Statewide County WI Archives Military Records.....Foreword WWI - Rosters ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wi/wifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 4, 2007, 2:17 am Foreword THESE GAVE THEIR LIVES FOREWORD The first installment of source material used in the compilation of the data here presented was supplied by the War Department at Washington, which gathered information from original official reports and records. This material comprised lists—necessarily imperfect—of officers and enlisted men from Wisconsin who died while serving with the American Expeditionary Force during the World War. A letter from the Adjutant General of the Army to the Adjutant General of Wisconsin which accompanied a set of these lists requested that they he checked against casualty cards previously transmitted, and that discrepancies noted be reported. This course was carefully followed in the office of the Adjutant General of Wisconsin, which collated the data received from Washington with statistics of its own relating to Wisconsin soldiers, and constructed a card index that was of value to the Service Recognition Board in administering the Wisconsin bonus law, and has afforded great help in the prosecution of the present task. In the lists from Washington the soldiers' names are arranged with reference to the branch of the service to which respective individuals belonged, whether Regular Army, National Guard, Enlisted Reserve Corps, or National Army; and the National Army list is subdivided to show whether entry was by enlistment or induction. In the card-index roster at the office of the Adjutant General of Wisconsin the names are grouped by counties. A card index showing the names of applicants for the Wisconsin bonus, and the action on such applications taken by the Board in each case, has also aided the preparation of the present list, which has been compared with numerous honor rolls made up by patriotic associations, and with other local compilations. At the office of the Adjutant General of Wisconsin there are separate official returns from Washington relating to the Marine Corps, to sailors, and to nurses who served in the war. These, it would appear, approximate completeness less nearly than those relating to the Army, but full use has been made of the information which they contain bearing on the subject of this list. Many men from Wisconsin who lost their lives in the World War were not in the service of the United States, or not identified as from Wisconsin. Some of these were enrolled in Canadian units or in the service of Great Britain or France. There were numerous instances of residents of Wisconsin with Polish or Italian antecedents enlisting in the Polish Legion or the Italian Army. Men from Wisconsin who were in other states of the Union when the army was raised frequently enlisted or were drafted as from the localities where they happened to be at the time. The names of the men in these various categories rarely or never appear in this list. Neither do those of men who were in the service and were discharged at different times after the cessation of hostilities, but who have died since. While the compilation of the list here presented has been to a large extent merely a matter of selection and transcription, there have arisen instances in which the gathering of data involved research and considerable expenditure of time. It was not always easy to procure reliable information pertaining to soldiers who during the war had become separated from the units with which they entered the service. Many a man remembered by comrades as having been seen badly wounded, on his way to a hospital, and supposed to have perished, lived to return to the front with another organization, performing valiant service, and coming home in good physical condition; while many a man missing from his company without arousing serious misgivings met death under circumstances that until long afterward prevented knowledge of the fact from reaching those by whom he was known. Corporal Paul Harder, of the 127th Infantry, believed to have died of wounds, was so reported in the History of the Thirty-Second Division compiled by its officers, but is still living at Fort Atkinson. Other missing men mourned as dead were found to have been held in German prisons and subsequently released. On the other hand, more than two hundred bodies of American soldiers were found in recesses of the Argonne Forest as long as two years after the war. There always will remain mystery as to some whose names slipped out of the records. At Cantigny, in May, 1918, Lieutenant Oliver Julian Kendall advanced with a scouting party to investigate the cause of strange noises. Later he was reported missing in action, and after the war his grave was discovered by workers for the Red Cross, inquiry revealing that he had been captured by the enemy and called upon to furnish information which he steadfastly withheld, whereupon he was shot as a spy. By his refusal to comply with the demands of his captors, Lieutenant Kendall was greatly helpful to the success of the first All-American drive, for which reason he has been designated the Nathan Hale of the World War. A resident of Fond du Lac while employed in civil engineering work for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, he is not listed with Wisconsin's soldiers, because he entered the service from another state. His story is cited as illustrative of one of the various ways in which soldiers' names that might be looked for have escaped inclusion in the record. Sergeant Roy F. Lee, Headquarters Company, Tenth Field Artillery, enlisted at Fond du Lac. He participated in the fighting at the Second Marne, at St. Mihiel, and on the Meuse. February 11, 1919, he died of pneumonia. Later his comrades discovered that the name under which they had known him was assumed—that in reality he was Roy Puffer, and that previous to the war he had been a school teacher at Sturgeon Bay. Private Frank John Schmidt, Twenty-Eighth Infantry, was killed in action, May 21, 1918. After the war his bonus was paid to his mother, living in Milwaukee, his old home, and known not as Mrs. Schmidt, but as Mrs. Dobrovnik. The name of the dead soldier in reality was Paul Dobrovnik, but at times he called himself Frank Dobrovnik, and he had taken the name of Frank Smith when he entered the army. Captain A. E. Gaartz, stated by the Milwaukee newspapers to be the highest-ranking officer from that city killed in the World War, was long identified with Tomah, and in the lists made up at that place is enrolled as one of Monroe County's soldier dead. His remains repose in a Milwaukee cemetery, and in the present list his name will be found in the section devoted to Milwaukee County. This does not settle the question as to his legal residence, but it avoids duplication. Almost innumerable instances occurred in which men were claimed by more than one locality in Wisconsin. In compiling this list, the aim has been to overlook none and to avoid entering any name more than once, though probably in neither of these efforts has it been possible to achieve perfection. JOHN G. GREGORY WISCONSIN'S GOLD STAR LIST ARMY ABBREVIATIONS b, born m, married d, died dd, died of disease dw, died of wounds k, killed kia, killed in action w, wounded append, appendicitis bronch, bronchitis diph, diphtheria dys, dysentery endocard, endocarditis erysip, erysipelas hem, hemorrhage inflam rheum, inflammatory rheumatism influ, influenza mastoid, mastoiditis meas, measles mening, meningitis myocard, myocarditis neph, nephritis neur, neuritis pericard, pericarditis perito, peritonitis pleur, pleurisy pneu, pneumonia puhnon, pulmonary sc fev, scarlet fever tuberc, tuberculosis typh, typhoid bglr, bugler bkr, baker bndldr, bandleader capt, captain cfr, chauffeur ck, cook elk, clerk Col, Colonel corp, corporal gen, general hs, horseshoer Lt, Lieutenant maj, major mec, mechanic mstr elec, master electrician mus, musician pvt, private ret, recruit sdlr, saddler sgt, sergeant wag, wagoner AA, Anti-aircraft AAS, Anti-aircraft Service AEF, American Expeditionary Force aerconstrsq, aerial construction squad aersq, aero squadron AGD, Adjutant General's Department Am, American amb, ambulance amtn, ammunition train A&N, Army and Navy arty, artillery AS, Air Service ASC, Air Service Corps ASFS, Air Service Flying School asst, assistant atchd, attached aut, automatic auto, automobile aux, auxiliary av, aviation bcks, barracks bdr, border bet, between BH, Base Hospital bkry, bakery bin, balloon bn, battalion butch, butchery brig, brigade by, battery c, corps CAC, Coast Artillery Corps cand, candidates cas, casual cav, cavalry CH, Camp Hospital cl, class cmdg, commanding cmp, camp cntr, center constr, construction co, company COTS, Central Officers' Training School def, defense defnsve, defensive dent, dental dep, depot dept, department det, detachment div, division drft, draft DSC, Distinguished Service Cross DSM, Distinguished Service Medal dvlpmtbn, development battalion EH, Evacuation Hospital engnrs, engineers enlstd, enlisted ERC, Enlisted Reserve Corps evac, evacuation fa, field artillery fbn, field battalion FH, Field Hospital fremsq, field remount squad fsbn, field signal battalion gd, guard GFCo, Guard and Fire Company GH, General Hospital gr, group gremsq, guard remount squad grnds, grounds hq, headquarters hospco, hospital company hvfa, heavy field artillery inf, infantry infrc, infantry reserve corps instn, instruction lab, labor launco, laundry company ltd, limited Mar, Marines MC, Medical Corps MD, Medical Department medco, medical company Mex, Mexican mg, machine gun mgtngc, machine gun training corps MM, Motor Mechanics mob, mobile MOTC, Medical Officers' Training Camp MP, Military Police msuptn, motor supply train MT, Motor Transport MTC, Motor Transport Corps mtrk, motor truck NA, National Army NG, National Guard NOS, Noncommissioned Officers' School obsn, observation offnsve, offensive offers, officers opns, operations Ord Dept, Ordnance Department Ord Maint&ILep Schl, Ordnance Maintenance and Repair School OTC, Officers' Training Corps pioninf, pioneer infantry pk, pack provogd, provost guard prsnr, prisoner prvnl, provisional QMC, Quartermaster Corps rdregt, road regiment reg, regular regt, regiment regtl, regimental reinfemt, reinforcement rein, remount rep, repair res, reserve ROTC, Reserve Officers' Training Corps rpl, replacement rr, railroad ry, railway salv&repco, salvage and repair company SATC, Student Army Training Corps sbn, signal battalion schl, school sec, sector sect, section serv, service sh, shop SigC, Signal Corps SigRC, Signal Reserve Corps sne, sanitary corps sndet, sanitary detachment snsq, sanitary squad sntn, sanitary train Sp, Spanish sq, squad ss, steamship sup, supply TC, Transportation Corps td, transportation detachment tech, technical telbn, telegraph battalion tk, tank tmbn, trench mortar battalion tmby, trench mortar battery tn, train tng, training tr, troop trans, transportation trk, truck unasgnd, unassigned USA, United States Army USG, United States Guards UW, University of Wisconsin VC, Veterinary Corps vet, veterinary VH, Veterinary Hospital VTS, Veterinary Training School WNG, Wisconsin National Guard Note: The names of ships are in quotes. The figures immediately following the name of a soldier indicate his age. Additional Comments: Extracted from: WISCONSIN'S GOLD STAR LIST Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Nurses from the Badger State Who Died in the Federal Service During the World War PREPARED BY JOHN G. GREGORY PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY MADISON, 1925 Department of War History State Historical Society of Wisconsin 6000 COPIES PRINTED COMPOSED, PRINTED AND BOUND BY The Collegiate Press GEORGE BANTA PUBLISHING COMPANY MENASHA, WISCONSIN File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wi/statewide/military/ww1/rosters/foreword386gmt.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 12.3 Kb