USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Andover > Andover, Massachusetts, in the world war > Part 4
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7
PATRICK JOSEPH O'NEIL Private, Victoria Rifles, Canadian Army Killed in action, August 27, 1918
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THE GLORIOUS DEAD
Babio C. S. Croall
" You have scaled the starry heights of fame, Nor ever shrunk from peril and distress In fight undaunted for the conqueror's prize."
David C. S. Croall, like William Rae, was a native of Arbroath, Scotland, where he was born in 1886. At the age of twenty he emigrated to America and settled in Andover, where he was in the employ of the Tyer Rubber Company. He was married in 1912, to Miss Jessie Kircaldy, and had learned to call Andover his home.
Early in 1915, however, when the call of the Empire for men became strong, Croall returned to Scotland and enlisted in the Lewis Gun section of the 5th Black Watch Regiment. He was, of course, constantly within the danger zone, and, after a series of sanguinary battles, he was badly wounded and invalided home. Here he had a chance to see his only son, who had been born during his absence; but his visit could be only a short one, and he was soon again in the front line trenches. Six weeks after his return, on April 27, 1918, he was killed by a sniper's bullet, at Voormegeleeon.
Private Croall was a young man of quiet and thoughtful disposition, but ex- ceedingly popular both among his fellow members of Clan Johnston and in the town at large. He played on the Andover cricket team and was also very fond of soccer. His loyalty to Scotland was an example to every American of the power of duty and of patriotism.
Patrick Joseph D' Heil
"Unto each man his handiwork, unto each his crown The just fate gives: Who so takes the world's life on him, and his own lays down He, dying so, lives.
Patrick J. O'Neil enlisted in the Victoria Rifles of the Canadian Expedition- ary Forces in the summer of 1917 and was the only Andover man with the Domin- ion troops to fall before the enemy's fire.
Private O'Neil was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, and came to America in 1910, settling in Andover, where he made a home for himself. When the call for reinforcements came in 1917, he left his wife and four small children and went forth to battle. He spent but a short time in Canada. The intensive training was done in England, but early in 1918 he crossed the channel to the front line. He was in the fiercest of the fighting for three months and well earned a brief rest
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from trench warfare. It was then he wrote home saying that he hoped the war would soon be over so that he could "return to his kiddies."
But Private O'Neil never came back. Returning to the combat in the final assault on the Germans, he fell in the heavy fighting, killed in action in France on August 27, 1918, aged thirty-four years. Besides his wife and four children he left his mother, Mrs. Sarah J. O'Neil, and three sisters. -
Charles Aitken Doung
"I can but think, while lives nobility, While honour lights a path for humankind, While aught is beautiful, or aught enshrined, Death hath o'ertaken but not conquered thee."
Charles Aitken Young, son of Mrs. William Young of Essex Street, was born in 1895, at Dundee, Scotland, but came to the United States with his family when he was only eleven years old. When America entered the World War, on April 6, 1917, he was at work in the Smith and Dove factory, but enlisted almost imme- diately in the newly-formed 26th Division, in which he was assigned to Company B, 101st Infantry. The story of the exploits of the Yankee Division is known to every New Englander, - and of them Private Charles Young was a part. In the drive on Château Thierry in the early summer of 1918, however, he received a wound in the left hand. Although he was sent at once to the hospital, blood poisoning soon set in, and, on September 2, 1918, he died, this being the first fatality among Andover men in the American Expeditionary Forces.
Charles Young was a modest and genial young man, of high ideals and as- pirations. His devotion to his family and his interest in the public welfare had already shown him to be a promising citizen. He was a member of the Grenfell Class of young men in the Free Church, and the class turned out in a body when Private Young, on June 21, 1921, was buried with full military honors. With the pipes playing "Lochaber No More," the body of the boy soldier was escorted to Spring Grove Cemetery, and there laid to rest. Our little town has seldom seen a more impressive funeral.
Michael Joseph Daly
"He marched away with a blithe young score of him With the first volunteers, Clear-eyed and clean and sound to the core of him, Blushing under the cheers."
Michael Joseph Daly, son of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Daly of Buxton Court, was the first native Andoverian to give his life for his country in the World War.
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Born in this town in 1895, he was educated in the local public schools, graduated at Punchard High School in the class of 1913, and then became a letter-carrier in the Andover Post Office. In the autumn of 1917 he enlisted, with his friend, John J. Stack, in the 45th Coast Artillery, both being sent to France in March, 1918, where they were transferred to the 119th Field Artillery. On Septem- ber 1, while a German airplane was dropping bombs on their sector, a shell ex- ploded near them, hitting both Andover boys. Private Stack was severely hurt, but recovered; Private Daly, who was struck just above the right knee, died a few days later in the hospital.
"Lug" Daly, - to give him the nickname by which he was affectionately known, - had a cheerful word for everybody on his route, and his willingness to oblige others made him exceedingly popular. An athlete of no little note, he played baseball with skill and was a member of the Andover bowling team. He belonged to Andover Council, Knights of Columbus.
Private Daly's body was eventually returned to Andover for burial, and, on May 21, 1921, a great throng of friends followed the casket as it was borne, with full military honors, to St. Augustine's church, and, after the High Requiem serv- ice, placed in its last resting place in St. Augustine's Cemetery. The ceremonies were the tribute of the town to a brave and patriotic son.
Phillips Garrison Morrison
" Not in the wild rush of the fight God saw it meet for you to die. Yet he who keeps his armor bright His Lord doth magnify. You answered equally the call, And he who gives himself gives all."
When Captain Phillips Garrison Morrison died, on October 12, 1918, of pneumonia contracted while he was in the service of his country, Andover lost one of her most promising young men. Born on March 22, 1894, in Merrimac, Mas- sachusetts, he moved to Andover with his parents, and here attended Phillips Academy, where, with his keen and active mind, he made a notable record in scholarship. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in 1916, he continued to win brilliant successes, and took high honors. In June, 1917, he was commissioned as 1st Lieutenant in the Ordnance Corps, for which work he was exceptionally well qualified, and was promoted in January of the following year to a Captaincy. His duties placed him first at the Frankford Arsenal, in Philadelphia, and later at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, in Maryland, where he died. His recommendation for a majority was about to be favorably considered.
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Captain Morrison was a high-minded, unselfish officer, always eager to do his best and willing to undertake any duty, no matter how arduous. Endowed by good fortune with remarkable mental powers, he joined with them a capacity for continuous labor unusual in one so young. He was evidently destined for a most useful career, and those who knew him find it difficult to choose the words which can fittingly do justice to his noble character.
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Thomas Tu. Platt, Fr.
"And you, to whom it was not given To die upon the foughten field,- Yes, you full equally have striven, For you your lives did yield As nobly as the men who fell, There in the blazing mouth of hell."
Thomas W. Platt, Jr., was the only Andover boy in the navy to give his life "in line of duty." The son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Platt of Walnut Avenue, he was born here in 1896, and educated in the grammar schools and in Punchard High School. He early entered the employ of the Andover Press, where he acted as monotype machinist. He was one of several members of the Andover Canoe Club to enlist in the Naval Reserve on April 7, 1917, the day after war was de- clared by the United States. Called to active service in October, 1917, he was as- signed first to Bumpkin Island, and then to the naval headquarters at Machias, Maine. His appointment as Quartermaster at Nash Island, Maine, was soon an- nounced, but he was later transferred to Ellsworth. In October, 1918, he was stricken with the prevalent influenza, which soon developed into pneumonia. Although he was at once taken to the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, New Hamp- shire, he died on October 14. At the time of his decease he held the rank of Signal Quartermaster. He is survived by his parents, and also by three brothers and two sisters.
John Joseph Murphy
"He did not die alone. His God was with him in that last dread hour; His great arm underneath him, and His smile Melting into a spirit full of peace."
Posted as missing in action on October 27, 1918, just two weeks before the armistice was signed, Sergeant John J. Murphy was, on March 4, 1919, finally given up as dead, blown to eternity by a shell in the Argonne Forest. His death
MICHAEL JOSEPH DALY Private, 119th Field Artillery, U. S. Army Died of wounds, September, 1918
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was never officially recorded by the War Department, "missing in action and presumably dead" being the notification sent to his relatives. Assurance that he died on the field of battle was conveyed in a letter from a member of his company who was with him a few minutes before the shell struck.
John J. Murphy was born in Lawrence. His parents died while he was a small boy, and he made his home with his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. James Murphy of Stevens street, Marland Village. He was employed in Marland Mills and enlisted in Co. F, 9th Mass. Inf., in October, 1914, before he was sixteen years old. He went with his company to the Mexican border in 1916 and volunteered for overseas service with his old command when war was declared. He was a member of the 101st Infantry, 26th Division, in which unit he was a sergeant at the time of his death. He fought at Seicheprey, the Second Marne, Fere, and Fismes, and, when the final drive against the Germans began, he was at St. Mihiel, where he was cited for conspicuous bravery. Then came the death valley of the Meuse, and in the Argonne he met his death. By a strange coincidence, his uncle died the same day at the Emery Hill hospital, Lawrence, during the influenza epidemic.
Sergeant Murphy was the youngest of Andover's heroes to pay the supreme sacrifice. A boy when he enlisted, he was still under age when he crossed to France and but twenty years old when his life's blood ebbed out on the shell- shattered slopes of the Argonne Forest.
John J. Geagan
"Sleep well, heroic soul, in silence sleep, Lapped in the circling arms of kindly death!"
John J. Geagan, born in Versailles, Connecticut, on September 12, 1886, moved to Ballardvale in 1902, and attended Punchard High School, from which he graduated in 1903. For four years he was employed in Lowe's drug store, in Andover; he then, with commendable ambition, took the full course in the Massa- chusetts College of Pharmacy, eventually becoming a registered pharmacist. It was a natural step to the managership of the Lawrence Street Drug and Chemical Company, of Lawrence. At the outbreak of the war he was temporarily in Canada, but he returned as soon as possible to the United States, enlisting on November 23, 1917, at St. Louis. He was stationed for a short time at Jefferson Barracks, but was then transferred to Fort Myer, Virginia, where he was assigned to the Medical
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Detachment, 1st Gas Regiment. He went to France early in July, 1918, and was instantly killed on November 1.
Private Geagan was a stout-hearted and strong-limbed young man, full of energy and spirit. His death cut short a life which bade fair to do a worthy work in the world.
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Thomas Coward Carter
"The fittest place where man can die Is where he dies for man."
Thomas Edward Carter, son of Mr. and Mrs. George M. Carter, of West Andover, was educated in the local schools, and went on to Massachusetts Agri- cultural College, where he was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity and was elected Captain of the Regiment. Before graduation, however, he left, with a group of selected candidates, to attend the Officers' Training School, at Camp Upton, Long Island. At the conclusion of the course of instruction, he was offered a commission, on condition that he would remain as a teacher in American camps. He preferred, however, to enlist as a private in Company G, 208th Infantry, which went overseas early in 1918. He was later transferred to Company L, 9th Infan- try, and commissioned as 2d Lieutenant on the field of battle, - an unusual honor. With this unit under his command he was in the thick of the fighting, and in one week went "over the top" three times, all his superior officers in the company having been wounded. On November 4, while pursuing a body of retreating Germans near La Tuilerie Ferme, he was instantly killed by machine gun fire. For conspicuous bravery in this action he was given a posthumous award of the French Croix de Guerre and American Distinguished Service Cross. In writing Lieutenant Carter's mother, Major General Le Jeune, of the 2d Division, said: -
"The men of his company speak of him as being full of fun and very cheerful. They say that on the battlefield he kept his company in as good order as on the drill ground, and they greatly admired him for his skill. They also say he was the most fearless man they ever knew."
"Tom" Carter was indeed a prime favorite wherever he went, and deserved every honor that was presented to him. At a special memorial service, held in the West Parish Church, the Reverend Newman Matthews gave an eloquent de- scription of the young man's character, emphasizing his unselfishness, his forti- tude, his readiness and eagerness to do his best, and his steadfastness of pur- pose. In his aims and in his achievements he was a Christian gentleman.
CHARLES AITKEN YOUNG Private, 101st Infantry, U. S. Army Died of wounds, September 2, 1918
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George William Simpson
"They never fail who die In a great cause."
George William Simpson, son of the late Allan Simpson, formerly superintend- ent of the Ballardvale Mills, was born in Andover, November 6, 1888. Because of his personal attractiveness and native ability, he early made many friends, among them Mr. William M. Wood, of the American Woolen Company, through whose encouragement he was offered an excellent business opportunity. As a wool buyer, Mr. Simpson was unusually successful, and was rapidly rising to a place of high responsibility. The war, however, as in so many similar cases, in- terrupted his promising career, and, in the autumn of 1918, he enlisted at Camp Lee, Virginia, in the Officers' Training Camp. Ten days later he was attacked by the prevalent influenza in a virulent form. It developed into pneumonia, and death came on the morning of Saturday, November 9.
Mr. Simpson was married in 1912 to Miss Dorothy Davis, of North Andover, who, with a son and a daughter, still survives him. He was a member of many clubs and social organizations. Although of late years his residence had been mainly in Boston, he had spent his summers in North Andover, and his enlistment in the army was made from this town.
Those who knew George Simpson - and his friends were legion - will long remember his warm heart and sunny personality. Gifted beyond the average man, he would, but for the stroke of untoward fate, have won his way to notable dis- tinction.
John Howard Baker
"With uncovered head Salute the sacred dead Who went, and who return not."
John Howard Baker, when Battery F of the 102d Field Artillery was forming shortly after we entered the war, was one of the first Andover boys to volunteer. The son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Howard Baker, of Barnard Street, he was then only nineteen years old. After an education in the Andover public schools, he took a position with the late J. E. Whiting, in a jewelry store, and was located there when the war broke out. Crossing to France in the autumn of 1917 with the Yankee Division, he participated in all the fierce fighting of the summer and fall of the following year. After passing through many battles without a wound, he finally, after the armistice, contracted bronchial pneumonia, and died in a military hospital, January 3, 1919.
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Private Baker was a faithful, open-hearted, and alert young man. He was by nature so far from combative that it was to some rather a surprise when he so quickly offered himself for military duty; but it was really in complete accord with a character which his friends already knew and with which his comrades in the battle-line were soon to become familiar.
Shortly after the sad news of Private Baker's death arrived in Andover, a memorial service was held in the Old South Church, of which he was a member. On Saturday, June 18, 1921, when his body had been returned to these shores, funeral ceremonies, under the auspices of the American Legion, were held in the South Church, at which time Private Baker's former chaplain, Captain Markham W. Stackpole, paid a tribute to the young artilleryman. He was buried in the Edson Cemetery, in Lowell, where a salvo from a French "'75," similar to that which he had so often supplied with ammunition along the front, was a last sign of respect to his memory from his former "buddies."
PHILLIPS GARRISON MORRISON Captain, Ordnance Corps, U. S. Army Died, October 12, 1918
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III
THE ANDOVER COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC SAFETY
BY JOHN N. COLE
"We shall exult, if they who rule the land, Be men who hold its many blessings dear, Wise, upright, valiant; not a servile band, Who are to judge of danger which they fear, And honour which they do not understand."
For nearly three centuries the town of Andover, Massachusetts, has been a living, growing, developing force, in the great state of which she is a part. Na- tional crises have always aroused enthusiastic interest, abounding loyalty, and universal support.
To write in retrospect of the deeds done, the sacrifices made in the doing, the keen sense of responsibility, the joy in the service, all manifest in the activities undertaken by the people of Andover, under the leadership of the Committee on Public Safety, during the trying days of 1917, 1918, and 1919, is again to experi- ence some of the rare sensations that come to the American citizen whenever he meets the aroused loyalty of his fellowmen.
To use the words "under the leadership of the Committee on Public Safety," is simply to give point to the fact that this organization had a part in what Andover did. To claim that the work performed was because of any single leadership of men or methods, would be to ignore the higher leadership that controlled practi- cally all of the nation's activities, from the early days of 1917 until the close of the war. No individual, and no group however organized, can claim more than a slight share of the responsibility that the whole American people had in the direc- tion of the activities of the United States in the Great World War. It was under the sort of inspiration that makes every man a leader because he wants to follow, that the Committee on Public Safety in Andover was formed the latter part of March, 1917, and it was the same inspiration and the same purpose that carried the work on from that time until the armistice had struck the last note that told of victory won and purpose accomplished.
The local committee originally named by the Board of Selectmen was made up of the following gentlemen :
John N. Cole, Chairman; John C. Angus, Secretary ; C. W. Holland, Treas- urer; Charles E. Abbott, M. D., Henry A. Bodwell, John H. Campion, William
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C. Crowley, Harry M. Eames, Burton S. Flagg, Bartlett H. Hayes, Ralph O. Ingram, Frederick H. Jones, Alfred L. Ripley, George F. Smith, Alfred E. Stearns.
It was immediately recognized by this Committee, which served as the exec- utive committee throughout the town's entire activities, that the important work to be directed so far as was necessary, had to do with food production, or- ganization of a unit of the Home Guard then forming in the Commonwealth, care of health, and a local survey that should better comprehend the town's ability and equipment for service. Work was also undertaken to aid various or- ganizations and individuals in connection with war work, and to give advice and aid to aliens, all supported by a Finance Committee charged with the financial responsibility associated with any activities that might be undertaken. The or- ganization of these committees was perfected by the following original appoint- ments, and with very few changes, these men and women served throughout the war.
Food Production and Conservation: Frederick H. Jones, Chairman; Ralph N. V. Barnes, Henry W. Barnard, Henry A. Bodwell, Frank L. Cole, Marquis M. Converse, William B. Corliss, Myron E. Gutterson, P. J. Hannon, V. D. Harrington, Walter M. Lamont, Horace M. Poynter, Mary Byers Smith, Fred A. Swanton, Fred M. Temple.
Local Survey: John H. Campion, Chairman; Charles B. Baldwin, Frank H. Buttrick, Fred G. Cheney, Walter S. Donald, Charles H. Forbes, Frank H. Hardy, Philip L. Hardy, Timothy J. Mahoney, Frederic G. Moore, Walter I. Morse, Philip F. Ripley, Barnett Rogers, J. Duke Smith, James C. Soutar.
Finance: Alfred L. Ripley, Chairman; George Abbot, Frederic S. Boutwell, William J. Burns, E. Barton Chapin, William D. Currier, Maurice J. Curran, Granville K. Cutler, Edward V. French, Willis B. Hodgkins, Chester W. Holland, George L. Selden, David Shaw, George F. Smith, Augustus P. Thompson.
Home Guard: Edgar G. Holt, Chairman; Charles Buchan, Joseph L. Burns, Herbert F. Chase, William J. Cronin, Jerome W. Cross, Percival Dove, George M. Henderson, William H. Jaquith, H. Bradford Lewis, B. Frank Michelsen, Joseph L. Myerscough, Peirson S. Page, M. D., Philip W. Thomson.
Health: Dr. Charles E. Abbott, Chairman; Dr. J. J. Daly, Mrs. Bartlett H. Hayes, and men and women representatives of health and nursing organizations in Andover, to be selected by committee.
Volunteer Aid: Burton S. Flagg, Chairman; Charles Bowman, Lewis H. Homer, Miss Elizabeth Smith, Colver J. Stone, and men and women representatives of various aid and relief societies in Andover, to be selected by committee.
Advice and Aid to Aliens: William C. Crowley, Chairman; John W. Bell, Charles W. Clark, Dan Hilton, Everett C. Hilton, Charles McDermitt.
To give to these committees credit for exclusive control or direction of the great work accomplished by the town, would be most unfair to many other groups whose activities had long been important factors in the life of the town, diverted . from their regular work to war work and soon making rare agencies for service. The Red Cross Organization, the entire plant of the Guild devoted to many forms
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of work, the many women's organizations in churches and clubs, the clubs them- selves, the Woman's Relief Corps, the fraternal organizations, social clubs, ath- letic clubs, groups of every kind and sort, however formed and with many differ- ent original purposes, all became a part of the universal effort of all Andover to have a show in the work undertaken by the American nation.
The work of the Food Production and Service Committee was one of the most striking contributions during the first year, somewhat less so the second year, but taken as a whole undoubtedly commanding more universal support and en- thusiasm and more widespread interest than the work of any of the other com- mittees. The work was finely done with little expense, except that undertaken by the various people that had a part in it, and undoubtedly resulted in a very large addition to the production of staple crops in the town.
The Committee on Local Survey unfolded to the town the first story that had ever been written of the skilled mechanics and trained workers upon whom the town, the state, and the nation might rely if the call came for intensive activities along any line.
Supplementing this work was the task undertaken by the Volunteer Aid Committee, which worked out a plan through which all the citizenship of the town could be relied upon through cooperation and a better knowledge of what men and women could do to lay the foundation for a better town, where every man and woman should know his place, and knowing his place be ready to bear his own particular share of the whole burden.
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