PFC Franklin Tucker Wilkins

courtesy of Susan in Charlottesville

PFC Franklin Tucker Wilkins was born 19 Apr 1884 in Charlottesville, Virginia the 7th of 8 children born to George W. and Nancy (Johnson) Wilkins.  His father worked as a carpenter. In 1910, "Tuck" was living with his oldest brother's family and working as a plumber.

After entering the service Tuck was assigned to H Company 116th Infantry, trained with the unit at Camp McClellan and Anniston, Alabama and sailed with the unit aboard the USS Finland for France.  PFC Wilkins was killed in action on 23 Oct 1918.

PFC Wilkins was repatriated and is now buried near family in Oakwood Cemetery in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Tuck's father served as a PVT in A Company 19th Virginia Infantry in the Civil War.

PVT Hobson Dewey Byers

courtesy of J. Stockwell

PVT Hobson Dewey Byers was born 11 Mar 1898 in Alleghany County, Virginia the 3rd of 5 children of John William and Bettie Agnes (Givens) Byers. The family farmed and later, John would work at a papermill in Covington, Virginia.

It seems that Hobson and his older brother Roy enlisted together in a unit which was reorganized as a part of H Company 116th Infantry as both were assigned to the unit. Both brothers were aboard the USS Finland when the unit was sent to France in June 1918.  The brothers were in close proximity when PVT Hobson Byers was killed in action on 23 Oct 1918.

Hobson was repatriated and is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Covington, Virginia.

His brother Roy Kenneth Byers served as a PFC and survived the war.  He would pass away in 1960 from injuries suffered as a passenger in an auto accident. 

PVT Arthur Blanton

PVT Arthur Blanton was born 2 May 1893 in Harlan County, Kentucky the youngest of 3 sons of Henry Clay and Louisa (Howard) Blanton.  The family farmed.

After entering the Army, Arthur was assigned to H Company 116th Infantry.  He was with that unit aboard the USS Finland for the trip to France in June 1918.  PVT Blanton was killed in action on 23 Oct 1918.

PVT Blanton was repatriated and rests forever in New Freedom Cemetery in Spiro, Kentucky.

PFC Carl Eugene Marshall

PFC Carl Eugene Marshall was born in October 1898 in Albemarle County, Virginia to Eugene Wibur and Lillie Ella (Wood) Marshall. His father worked was a merchant in the Earlysville area for many years.

After entering the Army, Carl was assigned to H Company 116th Infantry. He trained with the unit at Camp McClellan and Anniston, Alabama and sailed with the unit aboard the USS Finland to France in June 1918.  PFC Marshall was killed in action on 17 Oct 1918.

PFC Marshall is memorialized on the tablets of the missing at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery.

SGT Alvey Roy Leffel

courtesy of Anne Cady

SGT Alvey Roy Leffel was born in March 1897 in Low Moor or Clifton Forge, Virginia to James Samuel and Leanna (McNeil) Leffel. His father worked as a carpenter.  

After Alvey entered the Army he was assigned to H Company 116th Infantry.  SGT Leffel was killed in action on 16 Oct 1918.

SGT Alvey was repatriated in 1920 and re-interred in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Older brother, Arthur James Leffel served in the Navy from 1917-1921. Brother George Dewey Leffel served in the 1st Virginia Infantry and H Company 116th Infantry with Alvey. Paternal grandfaather, Samuel Leffel, served as a PVT in B Company 28th Virginia Infantry in the Civil War.

PVT George D. Edwards

PVT George D. Edwards was the son of Charles P. and Mollie Edwards and had at least one sister who married a Charles S. Tuner.  His father died before 1918. The family lived in Charlottesville, Virginia.

George joined the Monticello Guard, the Virginia Militia unit in Charlottesville, Virginia, at age 17.  He was with the unit when it was federalized and reorganized as part of H Company 116th Infantry. He trained with the unit at Anniston, Alabama. He was with the unit as it traveled to France aboard the USS Finland in June 1918.  PVT Edwards was killed in action on 16 Oct 1918.

We do not know where George is buried but presume he was repatriated and re-interred in a Charlottesville area cemetery. 

PVt Benjamin J. Reisen

PVT Benjamin J. Reisen was born 30 Aug 1889 in Grodua, Russia.  His parents may have been Solomon and Pearl Reisen.  The family lived in Brooklyn, New York.  Benjamin may have worked as a title researcher for a trust company and he also worked as a printer for Emmanuel Glick at 188 West 4th Street in New York City.  He had at least one sister, Dora, who married Samuel Grozalsky.

Benjamin was drafted/inducted on 4 May 1918.  He was sent to Camp McClellan and assigned to H Company 116th Infantry.  He trained with the unit there and at Anniston, Alabama and then traveled to France with the unit aboard the USS Finland in June 1918. His parents were likely deceased as his sister was listed as his next of kin on the manifest.  PVT Reisen was killed in action on 16 Oct 1918.

PVT Reisen was repatriated and re-interred in Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, New York.

PFC Broadus Martin

PFC Broadus Martin was born 4 Oct 1895 in Albemarle County, Virginia the 5th of 8 children born to John D.  and Myra J. (Mawyer) Martin. The family farmed.

When Broadus entered the Army he was assigned to H Company 116th Infantry.  He traveled to France with the unit aboard the USS Finland in June 1918.  PFC Martin was wounded and died of his wound(s) on 16 Oct 1918.

PFC Broadus was repatriated and re-interred in Adial Cemetery in Faber, Virginia.

CPL Arthur Marion Donahoe

CPL Arthur Marion Donahoe, b. 26 Feb 1898 - d. 15 Oct 1918. Born in Norfolk, VA, only son of Thomas Marion and Alice (Liverman) Donahoe.  Assigned to H Company 116th Infantry.  Buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery.

CPL Dakota Lee Watts

CPL Dakota Lee Watts was born in 7 Jul 1898 in Charlottesville, Virginia, the 6th of 7 children born to William E. and Virginia Eliza (Dickerson or Dickinson) Watts.  His father farmed near Towner, North Dakota but died before 1910 and the family returned to Virginia where they farmed in the  Samuel Miller district of Albemarle County.

After entering the Army, Dakota was assigned to H Company 116th Infantry. He trained with the unit at Camp McClellan and Anniston, Alabama and was already a CPL when he shipped out with the unit for France aboard the USS Finland.  CPL Watts was killed in action on 11 Oct 1918.

CPL Watts was buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery. 

PVT Wenzel Walecka

PVT Wenzel Walecka was born 14 Nov 1893 in Montpelier, Wisconsin the 3rd of 6 children of Wenzel and Antonia (Tichy) Walecka. His parents were both born in Bohemia. The family farmed.

After Wenzel entered the Army he was assigned to H Company 116th Infantry. He trained with the unit and sailed aboard the USS Finland with the unit to France. PVT Walecka was killed in action on 11 Oct 1918.

From his obituary:

Entire Community Turns Out to Honor Hero Who Died in France  The remains of Private Wenzel M. Walecka, one of the sixteen young men of this county that made the supreme sacrifice, arrived here Friday morning under military escort of Private Wayne Holdridge of Camp Grant and were immediately taken to the Walecka home in the town of Montpelier.  Flags on the court house and various places about the city were at half mast out of respect to the memory of the deceased hero on the arrival of the remains here.  A squad of Kewaunee Post No. 29, American Legion, were at the depot to receive the remains and honor their fallen comrade.  Wenzel M. Walecka was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Wenzel Walecka of the town of Montpelier, and was born there on Nov. 14, 1893.  He attended the district school at Ellisville, and after graduation he chose to follow the cheesemaking trade and became an apprentice in a factory near his home.  He later took a course in the Dairy School at Madison and upon his return accepted a position as cheesmaker at Ryan, which occupation he was engaged in when the call to the colors came in March, 1918.  He entrained at Kewaunee on March. 29th of that year, for Camp Custer, Mich., later being transferred to Camp Gordon, Ga., then to Camp McClellan, Alabama.  Shortly following, he was sent overseas, and after a brief training in the rear he was sent to the front.  His last letter home was written on Sept. 10th and was received on the tenth of the following month the day before he was killed in action.  Private Walecka was a member of Co. H. 116th Inf.  Because of his trustworthiness, he was assigned to the important and hazardous duty of a platoon runner, and it was while engaged in this work that he was killed on Oct. 11th, at 4:00 o'clock P.M., while in a shell hole with six other men when he was hit somewhere about the waist by a direct hit of a high explosive shell.  The battle in which he was killed, took place southeast of the Molleville farm in the Conseuvoge wood, and his body was buried the next day close to the spot  where he fell, by a burial detail under Chaplain Thomas Bulla who was later also killed in action.  His captain, in a letter to Private Walecka's parents, spoke of him in the highest terms, praising his soldierly courage and strict performance of duty no matter how dangerous.  He was always first to respond when volunteers were called upon and, in the words of his superior, he was every inch a soldier.  The funeral Monday morning, was one of the largest seen in this vicinity for years, more than seventy cars followed the remains from the late home to St. John's Catholic church at Krok, where Rev. Koutnik sang a requiem high mass at ten o'clock.  The church was far too small to seat the many relatives, friends and ex-service men that came to pay their last respects to the deceased.  Kewaunee Post, American Legion, had charge of the military part of the funeral and acted as guard of honor.  About thirty ex-service men in uniform were present at the last rites.  Six ex-service men in uniform and wearing helmets were the pall bearers.  After the religious services at the grave a salute was fired and taps sounded over the last resting place of the hero who gave his all for his country's sake.

PVT Walecka was repatriated and re-interred in Saint John Nepomucene Cemetery in Krok, Wisconsin.

PVT Abraham Fuchs

PVT Abraham Fuchs was born 1 May 1895 in Russia.  He lived at 757 Kelly Street, Bronx, New York and worked as a salesman at E. Marino's at 818 161st Street, also in the Bronx.

Abraham was drafted in May 1918 and sent to H Company 116th Infantry at Camp McClellan.  He shipped out with the unit aboard the USS Finland in June 1915, his emergency contact being a friend. PVT Fuchs was killed in action on 8 Oct 1918.

PFC Joseph Alfred Byers

PFC Joseph Alfred Byers was probably born Boiling Spring in Alleghany County, Virginia in June 1899. He was the youngest of 3 children and only son born to Samuel Lee and Sarah E. (Fridley) Byers.  The family farmed.

Joseph likely entered the National Guard unit with his cousin when the federalization was announced. Sent to Camp McClellan, Alabama the unit was reorganized as part of H Company 116th Infantry. The unit sailed for France from Hoboken, New Jersey aboard the USS Finland on 15 Jun 1918.  The ship docked in Saint Nazaire, France on 28 Jun 1918. After training in trench warfare and time in a "quiet" sector on the front lines the 116th was part of a major offensive in the vicinity of Verdun. PFC Byers was killed on the first day of the offensive.

PFC Byers is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery.

First cousin to PVT Hobson Dewey Byers also of H Company who was killed in action on 23 Oct 1918.

PVT Louis Maietta

PVT Louis Maietta, b. 1 Mar 1893 - d. 8 Oct 1918. Born in Cervinara, Italy to Antonio and Rosa Maietta, Louis immigrated with his parents in 1907 crossing on the ship Virginia. The family settled in Peekskill, NY. At some point in time Louis became a machine operator for Remington Arms Company. Assigned to H Company 116th Infantry, PVT Maietta became ill and died of pneumonia in France. He was survived by his parents and is buried in the Saint Mihiel American Cemetery in France.

PVT William King

PVT William King was born 2 Jul 1890 in New York, New York the first-born of John and Catherine (Jolly) King.  We think that father John was a teamster and he apparently died about 1908. In 1910 William was working on the docks.  The family lived for many years at 50 or 150 Cherry Street.

After William entered the army in 1918 he was assigned to H Company 116th Infantry.  He was with the unit when it sailed for France aboard the USS Finland in June 1918.  PVT King was killed in action on 8 Oct 1918.

We think that PVT King was repatriated and is buried in the New York area.

PVT Joseph Quattrosische

courtesy of Ann Cady

PVT Joseph Quattrosische was born about 1896 in Sorone, Italy. He had a sister, Francesca, who was still living in Italy in 1918.

Joseph was drafted on 2 May 1918. He was sent to France aboard the SS Lapland on 14 Sep 1918. It is likely that he was already ill from the voyage when he was assigned to H Company 116th Infantry and was soon evacuated, eventually to a hospital in Liverpool, England where he died of pneumonia on 6 Oct 1918.

PVT Quattrosische was repatriated in 1920 and re-interred in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

NOTE: Joseph's name seems to have been misspelled often.

Supply SGT Bedford C. Lam

Supply SGT Bedford C. Lam was born 19 Sep 1896 in Alleghany County, Virginia the only son of Charles Davis and Anna Eliza (Moore) Lam. His father was a policeman in Covington, Virginia.

Bedford first enlisted in H Company 1st Virginia Infantry on 1 Dec 1914 at the age of 18.  His mother signed the permission because he was not yet of age. PVT Lam was still with the unit when it was reorganized for Federal service to form H Company 116th Infantry.  He was with the unit for training at Camp McClellan and when it sailed for France in June 1918.  Because of his experience he was eventually put in a position of responsibility as the unit supply sergeant. SGT Lam died of disease on 1 Aug 1918. 

Supply SGT Lam was buried in the Saint Mihiel American Cemetery.

PVT Alphus C. Robey

courtesy of Doc Wilson

PVT Alphus C. Robey was born 5 Jan 1895 in Alexandria, Virginia the 3rd of 6 children of Alpheus and Anne Elizabeth (Miller) Robey.  His father was a waterman and Alphus followed him into that work. The family lived at 114 Duke Street in Alexandria.

Alphus enlisted in G Company 1st Virginia Infantry and served on the Mexican border and was then one of those men assigned D Company 1st Virginia before it was reorganized as part of H Company 116th Infantry.  He trained with H Company at Camp McClellan and Anniston, Alabama.  He sailed with the unit from Hoboken, New Jersey with H Company on 15 Jun 1918 aboard the USS Finland.  PVT Robey was accidentally shot and killed on 25 Jul 1918. 

PVT Robey was repatriated and re-interred in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Older brother, Walter Everett Robey, served as a PFC in H Company with Alphus. Walter died in 1958 and is buried in Alexandria National Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia.

SGT Martin Benson Love

SGT Martin Benson Love was born 11 Nov 1919 in Leominster, Massachusetts the youngest of three children of Andrew and Margaret Elizabeth (Benson) Love.  Andrew was a native of County Fermanagh, Ireland and Margaret a native of Ballymote, Ireland, and both had immigrated about 1907. The family lived for many years at 9 Morton Street in Leominster. Andrew was janitor/custodian in the Leominster school system reporting a 1939 income of $1562.  Martin was a clerk in a retail store and reported a 1939 income of $936 but was still living with his parents. 

Martin was drafted in February 1942 and was sent to England in October 1942.  He was then assigned to H Company 116th Infantry.  He trained with that unit for the amphibious assault on French beaches in Normandy for the invasion of Hitler's "fortress Europe". PFC Love fought with the unit from 6 Jun 1944 through 25 Jul 1944 when he was promoted to SGT.  He was wounded on 6 Aug 1944 and evacuated to hospital. It may have been in this action that SGT Love carried a wounded comrade 300 yards to the rear, under fire, to ensure that he got life-saving care.  It was for that act that SGT Love was awarded the Silver Star posthumously.  SGT Martin returned to the unit from the replacement depot on 27 Oct 1944.  He was killed in action one month later, on 27 Nov 1944.

SSG Leo was repatriated and buried in the Saint Leo Cemetery in Leominster, Massachusetts. Older brother Joseph Andrew Love also served in the Army during the war, in part at Camp Swift, Texas.

PVT Tony Heede

PVT Tony (Tonny) Heede, b. 19 Mar 1911 - d. 27 Nov 1944. Son of Alex and Kristine Johanne (Schou) Heede, Tony was born in Kristiansand, Norway and was naturalized in 1938. He lived in East Bridgewater, MA with his wife Joan and daughter June who survived him as did his mother and 9 siblings. PVT Heede was assigned to H Company 116th Infantry 24 Oct 1944. He is buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery.