Private Wilmot Charles Morehouse died on February 13, 1919, at Mestre, Italy, as the result of accidental gunshot wounds he received shortly before Armistice was declared. Wilmot drove an ambulance at the front during the final Italian offensive which brought about the collapse of Austria. Wilmot enlisted in the University of Washington’s ambulance corps, when it was organized by David C. Hall, in April, 1917. He trained with the unit during its stay at Allentown, Pennsylvania, and was sent with the Corps to Italy in June, 1918.
Wilmot – Billy as he was known to his family – was the fourth of five children born to Charles Richmond Morehouse and his wife Lorinda “Lora” Goddard. A native of Iowa, Wilmot attended North High School in Des Moines before the family moved to Seattle in 1913. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1916. He was enrolled as a sophomore in pre-med studies at the time he enlisted. Originally buried in Italy, his remains were returned to the US in July, 1921, when he was reinterred at Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery in Seattle. (bit.ly/uw_morehouse)
Lieutenant Frank Everett McNett served with the Dental Corps within the Army’s Medical Department. At the time of his death he was posted to Camp Greenleaf, a medical officer training camp at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. He died of pneumonia following influenza in nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee, on December 18, 1918. Frank was one of just three physicians selected to complete a course of study at Columbia University in plastic surgery and reconstruction. Funeral services, with full military honors, were held at the camp.
His wife was with her husband at the time of his death and escorted his body, accompanied by a military escort, to Portland, Oregon, for burial. Frank is buried at Riverview Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. (bit.ly/uw_mcnett). Frank was married to Marian Cole Atwater, on April 26, 1916, in Portland. A cenotaph in his memory is also in his family’s plot at Evergreen Cemetery in Everett.
A native of South Dakota, Frank was one of four children born to Henry Sanford McNett and his wife, Emma Julia Ward. In 1895 Frank and his family moved to Everett, Washington, where he graduated from Everett High School. The family later moved to Leavenworth. Frank attended the University of Washington for two years where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. He then transferred to North Pacific College – a professional school of pharmacy, dentistry and optometry – in Portland, Oregon, and graduated in 1915 with a degree in dentistry. He had opened his first practice in LaCrosse, Washington, prior to enlisting.
First Lieutenant William Joseph Alexander MacDonald was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 167th Infantry Regiment, 42nd Division, near Landres-et-St. Georges, France on October 14, 1918. When the platoon commanded by Lt. MacDonald began the attack, it encountered a tremendously heavy artillery and machine-gun fire. Realizing the difficult and hazardous position his men were in, and with utter disregard of his own personal safety, Bill valorously led the platoon forward and attained the objective. In the performance of this brave act Lt. MacDonald so encouraged his men that they continued to carry on after he had made the supreme sacrifice. (Congressional Commendation.)
Bill was with his regiment in the Argonne and was killed on October 14th while attacking Cote de Chatillon. Early in the attack he received a bad shrapnel wound in the leg, but carried on until his platoon was established, Bill started to crawl back to a dressing station. He had gone but a short distance when a shell fell near him and he was instantly killed. Three days later the chaplain of his regiment found his body and he was buried on the north side of Cote de Chatillon with three of his men who were lying near him.
The only child of Dr. Alexander MacDonald, and his wife, Margaret Anna Forster, Bill was a 1917 graduate of the UW’s law school, a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity and captain of the track team in 1917. In honor of Bill, a University athletic field was named MacDonald Field “for all time.” (TYEE, 1919, pg. 35.) In addition to his parents, Bill was also survived by his wife, Helen Bain, a fellow UW student, who he married on April 7, 1917. Originally buried in France, Bill was later reinterred in Minnesota. (bit.ly/uw_macdonald)
As the battle in the Argonne Forest raged into its fourth day, and after numerous casualties, Second Lieutenant Adelbert Durkee McCleverty was appointed to lead his battalion’s charge against the village of Gesnes. The battalion was successful but McCleverty was wounded in the process and died on the battlefield on September 29, 1918. He is buried at Meuse-Argonne Cemetery in France. (bit.ly/uw_mccleverty) After serving for four years in the 2nd Regiment of Washington’s National Guard, Adelbert attended officers training camp at the Presidio and received a commission. He was assigned to Company G, 362nd Infantry, part of the 91st Infantry “Wild West” Division. Highly regarded by his men, McCleverty was described as “modest and unassuming” and a “natural leader” by Colin Dyment in his series about the actions of the 91st. (Morning Oregonian, 8 May 1919, pg. 7.) Dyment goes on to quote Adelbert’s commander “he inspired confidence by his goodness rather than by his aggressiveness.”
The oldest of three children born to Judge Joseph D. McCleverty and his wife, Mary Richardson, Adelbert was born and raised in Fort Scott, Kansas. He graduated from Fort Scott High School and then attended the University of Kansas. Following the death of his father, Mary and her children moved to Seattle where Adelbert decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and attend law school. He graduated with a law degree from the University of Washington in 1911. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity at Kansas and the UW. Adelbert married Phebe Mae Pierce on May 18, 1915, in Seattle. Following Adelbert’s enlistment she took his place in her husband’s law office. She went on to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1920, when she took over her husband’s practice.
“The influenza epidemic gilded another star on the University’s great service flag when it carried off John Henry Martin ‘16, Sergeant in Ambulance Company 11. He was stationed with his unit at Camp Fremont, California, at the time of the scourge and died there on October 17, 1918.” (TYEE, 1919, pg. 45.) He is buried in Spokane, at Greenwood Memorial Terrace. (bit.ly/uw_martin)
Born in Ritzville, John was the oldest of Benjamin Martin and Mattie Eliza Greene’s three children. He studied at Whitman College — where he was known as Tubby — before enrolling at the UW. John graduated with a degree in chemistry in 1916 and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity. After graduating he worked as a chemist for the International Cement Company near Spokane.
John enlisted on May 19, 1917, “among the first from the University to answer the martial call.” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 20, 1918.) On May 24, 1917 — shortly before he departed for training in California — he was married to Whitman classmate Elsie Virginia Wilson. Elsie never remarried and pursued a career as a dietitian, eventually becoming a Professor of Dietetics and an original faculty member at Duke University’s School of Nursing.
Captain Charles Arthur Lindbery died of pneumonia and complications of spinal meningitis at Camp Lee, Virginia, on 27 May 1918. Just a few days prior to his death he had broken his left wrist while helping his men pull a truck out of a mud hole saving the life of one of his men. The injury prevented him from going overseas with his unit. Charles was an 1896 graduate of Whatcom High School and received a liberal arts degree from the University of Washington in 1901. While at the UW, Charles served as Captain of Company “A” of the University Cadets and was a member of the Mandolin and Guitar Club. A former commander of Company M, 2nd Washington Infantry, Charles served as a captain with the 601st Engineers where he was responsible for 900 men. A promotion to Major was pending at the time of his death.
At the time of his enlistment, Charles was serving as the County Engineer for Whatcom County and he was active in the Washington State Association of County Engineers. His parents Albert Lindbery and Ida Sohyberg were both Swedish immigrants living in Albany, New York, when Charles was born. In 1909 Charles was united in marriage with Ada Lenora Wilson. Tragedy struck the young couple in 1914 when Ada and their infant son, Charles Jr., both died shortly after his birth. In 1916 Charles married secondly Charlotte Louise Larson who survived him. Charles’ body was returned to Washington and he was laid to rest at the Wright Crematory and Columbarium in Seattle. (bit.ly/uw_lindbery)
Captain Wilfred Lewis served as a supply officer with Quartermaster Corps of the 91st Division in France, working tirelessly during the Battle of the Argonne, traveling continuously with little opportunity for rest. The hardship he endured may have contributed to his death from pneumonia on February 10, 1919, at a hospital at La Ferte Bernard, twenty-seven miles southeast of Paris. His older brother, Major John Lewis, lost his life with the Canadians at the Somme in 1916 and Wilfred was resolved to enlist, as well. “He enlisted at the declaration of war but was held in construction work at Camp Lewis until made supply officer with the 91st.” (TYEE, 1919, pg. 37.)
The youngest of five children born to John Simon Lewis and Harriet Richards Boyle, Wilfred was a native of Dubuque, Iowa. He was a graduate of Dubuque High School and attended Beloit College for two years before graduating from the University of Illinois in 1907 with a degree in Civil Engineering. Following his graduation from Illinois, Wilfred moved to Seattle, where he was engaged in construction and regrade work. He then served for four years as general secretary for the campus YMCA before becoming the Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds at the University of Washington. He was the UW’s only staff casualty. He was actively engaged in the Boys’ club and served as a faculty advisor to Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, having been a member at Illinois. A talented tenor, he headlined UW Glee Club concerts throughout the state.
Wilfred was married to Caroyln Gray Tripple on January 21, 1913, in Seattle. They were the parents of a young son, John Simon Lewis, at the time Wilfred was dispatched to France in July, 1918. A daughter, Mary Carolyn, was born posthumously in April, 1919. Wilfred is buried at Oise-Aisne American Cemetery in France. (bit.ly/uw_lewis) A cenotaph at Linwood Cemetery in Dubuque, Iowa, is dedicated to the memory of both Wilfred and his brother, John. (bit.ly/uw_lewis2)
Harry B. Leavitt was a first-year law student at the University of Washington when the US entered World War I. A native of Chicago, Harry was one of four children born to Russian immigrants Bernard Leavitt and Anna Towlen. At the time he registered for the draft Harry was working as a clerk with the Standard Oil Company, then located in Seattle’s iconic Alaska Building.
Harry served as a Sergeant in the Quartermaster Corps – the Army’s logistical unit responsible for organizing equipment and materials in the field and providing support for soldiers – which was instrumental in getting the newly-formed Camp Lewis up and running.
Half of the UW’s casualties died of disease rather than injuries or combat, including Harry. Unlike most of his comrades, however, who died of infectious disease, Harry died of cranial hemorrhage due to a brain tumor at Seattle’s Providence Hospital on 28 March 1918. (bit.ly/uw_leavitt) Harry was an active member of the Young Men’s Hebrew Association.
For extraordinary heroism in battle, First Lieutenant Clair Arthur Rawson Kinney, of the 49th Aero Squadron, United States Army Air Service, was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. “With a patrol of six other machines Lieutenant Kinney attacked 17 enemy planes, (Fokker type). Diving into the midst of the enemy formation he fired into one of the German planes, and pursued it until it crashed to the ground, though he was wounded by another Fokker, which attacked him from the rear. After maneuvering to escape his pursuer, Lieutenant Kinney immediately attacked another enemy plane directly in front of him, and forced it to the ground. In so doing he was fired upon from behind by another Fokker, several bullets striking him in the body and another setting fire to his gas tank. He succeeded in making a safe landing. This gallant officer afterward died of his wounds.” (Congressional citation.) Clair died in a German hospital on October 4, 1918, after being wounded in the mid-air battle near Doulcon, France. He was also awarded the Croix de Guerre for his actions. Originally buried in Stenay, France, he was later reinterred at Meuse-Argonne Cemetery. (bit.ly/uw_kinney)
Clair was the youngest of Martin Palmer Kinney and his wife, Margaret Mahoney’s four sons. Clair was born in Sioux City, Iowa and raised in Endicott, Washington. Immediately following the declaration of war he enlisted. In May, 1917, he was appointed to the Presidio for the First Officers’ Training School. He unit advanced to front early in fall of 1918. A senior in the College of Fine Arts when he withdrew from the UW, Clair was a member of the Varsity Boat Club and planned to pursue a career in architecture.
Captain Francis David Johnson was killed in action near Bois de la Grande Montagne, as part of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, just two days before the war ended on November 9, 1918. At 6am that morning Captain Johnson headed for hill 378, called Borne de Cornouiller by the French. He was heroically killed as he led his men as they attempted to locate and capture nests of concealed machine guns and snipers. Francis is buried at Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery. (bit.ly/uw_johnson)
After failing to pass the physical examination while at attending officers training camp at the Presidio in the summer of 1917, Francis enlisted as a private in the Engineers. He was later re-examined and commissioned Second Lieutenant. He was promoted to First Lieutenant, while serving with the 316th Infantry, in France. Francis was posthumously promoted to Captain. “‘Alaska’ Johnson, as he was called by his friends, was one of the best loved officers in the regiment.” (History of the 316th Regiment of Infantry in the World War, 1918.)
Born in Wahoo Nebraska, Francis was the only child of Judge Charles Sumner Johnson and his wife, Mary Davis. Francis spent several years of his early childhood in Alaska, where his father was the U.S. District Attorney and later Federal Judge for the District of Alaska with headquarters at Sitka. After his father died in 1906, Francis and his mother settled in Zillah, Washington.