Morning Reports for James Robert Dodge: August - November 1918

This post is more of an update and clarification of the first few months of Grandpa Jim's military service. Thanks to the morning reports that continue to be published on fold3.com, I now have a clearer picture of my great-grandpa's first few months in the Army following his induction on August 6, 1918.

As I have covered in earlier posts, he was inducted at Salida, Colorado on August 6, 1918, and sent to Fort Logan, Colorado, arriving there the next day. He was assigned to 19th Company, General Service Infantry, given his serial number issued his uniform and equipment, and filled out paperwork for enlistment and insurance. 

He then left Fort Logan on August 9th for Camp MacArthur, Texas, arriving there on the 11th. Upon arrival, he was assigned to Co. K, 3rd Replacement Battalion. The morning report indicates that he was one of 132 enlisted men who were assigned to this company on the 11th. The morning report even gives the hour - 10:00 am. Below is the morning report from the 11th and 12th of August, 1918.

While there is no specific mention of Grandpa Jim in the morning reports, they do give some detail as to the the activities of the unit and changes in status of individual solders assigned to each unit. The morning reports do list individual soldiers who were promoted, demoted, disciplined, transferred, AWOL, deserted, died, etc. Right now, not all of the morning reports are searchable by index on fold3.com. You need to know the unit that the soldier you are looking for belonged to.

Grandpa Jim was assigned to Co. K, 3rd Replacement Battalion until September 16th, when he, along with 249 other soldiers, were transferred to Camp MacArthur September Automatic Replacement Draft Company #16. They left Camp MacArthur at 2:00 pm and arrived at Camp Merritt, New Jersey at 12:30 am on September 20th, after a train ride of nearly four days. Below are the morning reports for Co. K, 3rd Replacement Battalion & Camp MacArthur September Automatic Replacement Draft Company #16.

I can't imagine what the train rides must have been like. Being stuck in close, cramped quarters for four days riding across the country probably wasn't the most pleasant experience (think of the opening scene from the movie Biloxi Blues). This is the only entry for Camp MacArthur September Automatic Replacement Draft Company #16 that is available on fold3.com. Camp MacArthur September Automatic Replacement Draft Company #15 gives some additional details for the journey from Camp Merritt to their destination in France. According to Company #15, they left Camp Merritt on September 22nd at 3:45 am and were sent to the Port of Embarkation at Hoboken, approximately 20 miles to the South. For some geographical context, Camp Merritt is across the Hudson River from Yonkers, New York, and the Port of Embarkation at Hoboken is across the Hudson River from mid-town Manhattan.

Upon arriving in Hoboken, Camp MacArthur September Automatic Replacement Draft Company #16 boarded the US Army Transport President Grant, which set sail the next day, September 23rd at 4:30 am, for St. Nazaire, France. ancestry.com (as well as fold3.com) have published the troopship manifests from WWI. They not only list the names, ranks and service numbers of the troops that were transported to and from the war front, they also give the shipping details of each voyage. On this particular trip, there were a total of nearly 5,500 troops sailing to France. Also, the ship had just returned to the US six days earlier, on the 17th of September. To have that kind of turnaround to disembark and unload the ship and to embark and load again is pretty remarkable.

After a journey of 15 days, the USAT President Grant arrived at St. Nazaire, France on October 7, 1918 at 4:30 am. Disembarkation of the ship began that evening at 7pm and continued until the 10th. According to the morning reports for Co. #15 (Co. #16 are not published for October 1918), the troops remained at Base #1 and did their usual duties until the 28th (I would imagine including continuing basic training), when they were transferred to the 162nd Infantry Regiment and Co. #15 disbanded.

According to the morning reports for Co. #15, if the company Grandpa Jim was in (Co. #16) followed the same timeline, he would have remained attached to Co. #16 through most of October. According to the monthly reports (which are on Family Search) he was assigned to Co. C, 162nd Infantry Regiment in October of 1918. Reading through the morning reports for October 1918 for this Company, it is very likely that he was attached on October 28, 1918. The morning report for October 29, 1918 reads: '170 Privates attached this Co. for Qrs. duty and rations for supper 10-28-18.' The next day, October 30, 1918, the report was amended and reads: '146 Privates assigned to Co. per S.O. #288 H.Q. Int. D.D. Oct. 29, 1918' Below is the morning report for Co. C, 162nd Infantry Regiment for October 28-30, 1918.

Grandpa Jim was with Co. C, 162nd Infantry Regiment until November 16, 1918, when '200 Privates transferred to 2nd Division per Par. 40, S.O. #315, H.Q. Int. D.D. Nov. 15, 1918' This meant that Grandpa Jim was attached to the 2nd Division on November 16, 1918, although he wasn't assigned to Co. F, 9th Infantry Regiment until November 28, 1918. This means that he (and many others) did participate in the March to the Rhine as a member of the 2nd Infantry Division, and was assigned to his Company and Regiment following completion of the march. The March to the Rhine began on November 17, 1918 and crossed France, through Belgium and Luxembourg to Germany, a distance of some sixty miles. The distance was covered in six days. This meant that he had one day to make sure he had his gear ready to go for the march.

Below is the morning report for Co. C, 162nd Infantry Regiment for November 1918.

In one of my earlier posts, I listed Grandpa Jim's complete military service. I've gone back and updated that post to reflect the updates that I have recently found. This definitely has been very interesting to piece together my great-grandpa's service record. With the morning reports and his VA Claims File to add to the information from the troopship manifests and monthly reports, this definitely helps add clarity and understanding to his military service in the absence of his official military personnel file.

Morning Reports for David Nemetzky

The finds just keep coming this year...fold3.com continues to publish the US Army morning reports from 1912 through 1939. They have just published the morning reports for much of the Medical Department, and I have found numerous references for David Nemetzky from 1917 through 1931 (so far). The morning reports were kept in (mostly) handwritten booklets that recorded the daily activities of the soldiers who were either transferred, attached for duty, sent out on detached service, furloughed, discharged, enlisted, or court-martialed. I'm finding that not every morning report that would have ever been kept is being published. There are gaps in some of the places where he served (Nogales, Arizona and Vancouver Barracks, for example). Some of the places where he served don't have any morning reports available (Camp Lewis, Washington & Fort Hancock, New Jersey from 1925 through 1927). Other places where he served are published and contain a complete record of the morning reports that were kept (such as Letterman General Hospital). I was surprised to find a couple of the morning reports where he served, as they helped fill in some of the remaining gaps in his military service (such as USA General Hospitals #2 & #41 from 1919). There are too many images to publish here, so I have put together an extracted list of the morning reports I have found for David Nemetzky.

1917

April 25 – Station Hospital, Nogales, Arizona: Sgt. Nemetzky transferred to Presidio of San Francisco, Cal., per tel. H.S.D. April 22, 1917.

1918

January 23 – Prison Mess, Presidio of San Francisco, California: Confined-Nemetzky, David, Sgt. 1st Cl. M.D.

February 22 – Prison Mess, Presidio of San Francisco, California: Released-Sgt. 1st Cl. Nemetzky, Med. Dept.

March 10 – Station Hospital, Vancouver Barracks, Washington: 1 Sgt. 1st Class joined for duty this date from Presidio of San Francisco, California per Tel. West Dept. Mar. 5, 1918.

September 12 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Hospital Sergeant David Nemetzky D/S to enroute to join.

September 17 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Hospital Sergeant David Nemetzky from D/S, enroute to join, to duty.

November 13 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Hospital Sergeant David Nemetzky transferred to Camp Lewis, Washington. Left for new station.

November 15 – Base Hospital 162, Camp Lewis, Washington: Hospital Sergeant Nemetzky, joined for duty from Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California per Par. 41, S.O. 224, Headquarters Camp Lewis, Washington.

December 23 – Base Hospital 162, Camp Lewis, Washington: Hospital Sergeant Nemetzky transferred USA Base Hospital, Camp Lewis, Washington per Par. 15, S.O. 64, Headquarters Camp Lewis, Washington.

December 24 – USA Base Hospital, Camp Lewis, Washington: Hospital Sergeant Nemetzky joined for duty by transfer from Base Hospital 162, Par. 15, S.O. 64, Headquarters, Camp Lewis, Washington.

1919

January 8 – USA Base Hospital, Camp Lewis, Washington: Hospital Sergeant Nemetzky Duty to Absent with Leave

January 26 – USA Base Hospital, Camp Lewis, Washington: Hospital Sergeant Nemetzky furlough extended 10 days per soldier’s tele.

January 27 – USA Base Hospital, Camp Lewis, Washington: Master Hospital Sergeant David Nemetzky promoted from Hospital Sergeant warrant Surgeon General Office dated 12/19/18 to rank from 12/16/8.

February – USA Base Hospital, Camp Lewis, Washington: Master Hospital Sergeant David Nemetzky, carried as AWOL thru error in not receiving authority from War Dept. for transfer, transferred to Port of Embarkation Hoboken, New Jersey for duty per W.D. Special order No. 30-E, dated 2/5/19.

May 17 – Embarkation Hospital #4, New York City: Master Hospital Sergeant Nemetzky reported for duty.

June 13 – Embarkation Hospital #4, New York City: Master Hospital Sergeant Nemetzky furloughed to reserve.

September 13 – USA General Hospital #2, Fort McHenry, Maryland: Master Hospital Sergeant Nemetzky joined by transfer from Fort Slocum, per authorization Par. 22, S.O. 240 dated September 10, 1919.

October 7 – USA General Hospital #2, Fort McHenry, Maryland: Master Hospital Sergeant Nemetzky, duty to hospital.

October 19 – USA General Hospital #2, Fort McHenry, Maryland: Master Hospital Sergeant Nemetzky, hospital to duty.

November 1 – USA General Hospital #2, Fort McHenry, Maryland: Master Hospital Sergeant Nemetzky transferred to Fox Hills Hospital per authorization Par. 1, S.O. 303 dated October 30, 1919.

November 3 – General Hospital #41, Staten Island, New York: Master Hospital Sergeant David Nemetzky joined per Par. 1, S.O. 303, USA General Hospital #2, 10/30/19.

1920

April 19 – General Hospital #41, Staten Island, New York: Master Hospital Sergeant Nemetsky, David (R8504221) from duty to Detached Service.

April 21 – General Hospital #41, Staten Island, New York: Master Hospital Sergeant Nemetsky, David (R850422) from detached service to duty.

July 1 – General Hospital #41, Staten Island, New York: Nemetsky, David (R-850422) from Master Hospital Sergeant to Sergeant First Class.

July 19 – General Hospital #41, Staten Island, New York: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David (850422), from duty to detached service.

August 11 – General Hospital #41, Staten Island, New York: Staff Sergeant Nametszky, David (850422) from detached service to duty.

August 13 – General Hospital #41, Staten Island, New York: Sergeant Nemetsky, David (R-850422) erroneously carried on morning report since July 1, 1920 as Staff Sergeant, should be carried as Sergeant effective July 1, 1920.

October 21 – General Hospital #41, Staten Island, New York: Sergeant Nemetzky, David (R850422) transferred to Attending Surgeon’s Office, New York, New York.

October 22 – Attending Surgeons Office, New York City, New York: Sergeant David Nemetzky (R-850422) Med. Dept., joined for duty, this date, from Hoff General Hospital, Staten Island, New York, in compliance with Tel. Instructions, W.D. A.G.O., dated October 7, 1920.

December 28 – Attending Surgeon’s Office, New York City, New York: Sergeant David Nemetzky (R-850422) Med. Dept., appointed Staff Sergeant Med. Dept., to rank December 15, 1920, per warrant S.G.O., dated December 15, 1920.

1921

May 6 – Attending Surgeon’s Office, New York City, New York: Staff Sergeant David Nemetzky, from duty to furlough for two months per 2nd Ind., Hq., 2nd Corps Area, dated May 3, 1921.

August 8 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, transferred from the Attending Surgeon’s Office, 2nd C.A., New York City, N.Y., Med. Dept. Command for duty. Not yet joined (on furlough).

August 17 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, furloughed to duty.

August 30 – Attending Surgeon’s Office, New York City, New York: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky transferred.

September 10 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, D.S. at Fort Steilacoom, Washington, 5 pm.

September 16 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, at Fort Steilacoom, Washington, to duty, 6 am.

December 1 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, duty to hospital, 9 am.

December 6 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, hospital to duty, 1 pm.

1922

June 24 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, D.S. at Plattsburg, N.Y., 6 pm.

July 13 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, D.S. at Plattsburg, N.Y., to duty, 7 am.

July 24 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, duty to hospital, 4 pm.

August 9 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, hospital to duty, 1 pm.

September 8 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, honorable discharge ETS. Cha. Exc. 5 pm.

September 9 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, Reenlisted at post and joined 7 am.

October 18 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California:Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, duty to furlough 10 days, 6 am.

October 27 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, furlough to duty, 9 pm.

1923

January 16 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, duty to furlough 2 months, 6 am.

February 27 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, furlough to duty, 6 pm.

March 22 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, D.S. at Salt Lake City, Utah, 10 am.

May 16 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, D.S. Recruiting Service at Salt Lake City, Utah, to duty, 6 am.

July 16 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky, David, transferred to William Beaumont General Hospital, El Paso, Texas for duty, 6pm.

July 18 – William Beaumont General Hospital, El Paso, Texas: Staff Sergeant David Nemetzky R-850422, joined for duty at 8:30 am from Letterman General Hospital, per S.O. 153, Headquarters, Letterman General Hospital, Presidio of San Francisco, California, July 12, 1923.

1924

January 21 – William Beaumont General Hospital, El Paso, Texas: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky honorably discharged under Provision A.R. 615-210, Letter W.D., January 7, 1924 and S.O. 14, Headquarters 8th Corps Area January 17, 1924, at 1:00 pm.

January 22 – William Beaumont General Hospital, El Paso, Texas: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky reenlisted for three years.

January 26 – William Beaumont General Hospital, El Paso, Texas: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky from duty at hospital to Overseas Discharge and Replacement Depot, Fort McDowell, California, per S.O. 14, Headquarters 8th Corps Area January 17, 1924.

March 31 – Medical Department, Tientsin, China: Staff Sgt. Nemidski Jd. for duty pp 7 S.O. 14 Hq. 8th Corp Area Jan. 17, 24 and par. 1 S.O. 35 HQ A.F.C. Mar. 30, 24.

July 4 – Medical Department, Tientsin, China: S. Sgt. Nemetzky authorized to mess separately, per 3rd Ind., C.O. Am. Bks.

November 21 – Medical Department, Tientsin, China: Staff Sgt Nemetzky D/S at Chinwangtao left station 10 a.m.

November 23 – Medical Department, Tientsin, China: Staff Sgt. Nemetzky D/S to Duty 1:15 a.m.

1925

October 12 – Medical Department, Tientsin, China: Staff Sgt. D. Nemetzky trsfd to Letter Gen’l Hosp. Left this station at 11pm.

1928

January 9 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky joined for duty from Fort McDowell, California; January 9, 1928, 4:00 pm.

January 11 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky from rationed with detachment to rationed separately.

August 4, 1928 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky from duty to furlough 10 days.

August 13 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky from furlough to duty.

1930

January 5 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky duty to hospital, 10:00 pm.

January 8 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky hospital to duty, 1:00 pm

January 21 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky duty to discharge, 6:00 pm.

January 22 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky reenlisted at Post in grade and joined Detachment for duty 10:00 am.

February 10 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky duty to sick in quarters.

February 24 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky sick in quarters to duty.

October 6 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky duty to furlough 90 days

1931

January 6 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky furlough to duty.

January 27 – Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California: Staff Sergeant Nemetzky duty to discharge 6:00 pm.

***UPDATE DECEMBER 2022***

I have gone back through the Morning Reports and found six additional entries for David Nemetzky. I found two for him at the Post Hospital, Army Supply Base, Brooklyn and the Medical Department at the Presidio of San Francisco. Below are the entries that I found.

1917

April 27 – Presidio of San Francisco: Sgt. Nemetzky joined a.m. 26th

1918

January 24 – Presidio of San Francisco: Sgt. Nemetzki from duty to confinement Jan. 23, 1918 p.m.

February 23 – Presidio of San Francisco: Sgt. 1st Class Nemetski from confinement to duty Feb. 22, 1918 a.m.

March 8 – Presidio of San Francisco: 1 Sgt. transferred to Vancouver Barracks, Washington March 7, 1918 p.m. per telegraphic instructions West. Dept. dated March 5, 1918.

1919

Feb 10 – Post Hospital, Army Supply Base, Brooklyn: Master Hosp. Sgt. David Nemetzka assigned to and joined for duty 2 p.m.

May 17 – Post Hospital, Army Supply Base, Brooklyn: 1 Master Hosp. Sgt. transferred to USA Embarkation Hospital #4, N.Y.C., per V.O. Surg. P. of E., Hoboken, N.J., May 16, 1919.

I also looked through the Morning Reports from the Presidio of San Francisco for the other soldiers that were involved in his General Court Martial while he was stationed there in 1918. These other soldiers, all subordinates (including a subordinate non-commissioned officer) conspired to frame him for misappropriation of military property; namely: turkeys, eggs and butter. David Nemetzky was acquitted of the charges. According to the Morning Reports, the ringleader of this conspiracy, a subordinate NCO named Charles W. Adamson, faced his own General Court Martial in early 1919 and was imprisoned on March 10, 1919. The monthly reports for April & May of 1919 indicate that Adamson was busted all the way from Master Hospital Sergeant down to Private. I have just reached out to the National Archives in St. Louis for a copy of the General Court Martial record so I can find out what Adamson was convicted for at his General Court Martial.

VA Claims File for James Robert Dodge - Applying for a Widow's Pension in 1950

Following Grandpa Jim's death in 1949, and in addition to being awarded funeral benefits, my great-grandma, Alice Lemoine Dodge also applied for a pension. In order to apply for a pension, she had to provide several pieces of information, including proof of death of the veteran, proof of his military service, proof that she was not presently married to anyone else (including proof she was divorced from her first husband - I have another blog that details her divorce from her first husband), proof of income and expenses, and information on her children. Below is a copy of her initial pension application from 1950.

Based on all the information she provided, great-grandma was awarded a monthly pension of $54.00 per month for being the widow of a veteran. This certainly was not much income, but it was enough to help her get by. In reviewing the information that she provided, I was surprised to learn that my grandpa paid $40 per month for room and board. It also appears that in addition to attending high school, uncle Alfred also helped support great-grandma by working as well. During the 1950's, both her sons were drafted into military service. Robert (my grandpa) was drafted in November of 1951 and served in the Marine Corps. Grandpa did not see combat, but was stationed in Haiti & Jamaica. Alfred was drafted in 1953 and served in the Army. Both were honorably discharged following completion of their military service. Following their military service, both sons married and moved away. Grandpa met my grandma in Evanston, married in Randolph in 1954, and lived in Clearfield, Utah. Uncle Alfred married his wife, Donna, in North Dakota in 1955 and lived in Minot, North Dakota. They would later live in Marietta, Georgia.

Great-grandma continued to live in Rawlins. She maintained her pension by providing annual statements of her income to the VA. According to this information, she began receiving social security in 1959, which was a small addition to her income. In 1976, great-grandma sold her home in Rawlins and moved to Clearfield, Utah. Even though she lived in a small apartment, she gave the VA grandpa's address, so her mail and pension checks from the VA wouldn't get lost or misplaced (so I assume, but that idea makes sense). When great-grandma passed away on April 21, 1989, her monthly pension was $121 per month (in addition to her social security). The last forms in the Claims File are a letter from my grandpa informing them of my great-grandma's death and processing forms closing the Claims File.

I remember visiting my great-grandma in her apartment in Clearfield when I was a little kid. She loved having me and my sister over and would give us each a sugar cookie every time we were over. Being a little kid, I was oblivious to personal finances and had no idea how much, or how little, money she had. I also had no idea of the life she had lived and the things she had been through. I just remember that she loved having us over and enjoyed spending time with her great-grandkids. She was always there for birthdays and family get togethers (I have a picture of her with my other two great-grandmas at one of our birthdays when I was a kid). I remember when she passed away and being sad thinking about how she wouldn't be there anymore. The viewing was in Clearfield and we were all there. I even signed the funeral book. I didn't know what to expect at the viewing, but mom reassured us that there was nothing to be afraid of, and even encouraged us to touch her hand, which we did. She was buried in Rawlins.

These last several posts have been very interesting to go through. 70 years of family history, giving additional information and insights to my great-grandpa's life and what he went through after serving in the Army in WWI as well as giving additional information on my great grandma's life. I would like to finish with a few pictures of my great-grandma from the 1950's through the 1980's, as well as a few more pics of the home they built in Rawlins.

Great-grandma with Grandpa - 1946

Grandpa in the Marines - outside the home in Rawlins

Uncle Alfred - outside the home in Rawlins

Great-grandma - outside the home in Rawlins

Great-grandma with her sons - 1950's

Great-grandma - 1950's

633 Davis Street - 1949

1950

2010

Great-grandma in 1976, when she moved to Clearfield

Her 90th Birthday - 1987

Great-grandma at one of our family get togethers - the little tow-headed boy is me.

My great-grandma.

VA Claims File for James Robert Dodge - 1949: Death and Burial Benefits

On December 23, 1949, at 633 Davis Street in Rawlins, Wyoming, James Robert Dodge passed away, having taken his own life. In learning about my great-grandpa's life over the years, I have come to see that he was a good man who did what he could to take care of and provide for his family. He had his challenges and struggles and he did the best with what he had. I believe that in some future day I shall be able to meet him and get to know him in person. For now, I have memories, pictures and stories that have been handed down as well as research that has helped fill in some of the events in his life.

His funeral was held on December 26, 1949 at the McKelvey Funeral Home in Rawlins. He is buried in the Rawlins City Cemetery. At his funeral, the following tribute was shared. It was among my great-grandparents' effects that was passed down to me:

'Although you're gone forever, and your hand we cannot touch, we will never lose fond memories of the one we loved so much. Rest in peace our Darling, your work on earth is done. You are gone where those who loved you, will be coming one by one.'

Below is a copy of his obituary. His sons, Robert and Alfred, were 19 and 17 at the time of his death. Robert (my grandpa) was working for the Union Pacific Railroad. Alfred was attending Rawlins High School. He had kept in touch with his sisters, Rae, Frances and Ann (it says Alice Graham) over the years. He also had a brother, Dwight, who was still alive and living in Woodlake, California, whom he had lost touch with. Another sister, Clara, had gone to Saskatchewan, Canada with her husband and children in 1911. Clara passed away there in 1943. Another brother, Edward, stayed in Colorado and passed away in 1934 in Fairplay. His two oldest brothers, Sherman and Alfred, had long since disappeared (I have published additional posts on each of these brothers detailing their last known whereabouts).

Being a veteran, he was eligible for funeral benefits. A flag was provided in time for his funeral. In addition, the government paid $150 towards his funeral expenses. His funeral cost $389.85 (nearly $5,000 today). A copy of the application for the flag and funeral allowance are below.

Finally, he received a gravestone. The gravestone application is not part of the Claims file. However, the gravestone application is available online. A copy of the gravestone application and the is below. Also below is a picture of the original headstone. It was replaced with a double headstone after my great-grandma passed away.

I know this post is shorter than the others I have shared. The information on each of the forms was verified not only with information on file with the VA, but also his official military personnel file. His personnel file was one of the millions that were damaged or destroyed in the 1973 National Archives fire. His VA Claims File is a great source of verifying his military service and providing his service information. In addition, the headstone application, troopship manifests, monthly rosters and morning reports that are now being published online through Ancestry, Family Search, and Fold3 have been great sources of information to help color in his military service.

The next (and possibly last) post will look at my great-grandma's application for a pension and some of her life after Grandpa Jim's death.