PVT James L. Blow was born in April 1897 in Norfolk County, Virginia. He was the 4th of 6 children born to Charles Clement and Clara Esther (Chitty) Blow. The family farmed near Pinner's Point in what is now the city of Portsmouth, Virginia.
After entering the army, James was assigned to Machine Gun Company 116th Infantry. He went to France with that unit aboard the USS Finland which departed Hoboken, New Jersey on 15 Jun 1918. After arriving in the French port of Saint Nazaire on 28 Jun 1918 the entire division went through training in trench warfare. The 29th Division was then sent to the front lines to a "quiet" sector. PVT Blow was killed in action on 8 Oct 1918, the first day of a big offensive in the vicinity of Verdun.
Because his burial overseas is not recorded we presume that PVT Blow was repatriated and re-interred close to his family in the area of Portsmouth or perhaps in Hertford County, North Carolina.
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