May 27, 2017 at 4:24 a.m.
Remembering their sacrifice
WWI claimed 17 Jay County men
Remembering their sacrifice
With a joint resolution on April 6, 1917, Congress declared a state of war between the “Imperial German Government and the People of the United States.”
Over the next 19 months, 861 local men served as soldiers during World War I, according to a list compiled by Jay County Historical Society. The alphabetical list begins with Donald R. Abel of rural Portland and ends with Joseph L. Zigler of Redkey.
Another 63 were in the navy. Two Jay County women served as nurses.
Of the more than 116,000 Americans who lost their lives in military service during what is known as The Great War, 17 were from Jay County.
Typically when thinking about war deaths, the mind turns to those who were killed by gunfire, artillery, bombs, bayonets or even hand-to-hand combat. But during World War I, disease was the leading culprit.
More than 63,000 of the Americans who died in service during the war lost their lives to influenza, pneumonia or other diseases. That holds true for the men from Jay County as well.
Of the local men who died in service, six fell victim to pneumonia, two to influenza and two more to unspecified diseases. Five were killed in action. The other two died in accidents.
The first Jay County casualty in World War I was Dunkirk’s Otis Thompson, who died about two months before the United States even got involved in the conflict. He had joined the Australian Forces, was wounded, recovered, returned to duty and was killed in action in France on Valentine’s Day, 1917.
The last was Ralph Victor Williamson, who fought in the battle of Chateau Thierry in France under Gen. John J. Pershing. He later fell ill, was sent stateside in October 1918 and died in Denver on Aug. 2, 1919.
The Redkey American Legion Post was named in Williamson’s honored.
Three other local men were similarly memorialized with American Legion posts bearing their name:
•Portland — Robert Guy Ayers, who died while on guard duty in France on Nov. 7, 1918.
•Dunkirk — Ralph W. Burgess, who was accidentally killed when he fell from a wagon on Aug. 13, 1917
•Salamonia — David Orley Whipple, who was killed in action on Nov. 10, 1918.
The surrounding photos display the 17 Jay County men who died as a result of World War I along with some details about their service.
Over the next 19 months, 861 local men served as soldiers during World War I, according to a list compiled by Jay County Historical Society. The alphabetical list begins with Donald R. Abel of rural Portland and ends with Joseph L. Zigler of Redkey.
Another 63 were in the navy. Two Jay County women served as nurses.
Of the more than 116,000 Americans who lost their lives in military service during what is known as The Great War, 17 were from Jay County.
Typically when thinking about war deaths, the mind turns to those who were killed by gunfire, artillery, bombs, bayonets or even hand-to-hand combat. But during World War I, disease was the leading culprit.
More than 63,000 of the Americans who died in service during the war lost their lives to influenza, pneumonia or other diseases. That holds true for the men from Jay County as well.
Of the local men who died in service, six fell victim to pneumonia, two to influenza and two more to unspecified diseases. Five were killed in action. The other two died in accidents.
The first Jay County casualty in World War I was Dunkirk’s Otis Thompson, who died about two months before the United States even got involved in the conflict. He had joined the Australian Forces, was wounded, recovered, returned to duty and was killed in action in France on Valentine’s Day, 1917.
The last was Ralph Victor Williamson, who fought in the battle of Chateau Thierry in France under Gen. John J. Pershing. He later fell ill, was sent stateside in October 1918 and died in Denver on Aug. 2, 1919.
The Redkey American Legion Post was named in Williamson’s honored.
Three other local men were similarly memorialized with American Legion posts bearing their name:
•Portland — Robert Guy Ayers, who died while on guard duty in France on Nov. 7, 1918.
•Dunkirk — Ralph W. Burgess, who was accidentally killed when he fell from a wagon on Aug. 13, 1917
•Salamonia — David Orley Whipple, who was killed in action on Nov. 10, 1918.
The surrounding photos display the 17 Jay County men who died as a result of World War I along with some details about their service.
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