and sister was forty years earlier. She said she remembered the Franco-Prussian war very well, as her homeland became part of Germany. She also remembered the discrimination because they were French speaking.
Herman, Louis J.
Private 1st Class Co. K, 108th Inf. Rgt, 27th Division; KIA (killed in action) 13 August 1918.
Louis Herman(n) was born July 2, 1895. His parents were John Hermann and Maria Wilhelmine Kolbe, both born in Germany. He had six sisters (Elsie, Dora, Helene, Ida, Amanda, and Alice) and two brothers (Elmer and John Jr).
His middle class family lived in Martinsville, Niagara County. This city was originally a settlement, erected by German Lutheran immigrants and possibly named after Martin Luther. Most of them worked at the well-known Wurlitzer Company.
Louis was a handsome young man and had a lot of success with the girls. There are many photos of him with beautiful female companions.
He became a member of Company K of the 108th Infantry Regiment, 27th Division, with which he was sent to Europe.
One version of his death, published in a local newspaper, indicated he was killed by a grenade after he came out of a dugout during an enemy artillery barrage. Apparently his curiosity was fatal, as the men in his company said that he wouldn't have been killed if he hadn't raised his head above the parapet. The bullet of a German sniper went through his helmet and killed him instantly.
He was originally buried at the British Abeele Aerodrome Military Cemetery. After the war, his friends returned his diary, with the picture of his sister Ida, that he always carried on him.
Record, George T.
Private Co. G, 107th Infantry Regiment, 27th Div.; KIA 13 August 1918; Plot C, Row 01, Grave 03.
George Tracy Record was born on November 27, 1893 in Saratoga Springs. His parents were Chauncey Record and Minnie Gleason from Wayville. They had one other son, Arthur, and two daughters, Dorcas and Maria.
Chauncey's uncle Emery was a professional photographer, so many pictures were taken of George and his family. George found a job in Cooperstown and it was from there that he volunteered the day after declaration of war. Arthur also volunteered and joined the Marines.
His parents received the first message of his death from his old colleagues at work. They immediately contacted the military authorities. Those answered that his name was not on the official casualty list. This was a big relief for Chauncey and Minnie.
Finally the rumor was confirmed. He was the first man of Co. G to be killed. He was originally buried in the British Abeele Aerodrome Military Cemetery. His name is on the Saratoga Veterans Monument.
Shannon, Thomas J. E.
Sergeant Co. E, 106th Inf. Rgt., 27th Division; DOW 1 September 1918; Plot B, Row 03, Grave 20.
Thomas Shannon was born September 7, 1895. His parents Thomas Jefferson Shannon and Mary Elizabeth Nugent, had six children: John, Julia, Thomas, Charles, Walter, and Joseph. In 1900 the family came to live at 96th Street in Brooklyn.
Tom went to school there and found a job in the advertising department of the Brooklyn Standard Union in 1909. His strongest characteristic was that of getting the job done. Where others failed, he succeeded.
On April 20th 1914, during the skirmishes with Mexico, he volunteered for the 23rd Infantry Regiment, the local National Guard regiment from Brooklyn. He served 3 years along the Mexican border during the Pancho Villa uprising. On July 23rd 1916 he achieved the rank of corporal and on October 31st that of sergeant.
On September 1st 1918 Tom was shot in the stomach. He died in agony six hours later.
When Thomas went to Europe he left behind his fiancee, Helen McGrath. She was devastated when she heard that he had been killed. Helen decided to participate in the war and became one of the first female military personnel in the Navy (Yeoman 1st Class). On November 24, 1920, two years after the armistice, she married Tom's brother Charles.
She was a very special woman and was honoured by Hillary Rodham Clinton, when in 1997, her children gave her uniforms to the government.
In 1930 Tom's mother visited the Flanders Field Cemetery with the Gold Star Mother Pilgrimage.
Swain, Russell B.
Private San. Det., 106th Inf. Rgt., 27th Division; KIA 9 August 1918; Plot C, Row 04, Grave 19.
Russell Baker Swain was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Enoch Swain of Brooklyn.
He volunteered at the age of eighteen with the 23rd Brooklyn Infantry Regiment, N.Y. National Guard, but was rejected because of his impaired eyesight.
His two brothers Hobson (left) and Enoch (right) were also in service and Russell did not want to stay behind when his brothers went to Europe.
He persisted and was finally admitted and assigned to the Hospital Corps of the regiment, where his eyesight was apparently not so important. His brothers were in the Signal Corps (Enoch was in the Army Pigeon corps).
On August 9th their unit was under heavy enemy artillery fire. The dugout where Russel was sheltering received a direct hit and he and three others were killed instantly. Among them was Norman Stein, who is buried next to him. They were originally buried in the British Lyssenthoek Military Cemetery in Poperinge.
Enoch was mentally broken and could never forget his brother. He later named his son after Russell.
Winslow, Herbert L.
Corporal Co. L, 107th Infantry Regiment, 27th Division; KIA 13 August 1918; Plot C, Row 01, Grave 05.
Herbert Winslow was born in August 1895 in Roseville, N.J. He was the only child of Herbert Hall Winslow and Annie Lippincott. The family eventually lived in Hastings on Hudson.
His father was a well known playwrite. He wrote fifty-six plays, eighteen of which were performed on Broadway. He also wrote about 200 sketches and twelve screen plays. Herbert's mother, as Anita Armour, was a successful opera singer outside the U.S. Her mother, Sara Lippincott (alias Grace Greenwood), was a well known writer.
Herbert received his education at the Staunton Military Academy, however, a military career was not what he wanted. As he had inherited the talents of his parents and grandmother, he became a movie director.
After the declaration of war, he volunteered for the N.Y. National Guard, 7th Infantry Regiment. This became the 107th Infantry Regiment of the 27th division. He embarked for Europe on May 10th.
Herbert was responsible for the machine gun platoon of Co. L. On August 13th he was sent, with other platoons of Co. I and Co. L, to the front line in the Dikkebus area (Ridgewood). Photo shows him in circle and to the right is his best friend Maitland Rice.
They had just arrived when the Germans opened fire in their direction. The British units around them had to retreat, but Herbert's platoon was able to halt the enemy attackers on three consecutive occasions.
Herbert however was mortally wounded from a hand grenade exploding nearby. For his courage and action, he received a Divisional Citation (which later became the Silver Star). He was the first man of Co. L to be killed.
His death was a tremendous shock in his company. Everybody liked him. He had the reputation of being a quiet, honest, faithful, and good-hearted man. His friend Maitland saw Herbert killed by the grenade. In doing so he collapsed from shock. Bryan Gallagher of Co. I, who is also buried in the cemetery, was killed during the same battle. Both were originally buried at the Abeele Aerodrome Military Cemetery.
The Winslows did not get over their son's death. His father stopped writing for many years. Annie died lonely and poor at the age of eighty. She only had Herbert's war insurance and pension left on which to survive.
Brindza, Frank S.
Private 1st Class, Co. L, 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Division; KIA 31 August 1918.
Frank Steve Brindza (born May 13, 1895) was the son of William and Mary Brindza, both born in Germany. They lived with Frank, another son, William, and four daughters (Annie, Frances, Mary and Elisabeth) in Astoria, Queens.
Frank worked as a mechanic in New York. On May 18, 1918, he wrote to his sister Betty from Camp Stuart, Virginia, ending with the following, "We will end the war in no time when they ship this 27th division over. That consists of all New York troops."
He was first buried on the Abeele British Cemetery in Poperinge.
Cochrane, Richard
Corporal Co. I, 106th Infantry Regiment, 27th Division; KIA 31 July 1918.
Richard Cochrane was born in April 1890 in Ulster, Northern Ireland. His parents were Richard and Margaret Cochrane. He emigrated with his brother James in January 1888, to the U.S. and they lived with their aunt in Brooklyn.
Richard volunteered on June 4, 1917 with the National Guard. He was with the 23rd N.Y. Infantry Regiment. Later, this regiment would be the base of the 106th Infantry Regiment. On January 14 he became a corporal.
James volunteered on August 21, 1917 in Toronto with the Canadian army. He was inducted into the 15th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment).
Richard was killed at the battle near Mount Kemmel and was originally buried in the British Lyssenthoek Military Cemetery in Poperinge: Plot 32; Row B; Grave 3. On June 17, 1922, he was reinterred in his final resting place at the Flanders Field Cemetery. One month later, his brother James was also killed and was buried in the Somme in France.
Beattie, David Stanley
Sergeant Hq. Co., 105th Inf. Rgt, 27th Div.; KIA 31 August 1918; CWGG (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) Lyssenthoek British Military Cemetery, Poperinge.
Sgt. Beattie from Troy was killed in action on August 31, 1918. An obituary in the Troy Times of Friday, September 27, 1918, said this about him:
"Sergeant Beattie was one of the most popular young soldiers in the local regiment. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. David L. Beattie, of 22 Hawthorn Avenue, and was born in this city about twenty-two years ago."
A graduate of the public schools and the Troy High School, David was one of the most popular students in the latter institution. He was manager of and a player on the school football team, was the school correspondent for The Troy Times, was a member of the debating society and was considered an excellent speaker. Sergeant Beattie was employed in the Manufacturers Bank before enlisting in his country's service.
He joined Co. A of the old Second Regiment and served on the Mexican border. There he was admired for his pluck and fortitude shown on long hikes and in the other work. He remained in the company at the close of the Mexican trouble and when the United States entered the world war he went with his company to Camp Wadsworth at Spartanburg, S.C. Later he was transferred to the Intelligence Department and promoted to Sergeant.
According to a letter received in Troy, Sergeant Beattie was at an advanced lookout post, about five miles behind front lines. While on duty there a German shell landed nearby and a fragment of it struck Beattie on the head, just at the temple. He was taken on a stretcher to the rear but died on the way.
Sgt. Myron Fales was an eyewitness to Beattie's death. In his report to company headquarters, Fales wrote:
Sgt. David Beattie met his death while on duty in a forward observation post in the Dickebush Sector in Belgium on August 31st 1918. I had just called his attention to a party of Huns moving forward on a path near our field of vision, and had handed over the telescope to him, when a high explosive shell burst directly in front of our post. A fragment of the shell cut through the top of the high parapet of the post and struck Sgt. Beattie over the left temple. He died less than an hour later in the First Aid Station, never regaining consciousness.
Sgt. Beattie was buried at the Lijssenthoek Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and his family requested that his remains not be disturbed. So he was not buried in the Flanders Field Cemetery, and has a British marker.
Noonan, John E.
Private Co. B, 107th Inf. Rgt., 27th Division; KIA August 13, 1918.
John Noonan was born in Kingston. Shortly after the U.S. declaration of war, John joined the 10th Infantry Regiment N.Y. National Guard. He supposedly had lied about his age. If this is true he would have been only sixteen when he enlisted and the youngest man to be buried at Flanders Field.
On 15 June he wrote a letter to his aunt Mary Noonan Brennan in which he stated that he was doing fine and that there was no reason to worry: "I am as safe here as I ever was." He also mentioned the nightly "air raids" and his friends of Co. M. He was initially buried at Abeele Aerodrome Military Cemetery.
Liebmann, Morris N.
Lieutenant Colonel, 105th Inf. Rgt., 27th Division; KIA August 6, 1918; Plot C, Row 01, Grave 06.
Morris Nathan Liebmann was born in Nebraska and studied electronics at the University of Nebraska, graduating in 1900. With a National Guard regiment from that state, he served in the Spanish-American War.
He moved to New York and became vice-president of the Foote-Pierson Company, manufacturers of electrical apparatus. He entered the National Guard again and started as a private with the 23rd Brooklyn Infantry Regiment.
With this regiment he went (as a captain) to Texas in 1917 guarding the frontier during the disturbances with Mexico. On May 3, 1917 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
When the 27th division was formed, the 23rd Regiment, together with the 14th Infantry Regiment N.Y. National Guard, formed the basis of the new 106th Infantry Regiment. He was later transferred to the 105th Infantry Regiment where he became second in command.
After the war, he planned to marry Evelyn Van Horne. However at his headquarters (Walker Farm in Dikkebus) he was hit by shrapnel fragments. He lost one of his legs and died almost instantly.
He was first U.S. soldier to be buried in the British Abeele Aerodrome Cemetery. He was also the highest ranking Jewish officer of the AEF who was killed and the highest ranking officer buried at Flanders Field. He was awarded the Belgian War Cross for his services in Belgium.
Arnett, John D.
KIA 16 April 1918; Plot B, Row 10, Grave 2.
John was an exemplary student and after Medina High School he went to Buffalo Medical College, with the intention of becoming a doctor. For his last year he attended Albany Medical College. Two of his brothers had proceeded him. The photo is his graduation portrait from 1914.
On January 6, 1917, he married Florence Maria Sayers from Albion. After the declaration of war, he immediately volunteered for service and was admitted August 2nd. He was assigned as a 1st Lieutenant to the Medical Reserve Corps. After a short stay in Washington, D.C., he was sent to Europe on September 18, 1917.
John was detailed by the United States military authorities for service with the British Royal Army Medical Corps at Portsmouth, England, where he served in a military hospital for two months before being transferred to the Winchester military hospital. Later, he was again transferred to the fifth general hospital, South Sea, attending wounded as they came from the trenches in France. On December 28th he wrote:
When the wounded arrive at the hospital, they are first bathed. Then they must stay in bed for 48 hours. The majority of injured are gas victims (mustard gas, chlorine etc.). Evidence is skin burns, infection of the eyes, loss of voice, heavy coughing, chest pains and bronchitis. The gas burns the mouth, throat and lungs. Most of them recover, but the recovery process is long. Those whose lungs are too badly infected don't make it. Shrapnel wounds are also very frequent, but one must try to imagine what the effects of a hot piece of iron can do when it enters the body at high velocity. Bullet wounds are rare because this injury is not considered serious enough to return to England for treatment. A few days ago I saw a man with a bullet entry wound to the left side of his nose, just under his eye with the exit wound just under his right ear. This man was on his way to the front. Other diseases are Trench Fever and Trench Foot . . . . With Trench Foot, the feet swell up to twice or three times their normal size. This is extremely painful and sometimes toes need to be amputated. Shell Shock is also very frequent. The shattering effects of exploding bombs causes changes in the blood circulation, cerebral function and the spine, which can damage the brain tissue. Symptoms are unconsciousness, splitting headaches and severe trembling of the whole body, lasting for months.
John landed in France on his first wedding anniversary, January 6, 1918, and immediately went to the front line, where he was in charge of a dressing station with the 99th field ambulance. His last letter sent home was written in a German pillbox, which he had transformed into a dressing station, a short distance from the German trenches:
The landscape is covered with shell holes as far as one can see. They are filled with water and above some of them hangs a green smog. The mud is very deep and we have to walk over ‘Duck-boards.' I am in a pillbox we conquered from the Germans. The walls are five feet thick with a small hole as entrance. This pillbox is about ten feet by ten and five feet high. I feel quite safe in it. Each pill box has a name: I saw Cascara farm, Fine Cot and Bigger Bush. During a calm period, I decided to drain some shell holes near the dressing station. I was shocked when, while I was digging, suddenly came across the heads and shoulders of five Australian soldiers. There is no rest for the dead in this country.
First Lieutenant John Arnett was killed April 16, 1918 in the Trappist Monastery at Mount Cats in Northern France. He was taking care of the wounded, assisted by the monks.
For an unknown reason, on April 20th his wife received a telegram from John letting her know that he was in good health. The mystery of this message has never been solved. Possibly it was an error made by the authorities.
On December 11, 1922, his widow married Alexander L. Strouse. This is probably the reason why his remains were left in Europe.
In 1930 when the Gold Star Mother Pilgrimage was organized, his mother came to Flanders Field and visited his grave.
Doyle, Leroy A.
Private Co. M, 106th Inf. Rgt. 27th Division; KIA 2 September 1918; Wall of Missing.
Leroy Alonzo Doyle was born in Cementon, Greene Co., November 22, 1898. The city was named after a large local cement factory that provided work to most of the inhabitants. Leroy's parents were Simon Doyle, a veteran of the Civil War, and Anna Miller.
Leroy (on the right) volunteered for the New York National Guard (10th Infantry Regiment) in Catskill. This unit became part of the 106th Infantry Regiment when the 27th Division was formed. Training and voyage to Europe were without any problems.
Helen's daughter Regina Zimmermann and her husband Bill visited Flanders Field in 2005, although Leroy's remains were never found and he has no known grave. He is memorialized on the wall of the missing in the chapel. They also visited the area near Mount Kemmel where he had been killed and listed as missing. Knowing that Leroy was authorized to receive the Victory Medal, the Purple Heart, and the New York Remembrance Medal which his parents had never received, Mrs. Zimmerman (who attended the April 12 presentation) tried to obtain them. However so far she has only been able to obtain the New York Remembrance Medal.
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