USA > Minnesota > St Louis County > Duluth > Duluth and St. Louis County, Minnesota; their story and people; an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development, Volume II > Part 15
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The veterans who are members of the Major Wilkinson Camp of Chisholm are: Thomas O'Connor, 3rd Inf .; W. B. Brown, U. S. N .; Walter H. Ogden, 22nd Inf .; Wm. H. Clemens, 1st Art .; P. Mungo- van, 3rd Neb .; Andrew Hagland, 87th Vol .; Dayton H. Hinds, 34th Mich .; Adolph M. Peterson, 3rd Inf. ; Thomas Cody, 37th Vol. ; Frank Green, 22nd Inf. ; Joe Verant, 45th Vol. ; Clarence B. Banks, 3rd Wis. ; George Meyers, 34th Mich .; John Sladkey, 45th Vol .; John P. Lanto, 34th Mich. ; Geo. A. Lindsey, 50th Iowa ; A. Antonelli, 3rd Inf. ; Joseph Havelick, 15th Art .; Herman Junsola, 34th Mich .; J. B. Frazer, 3rd U. S. Inf .; H. A. Thompson, 3rd U. S. Inf.
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The commander of the John G. McEwen Camp, Duluth, is Thomas W. Gunn ; and the commander of the Major Wilkinson Camp of Chisholm is Herman Junsola.
By reason of their numbers (so small when compared with those developed by the greater needs of the Civil and World wars) the Spanish war veterans do not seem to have been accorded a just need of praise. In reality, however, they have been, for all who think of the matter at all know that the same spirit of true patriotism was mani- fested by them, and as fully as that shown in the days of the Civil war. They were prepared to go to the end, if need be, to uphold all that this nation stands for, and they may rest assured that, though their numbers be few, the place of the Spanish war veterans among the patriotic organizations of the United States is a definite and' honorable one.
CHAPTER XXVI
THE WORLD WAR, 1917-18
The World War, the most tremendous and stupendous of all modern wars, probably of all wars since history was first chronicled, found Duluth and St. Louis County practically at "attention." Com- panies A, C, and E, Supply Company and Hospital Unit, all Duluth units of the Third Minnesota Infantry, Company F of Eleventh and Company M, of Hibbing, had only returned a few months before from active campaigning on the Mexican border during the time of Per- shing's expedition into Mexico. But from the moment President Wilson declared that the nation actually was (in the first days of April, 1917) in an actual "state of war" with Germany, the national guard units of Minnesota were ready for an immediate call to arms. On April 10, 1917, companies of the Third Minnesota National Guard were called into active state service, including companies A and E of Duluth.
On April 28, 1917, the citizens of Duluth gave way to what was at that time an unique outburst of patriotic fervour, seventeen thou- sand three hundred citizens marching in well-marshalled procession, to "do homage to the Red, White and Blue."
It was a memorable and inspiring day, the Duluth "News-Trib- une," next morning stating: "Citizens of Duluth yesterday reached a common level before the flag. The steady tramp of marching thou- sands thrilled Duluth with the biggest thing in its history. It was patriotism. It was the crystalization of an ideal-that tramp of march- ing thousands. Its citizens, rich and poor, mingled; its streets devoted to business waved with a pulsing line of color-the Red, White and Blue."
Duluth, in common with all other communal parts of the United States, was destined to experience many even greater thrills during the next two years of united effort to adhere, even unto death, to the cause of right over might. Those who went into the armed forces of the nation, those who enlisted in the national industrial effort in the home sector, those who prayed and gave to their utmost to the governmental funds so that this country might be sustained unto victory, will ever vividly remember the stirring times; and at times may long for the renewal of such fervent patriotism, and whole- souled fellow-feeling. Common dangers uncover truer and nobler traits in man than do any other situations.
On August 26, 1917, the Duluth and Range companies of the Third Minnesota Infantry entrained at the Omaha station, Duluth, for Camp Cody, New Mexico, where the state regiment would be mustered into the federal service, and intensive training would begin. There were many pathetic scenes at the station, women fainting and men weeping as they saw their sons depart perhaps never to return. But, as a whole, the regiment left cheered and inspirited by the warm-hearted, sincere and cheerful farewell tendered them by the people of Duluth. Colonel Eva's "message to the home folk," as he left with his regiment, was: "Duluth will be proud of its boys when they get into active service on the French battlefields." They expected to be in France early in the new year.
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On August 29th, rosters were published of the Third Bn. of the Minnesota Home Guard, which had been organized to take the place of the National Guard units federalized. Companies A, B, C and D, 315 men and fourteen officers, all told, constituted the third battalion, recruited almost wholly in Duluth, the commander being Captain (acting major) Roger M. Weaver. (That unit was destined to give the state good service in military capacity, in December, 1917, during the street railway strike at St. Paul.)
During the first week of September, 1917, the St. Louis County draft boards were able to publish the names of men first to be called into national military or naval service under the Selective Service Act. And in that month the first detachment of men called into service from St. Louis County under that act and plan left for camp.
As the months passed and demonstration followed demonstration, the people of the county were destined to realize that their own affairs were absolutely bound in and yet secondary to the national interest which was ever before them in those days. The boys had departed, or were departing, or were to depart, to take part in the armed resistance the government and nation were building to aid in the final defeat of the enemy; and drive followed drive for the money wherewith to equip and maintain the armed forces of the nation. People gave of their substance-gave "till it hurt," and were glad to have that opportunity of sharing in the national effort. Each drive was an event worthy of chronicling. For instance, ten thousand persons marched in procession in Duluth on April 13, 1918, on which day the Third Liberty Loan campaign was opened, of which loan Duluth was expected to take bonds to the extent of $5,000,000. Some of the slogans written on banners and other writing surfaces, by some of those who marched in that procession indicated the spirit and confidence of the nation. Some of the slogans read: "Slip a pill to Kaiser Bill"; "The early bird catches the worm; your bonds will help catch the kaiser"; "Save, save, save; then dig some more. Your bonds will bring the boys back home from Europe's western shore"; "Your dollar is the seed of victory ; plant it in Liberty bonds and watch it grow"; "Ho, Skinny! My dad bought some Liberty bonds. Did yours?"; "Dig and we'll dig with you; slack and you slack alone"; "Put up, or shut up"; "Five million or bust; Duluth has never failed"; "This is the spring drive over here, to help the spring drive over there"; and other equally appealing slogans. Prac- tically every organized society of public character was out in full force in that procession. The local paper next day stated: "The steady tramp of marching thousands gave a new thrill to the achieve- ment of Duluth. It was more determined enthusiasm than that displayed in the first loyalty demonstration of a year ago. It was the crystalization of an ideal to do."
Duluth and the county in general, did well. The war record is an enviable one, and whether the demand was for man-power or for money the county met it to more than the full. More than nine thousand men were taken into the federal armed forces, and many joined the auxiliary service corps, Red Cross, Y. M. C. A., and other welfare organizations. At least 232 men of St. Louis County gave their lives to the nation. It is not possible to give the space in this volume to name the whole of the valiant young men of St. Louis County who entered the armed forces of the nation in its supreme need, but space will not be stinted in an endeavor to honor the mem- ory of those who failed to return. This chapter will end with as
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complete a biographical review as it has been possible to compile of the men who, in their supreme self-sacrifice, have constituted an honor list worthy of the county.
Fortunately, St. Louis County was destined to welcome home again all but a few hundred of the 9,000 men that went to war. And it was fitting that the "biggest and most successful celebration Duluth ever staged" was that organized to welcome home the boys who had donned the uniform of "Uncle Sam." The "Welcome Home" celebration was held on Saturday, August 18, 1919, and "from the blowing of the whistles and the firing of the 100 guns at 10:30 o'clock Saturday morning until the bands stopped playing, for the dancers on the street, at 12:00 o'clock (midnight), the day was crowded with features for the entertainment and enjoyment of the heroes of the Zenith City."
That celebration over, the young men who for more than a year had had to give first thought to military matters, donned civilian garb and passed quietly into civil life again, the majority of them better men for their military experience. And that association will be perpetuated by the organizations the ex-service men have formed. There are many very strong posts of the American Legion in St. Louis County all of them resolute in determination to hold to what in reality was one of the principal motives of those good patriots who organized the American Legion-the maintaining of Ameri- can institutions by orderly and legal government. In the manifesta- tions of social and industrial unrest that followed the war, the Amer- ican Legion on many occasions proved to be the stable body upon which reliance could be placed. In addition, the posts serve to cement a comradeship begun in the throes of a great national struggle.
And each American Legion post has been dedicated especially to the sacred duty of adequately honoring each year the memory of those of their comrades and neighbors who lost their lives while in war work with the national forces.
The Honor List of St. Louis County .- Of those who made the Supreme Sacrifice, it has been possible to collect some biographical data. The record is not complete, but is given in the hope that it will add something to existing printed record, and as a tribute to those brave patriots who willingly placed their personal interests second to those of the nation, and gave of their strength, even unto death, to defeat the power that sought to establish Might as Right.
F. O. Abrahamson met death in France. He belonged to the Machine Gun Company of the One Hundred and Second Regiment of Infantry, Twenty-seventh Division of the American Expeditionary Forces.
C. Albertson was twenty-six years old when he was killed in action in France in 1918. He was earnest in the cause, and had made many unsuccessful attempts to enlist before June 28, 1918, when he was accepted as a substitute for a volunteer who had been called but had failed to report for duty. Albertson left Duluth that day. The time was one of the darkest of the war and the need of man-power at the Western front was desperate. Apparently, Albert- son was given practically no military training in this country for a few months later he was in France.
E. P. Alexander was a young Duluthian of distinct promise. He was born in Duluth, November 4, 1891, son of Edward P. and Agnes G. Alexander, of Duluth. He was an engineer of good collegiate training, for as well as being a graduate of the University of Minne-
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sota he was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ogy. He married Myra Salyards of Duluth and had entered civil engineering practice in Duluth, with bright prospects, when this nation became involved in the European war in 1917. He was one of the first to leave Duluth, going in June, 1917, to Fort Snelling, where he was given the responsibility of commissioned grade in the Engineering Corps. As a first lieutenant, he saw active service in France with the Five Hundred and Ninth Engineers. He succumbed to the ravages of influenza at St. Nazaire, France, and was there buried. His military record was good, and promotion to the grade of captain came to him on the day of his funeral.
Bryan Allen, who died in May, 1918, was a member of Battery C, One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Field Artillery, a unit originally belonging to the Minnesota National Guard. He was the son of Leo Allen, of 315 South Fifteenth Avenue, east, Duluth.
Francis Allie, who died in France, of wound received on July 16, 1918, right at the beginning of the great Allied counter-offensive, which did not end until the enemy went down in final defeat, in November, 1918. He was well-known in West Duluth and was assigned to, and saw active service with, the Machine Gun Company of the One Hundred and Fifty-first Field Artillery, Battery B.
Alfred J. Anderson enlisted from Duluth. His sister is Mrs. D. Lake, of 1308 East Fifth Street.
Dr. John Andres practiced his profession in Duluth before entering the Medical Department of the United States army.
Robert Arbelus, whose place of enlistment was Ely, is survived by a sister, Mrs. Minnie Retois, now resident in Iron Belt, Wisconsin.
Hillard Aronson belonged to a well-known Tower family. He was born in Tower, son of John and Beda Aronson, and was in lucra- tive business with his brother, as boat owners on Lake Vermilion. He registered early in 1917, but was not called into military service until June 24, 1918, on which day he reported at Ely for duty, as a private in the Infantry of the National Army. He was assigned to Company C, Three Hundred and Thirty-third Machine Gun Battalion, Eighty-sixth Division, at Camp Grant, Rockford, Illinois, and after an intensive course of machine-gun training was transferred to Camp Mills, New York. On September 14, 1918, he embarked on the British troopship "Olympic," and on September 20th, arriver at South- ampton. Conditions of sea-travel in that time of shipping scarcity were rigorous, the troopships being much overcrowded. Young Aronson contracted sickness on the voyage and eight days after being landed at Southampton died of Lobar Pneumonia at Shirley Warren Hospital, Southampton, England. His body was interred in the United States Military Cemetery, Magdalen Hill, Winchester, Eng- land, on September 29, 1918, but eventually the body was disinterred and brought back to the United States by the government. His remains now rest in Forest Hill Cemetery, Duluth, the funeral taking place, with military ceremonies, on June 3, 1920.
Mike F. Bagley is claimed as a Duluthian. He was a married man and his widow, Alice, still lives at 318 West Fourth Street,. Duluth.
Lorenta Bakke, whose name is in the Duluth records, resided at 3614 West Fourth Street, Duluth, prior to enlistment. His father, Ulrik B., lives in Bergen, Norway.
Glenn J. Ball, who was killed in action on September 5, 1918, on the French front, was a machinist in the employ of the South
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Shore Railway Company, at Duluth, prior to entering upon military service. He was enlisted in June, 1917, at Marquette, Michigan, of which state he was a native, having been born October 20, 1899, at Peck, Michigan, son of Edward and Abbie Ball. After enlistment, in the grade of private, he was assigned to Company G, 128th Infantry, of Thirty-second Division, and sent to Camp Arthur, Texas, where for five or six months he remained. On February 8, 1918, he embarked, at Hoboken, New Jersey, and thus reached France before the great German offensive of 1918 had begun. His father now lives in St. Louis County, Rural, Route No. 3, Duluth.
Alexius Rinhild Bang, who died of pneumonia, at Camp Cody, New Mexico, November 3, 1918, was formerly a resident in Culver Township. He was born on February 28, 1897, at Fielboberg, Vil- helminy Wisterbotten, Sweden, the son of E. F. Bang, now of Culver, St. Louis County. Young Bang was called to duty on October 21, 1918, and left then for Camp Cody, New Mexico. He was never destined to be assigned to a military unit, being stricken with influ- enza almost upon arrival at Camp Cody. Pneumonia developed and he died on November 3rd.
Chris. W. Baumgarten was of Duluth, where his mother, Mrs. Augustine Baumgarten lives.
Norman K. Bawks was a resident of Stevenson, Minnesota, where his widow, Alphonsine O., still lives.
Eli Belich was of Servian origin, his father being Waso Belich, of Labon, Servia.
Howard L(ewis) Bennett was a popular young resident of Buhl, and before the war was in the employ of the Oliver Iron Mining Company, Buhl, as assistant engineer. He was born on October 4, 1894, at Ironwood, Michigan, son of William H. Bennett, who has lived in Buhl, St. Louis County, for many years. Howard was one of the first in the Range country to enlist. He enlisted on May 23, 1917, and was sent to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, where he was assigned to the Medical Detachment of the First Minnesota Infantry. Later, he was sent to Camp Cody, New Mexico, about that time being transferred to the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Regiment, a unit of the Thirty-fourth Division. He succumbed to pneumonia at Camp Cody, on April 14, 1918, at that time having the rating of private, first-class. To honor his memory his service comrades of Buhl gave his name to the Buhl post of the American Legion.
Harold Berg, whose name appears on the Honor Roll of St. Louis County, was of Norwegian birth, and lived at Proctor for some time prior to enlisting. His enlistment papers name as his father Lavritz Berg, of Lena, Ototen, Norway.
William E. Berg, son of Charles Berg, of 401 Mygatt Avenue, Duluth, was in the employ of the Rust-Parker Company, Duluth, before he entered the United States Army. He was called to active duty in June, 1918, and assigned to Company C, of the Three Hun- dred and Fifty-eighth Infantry. His training was short, for on July 4th his regiment embarked for France. On September 16th, 1918, he was killed in action.
Rada Besonovich lived at Buhl before the war. His brother is John Besonovich, of that place.
William Bodin was the son of Gust Bodin, of Proctor.
Herman Bjormhang, of Proctor, was kin to Paul Hendrickson, Grand Marais, Minnesota.
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Alfred John Bradford was a married man, his widow, Mrs. M. C. Bradford living at 1011 East Third Street, Duluth.
Carl Bowman, who was killed in aerial combat in France on July 25, 1918, was a native of Seattle, Washington, although he was in business in Duluth when war came. He enlisted at Duluth in June, 1917, being accepted for assignment to the Aviation Corps. He became an observer, and was early sent to France.
Solem Eric Broman, who was killed in action on the French front on September 29, 1918, was one of those true defenders of liberty who sought to enter the fight before the United States Government was prepared to accept service. He was a resident of Duluth, but early in March, 1917, went into Canada, and enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. On March 16, 1917, he was assigned to the Two Hundred and Forty-ninth Overseas Battalion. He saw five months of hard service in the front trenches in France before meet- ing death in action in September, 1918. The military record of the Broman family is a worthy one, two other brothers having given military service, one in the Canadian forces. Henry Broman, the father, lives at 232 Mesaba Avenue, Duluth.
Leo Arthur Brooks is listed as of Crookson residence prior to entering the service, but he might have been included with the honor men of Duluth, for he enlisted from Duluth, and had had resi- dence in Duluth, living with his sister, Mrs. Leslie Code, 5107 Colo- rado Street, and working as a fireman in Duluth. He was born on December 11, 1886, at Hungerford, Michigan, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. Brooks. When he enlisted he was more than thirty years old, and proved to be a most zealous and reliable soldier. After enlist- ment, he was sent to Camp Wadsworth, S. C., and assigned to Com- pany K of the Fifty-third United States Infantry. He embarked at New York in July and reached the front line trenches in the Vosges Mountains, on September 6th. He was killed during a trench raid night of September 15-16th, and his conduct during that raid was such as to bring him commendation from his commanding officer, Capt. R. A. Helmbold, who wrote that Brooks continued to fight after being wounded, the captain stating that he had lost, in Brooks, "one of his bravest and best soldiers." He testified that Brooks kept his automatic rifle going until he was relieved, notwithstanding that he was mortally wounded; and he was of the opinion that it was due chiefly to the bravery and reliability of Brooks that the German raid was repelled.
Wallace Orab Brown, who was gassed in the 1918 battle of the Marne, and died in hospital in France on October 17. 1918, was born on June 23, 1901, at Kennan, Price County, Wisconsin. His father, John Brown, lives at Woodland and Wallace for a while was a brickmaker at Princeton, Minnesota, at which place he enlisted on August 27, 1917, electing to give service in a field artillery unit. He was sent to Camp Cody, New Mexico, and assigned to Company B, One Hundred and Second Field Artillery, eventually embarking for France.
Peter Bruno, of West Duluth, was of Italian origin, his father being Antonio Bruno, of Goddisca, Udine, Italy.
Charles C. Butler, of Virginia, gave his life voluntarily in a brave, self-sacrificing service to his division. He enlisted Novem- ber 23, 1917, in the Tank Corps, which eventually became part of the American Expeditionary Forces ; and his division came into action at one of the most difficult parts of the Hindenburg line of trenches,
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at Bony, France. Butler, the record states, volunteered to lay out black and white tape for tanks, one report stating that he was the only man of his division to volunteer for such work of extreme dan- ger. He was killed while so engaged, a shell closing his career, and bringing his name onto the immortal roll of worthy American sol- diers, who exceeded their duties in an endeavor to better serve their country. Butler was well-known and esteemed in Virginia, where his mother, Mrs. C. C. Butler, lives. He was born at Iron Mountain, Michigan, on November 15, 1889.
Charles A. Campbell, who died of pneumonia in France, just one day before the Armistice ended hostilities in November, 1918, was a volunteer above the draft age. He enlisted in the lowest grade and by reliable service reached the responsibility of a sergeant. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Campbell, of 1511 East Third Street, Duluth.
John William Campbell, of the Marine Corps, A. E. F., died of bronco-pneumonia at Coblez, Germany, on February 9, 1919. He was born May 20, 1890, at Calumet, Michigan, and was called to mili- tary service in April, 1918.
Oscar C. Carlson, of Duluth, was the son of Mrs. Mary Carlson, of East Fifth Street, Duluth.
Leonard William Cato, of Duluth, was enlisted in September, 1917, and became a member of an Infantry regiment of the famous Rainbow Division. He, however, was not destined to see foreign service, death coming on December 6, 1917, at Camp Dodge, Iowa, from spinal menengitis. He was a native of Duluth, born in that city on January 24, 1896 (or 1897), son of Louis Cato, who now lives at 2131 Columbia Avenue.
Ole H. Christenson, whose papers show that he was a resident of Harding, St. Louis County, was the son of Mrs. Gunhild Christen- son, of 508 W. Superior Street, Duluth. He died of pneumonia, at Camp Fremont, California, where he was stationed. He was a lieu- tenant of the One Hundred and Sixty-sixth Depot Brigade, and his body was sent under military escort to Duluth for burial in the For- est Hill Cemetery.
John Christopher, of Duluth, deserves good place among the Honor men of St. Louis County. He was a veteran of the Spanish- American War, and notwithstanding that he was forty-three years old, and could not get into the United States Army, which under the Selective Service plan was amply filled by much younger men, he was determined to find a place in the military forces arrayed against the German machine. He went to Canada, and at once was accepted for the Canadian Expeditionary Forces, and assigned to an infantry unit. He was killed in action in France on September 27, 1918. He was mourned by many in Duluth, having for years been an employee of the Scott-Graff Lumber Company. His mother, Mrs. Mary Chris- topher, lives at 321 East Fifth Street, Duluth.
Raulin H. Clark, a Duluth boy, was one of the first to enlist in May, 1917. He was assigned to the Medical Detachment of the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Field Artillery, and went to France with that unit. After passing through all the dangers that came to his unit during the period of active fighting, he was destined to die of sickness, pneumonia necessitating his transfer to a hospital in Bordeaux, France, almost on the eve of the departure of his unit for home. He died in that hospital on January 21, 1919, but event- ually his body was returned to the United States, and now rests in
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