World War I Records
World War I Records
Christopher Cockrel Acklin Jr. (Army) Documents
Christopher Cockrel Acklin Jr. was born on February 18, 1897 in Knoxville, Tennessee. He served as a Private in the U.S. Army during World War I. He trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and was assigned to Battery A, 139th Field Artillery, 38th Division. Acklin deployed to Europe on October 5, 1918, but he died of pneumonia on October 26, shortly after arriving in Manchester, England. His remains were returned to the United States in 1920 and re-interred at Knoxville National Cemetery. His name is honored on Pillar IV, Top Panel of the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial.
Joseph B. Adkison (National Guard/Army/MOH) Documents
Joseph B. Adkison was born on January 4, 1892 in Shelby County, Tennessee. During World War One, he was part of the Tennessee National Guard before being put on active duty with the army where he joined Company C, 119th Infantry, 30th Division and was made a Sergeant. Near Bellicourt, France, he displayed immense courage by single-handedly rushing a machine gun and capturing the three Germans manning it on September 29, 1918. For these actions, he was the first Tennessean to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War One. Adkison died on May 23, 1965 in Atoka, Tennessee.
Manley Crutcher Bowman (Army) Documents
Manley Crutcher Bowman was born in 1886 in Beech Bluff, TN. He was drafted into the Army in 1917. Bowman was deployed to Europe as an infantryman in 1918, serving in Company F of the 117th Infantry Regiment, part of the 30th Infantry Division. He saw action at the Second Battle of the Somme and the Hundred Days Offensive that broke the Hindenburg Line. After his service, Bowman returned to a life of farming in Beech Bluff while remaining involved with the military. He served as a military registrar signing draft papers during World War II. Bowman died in April 1976 at the age of 80.
Gustav Joseph Braun Jr. (National Guard/Army) Documents
Gustav Joseph Braun Jr. was born on January 15, 1895, in Buffalo, New York, to Gustav Braun Sr. and Anna Braun, both German immigrants. At the age of 16, on April 7, 1911, Braun enlisted in the New York National Guard’s 74th Infantry Division, where he would serve during the Mexican Expedition. On July 29th and 30th, 1918, he would earn a Distinguished Service Cross while near Sergy, France, after risking his own life to bring injured soldiers to safety. Following WWI, Braun would work a variety of administrative positions until eventually he would serve in WWII as a Brigadier General with the 34th Infantry Division. He would earn a second Distinguished Service Cross in 1944, before, in 1945, the plane that Braun was piloting was shot down above Italy, and he would be killed in action. Braun’s body would be recovered, and eventually he would be interred in Arlington National Cemetery.
Merritt Dunbar (Army) Documents
Merritt Dunbar was born on August 30th, 1890, in Madison, Colorado before he moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. At the age of 26 on July 22nd, 1918, Dunbar entered service for the United States Army. As a part of the Supply Company, 117th Infantry, 30th Division, stationed at Camp Sevier, SC, Dunbar earned the rank of First Lieutenant. On May 11th of 1918, Dunbar was sent to France where just about two months later on July 22nd of 1918, Dunbar tragically lost his life serving the country due to shell fires near Ypres. Survived by his brothers and sisters at the time, Dunbar was laid to rest at the Walnut Methodist Church Cemetery in Walnut, North Carolina.
Claude Fansler (Army) Documents
Claude Fansler, born on April 4, 1894, in Surgoinsville, Hawkins County, Tennessee, was the son of Enoch and Sarah Fansler. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on May 25, 1918, at Camp Pike in Little Rock, Arkansas, and underwent additional training at Camp Merritt, New Jersey. Assigned as a Private to Troop K of the 6th Cavalry Regiment, Fansler sailed for Europe on August 22, 1918, arriving the following month. Tragically, on February 4, 1919, at the age of 24, he died in France from bronchial pneumonia. He was laid to rest in Piney Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Surgoinsville, Tennessee, and is commemorated on Pillar III (Bottom Panel) of the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial.
Jessie F. Hall (Army) Documents
Jessie F. Hall was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on June 28, 1900. He enlisted on July 25, 1917, and served with the 3rd Tennessee Infantry in World War I. He saw combat the majority of the time he was in war and was fatally shot in Austria. He died on October 17, 1918. He was initially buried in a British Military Cemetery in France, before being relocated to Knoxville National Cemetery.
Burett Hamilton (Army) Documents
Burett (also spelled Burrett) Hamilton was born in December 1899 in Grapevine, TN. He grew up in Bledsoe County and was recruited at 17 years old into the United States Army. Hamilton was active in the 1st Division of the 18th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army. Pvt. Hamilton fought in the European Theater. He lost his life along with sixty-seven comrades when his ship, the Antilles, was sunk 400 miles from St. Nazaire, France. He is buried at Tablets of the Missing at Suresnes American Cemetery, Suresnes, France.
Claude Lee Harmon (Unknown) Documents
Claude Lee Harmon was born in 1898 in Meigs County, Tennessee, and grew up nearby in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Very little is known about Harmon, except that he worked in various military hospitals in France in the First World War. He died on October 20, 1918, of pneumonia and was initially buried in France before being relocated to Chattanooga National Cemetery.
Walter Raymond Harper (Army) Documents
Walter Raymond Harper was born in Newport Tennessee on March 24, 1893, and moved to Knoxville early in childhood. He joined the army on March 28, 1918 part of Company B, 327th Infantry, 82nd Division. He was killed by German Shell while recuperating at a field hospital at the age of 25 on October 15, 1918. He was initially buried in Argonne, American Cemetery, Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, Meuse, France, before being transferred to Knoxville National Cemetery.
James Ernest Karnes (Army National Guard) Documents
James Ernest Karnes was born in Arlington, Tennessee, on July 20th, 1887, to John and Emily Karnes. James would be raised as a farmer until the age of 28, when he enlisted in the Tennessee Army National Guard. James would be placed in MG Company D of the 117th Infantry in the 30th Infantry Division. James would ship over to Europe to fight in the Great War on May 11th, 1918. Upon arriving, James’ Unit would participate in a number of conflicts, including the Canal sector of Belgium battle, the Ypres-Lys offensive in Belgium, the Saint-Mihiel offensive in France, the Somme Offensive in France, and most notably the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France. During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, James would earn the Congressional Medal of Honor by bayonet charging a machine gun emplacement that was pinning them down with another soldier, successfully taking the emplacement, killing 3 German soldiers, and capturing 7 others. Upon James’ return to the States, he would marry Clora Repass and have 2 children. Following this, James joined up with the Knoxville Police Department. James would divorce Clora Repass in 1936. Following his divorce, James would remain with the Knoxville Police Department until his failing health caused him to retire in the 1950s. James would move to Sacramento, California, where he would spend the rest of his life, passing away in 1966. Following his death, his body was moved back to Tennessee, where it is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery.
Milo Lemert (National Guard/Army/MOH) Documents
Milo Lemert received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions near Bellicourt, France during World War One. He was born in Iowa on March 25, 1890, but he later moved to Crossville, Tennessee. He worked as a farmer, joined the Tennessee National Guard, and eventually was made a 1st Sergeant in the 119th Infantry as part of Company G in the United States Army. During World War One, Lemert helped to silence four German machine guns – he silenced three single-handedly. He was killed in action while rushing the fourth machine gun emplacement on September 29, 1918, and he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
James Marcum (Army) Documents
Sgt. James Marcum was born in Lafollette, Tennessee on April 1, 1897. In 1917, he enlisted in the United States Army, where he served in the 9th Infantry, Company K. He fought in the battles of Marie Louise and Verdun before ultimately being killed in battle at Chateau Thierry. He was originally buried in Bakers Forge Cemetery in Campbell County before being relocated to a new Bakers Forge Cemetery as part of the Norris Dam Grave Relocation Project in 1934.
Samuel Alfred McCarty (Army) Documents
Samuel Alfred McCarty of Knoxville, Tennessee was born November 3rd, 1896, to Mary McCarty and William McCarty. McCarty joined the fight in the Great War in June of 1918 when he enlisted in the U.S. Army. McCarty served in the Supply Company of the 57th Pioneer Infantry Regiment overseas in Europe. McCarty tragically lost his life during the infamous Meuse-Argonne Defense while he was battling broncho pneumonia. McCarty was placed to rest in Romange, France at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery.
Luther Byron Newman (Army) Documents
Luther Byron Newman was born on July 12, 1899, in Helenwood, Tennessee. He first enlisted in the U.S. Army during WWI in 1918, serving as a private while still a student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Later, he was commissioned as a captain in the Medical Corps Reserve during WWII, but was ultimately honorably discharged in 1942 due to physical disability. After returning home, Newman served at VA hospitals before retirement in 1964. He died on June 15, 1973, in Carrabelle, Florida, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Halder Earl Perry (Army) Documents
Second Lieutenant Halder Earl Perry was born on April 6th, 1895, on Shell Creek in Carter County, Tennessee. Perry was raised by his maternal Grandmother, Martha Caraway. He enlisted in May of 1913 into the Army and served in Honolulu, Hawaii, for four years. In 1917, much to his disdain, Perry was moved to Camp Kearny, San Diego, as a drill instructor. It was there that he was promoted to Second Lieutenant of the 81st Infantry Division. On December 2nd, 1918, Perry murdered his commanding officer, Captain Abram Posner. He was arrested in the days following and Court Martialed on December 16th, 1918. Perry and the murder he committed were highly sensationalized in dozens of local and national newspapers in the weeks and years following. He was originally given the death penalty, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by President Woodrow Wilson in August 1919. Perry spent the remainder of his life in prison. In 1932, he wrote a series of letters to various War Department Officials and Congressmen claiming that he was promised clemency for good conduct and deserved to be set free. Perry died in March of 1950, at the age of 55 after 32 years in prison
Lexey Phifer (Army)
Lexey Phifer was born in Anson County, N.C., on Feb 17, 1889. He was born to David Wilson Phifer (1862-1932) and to Mary Caudle Phifer (1860-1920). He moved to Knoxville sometime before 1910 and was a construction foreman before the war. He was attached to the 28th Engineers Company C, and he went to Camp Meade, MD, for his training. He was shipped to France on June 30th, 1918, and shortly after he was promoted to Corporal. His unit ran a quarry, producing crushed stone used for road building efforts. At the war’s end, he stayed to help with the occupation and rebuilding processes. He was promoted to Sergeant in March 1919. He stayed in France till June 24th of 1919, and he was discharged on July 12th, 1919. After the war, he went to Georgetown, Guyana, as a construction foreman in 1919, working for the Demerara Bauxite Company, which was a mining company. He returned to Knoxville, where he got married to Nancy Ella Caudle in June of 1922. He later worked for TVA as a foreman until his death on October 26, 1950.
David Crockett Quarrels (Navy) Documents
David Crockett Quarrels, born February 22, 1901, in Sevier County, Tennessee, was the son of James McRussell and Sarah Maples Quarrels. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War I and served as a seaman aboard the USS Pastores, a troop transport operating in the Atlantic. Tragically, on December 30, 1918, while on watch at sea, Quarrels fell overboard and drowned; his body was never recovered. Though only 18 years old, his sacrifice is honored on the Tablets of the Missing at Suresnes American Cemetery in France, a lasting tribute to his service and ultimate loss.
James Lester Scoggins (Army) Documents
Private James Lester Scoggins was born on November 11, 1893 in Ooltewah, Tennessee. On October 2, 1917, he enlisted as a Private and was assigned to the 321st Infantry Regiment, 84th Division. On May 10, 1918, while training to be deployed during the final year of World War I, he was involved in a Railroad Accident near his base in Columbia, South Carolina, where he suffered multiple fractures in his skull and subsequently died at his training base hospital.
Albert Perrine Smith (Army) Documents
Albert Perrine Smith was born on February 21, 1897, in Washington, D.C., but he grew up in Cookeville. In 1917, he joined the Army and was a corporal in the 120th Infantry, 30th Division during World War I. After the war, Smith married Elvira Mace, led an investment company, and unsuccessfully ran for state elected office. He died in Florida of a heart attack on January 8, 1968, at the age of 70.
Egbert N. Stollings (Army) Documents
Egbert N. Stollings was born in Allegany, Maryland, in the year 1884, to parents Norman and Letha Stollings. He would later enlist in the military in 1902. He would serve in the 109th Coastal Artillery at Fort Greble, RI. He would reenlist and go to Fort Screven, GA, with the 72nd Coastal Artillery. He would eventually be assigned to the Knoxville area as its Army recruiter in 1914. Here, he would serve during the 1st World War, even earning national recognition due to how many men he helped enlist. He would serve in the role for 22 years. While in the role, he would meet Knox County local Nellie McCammon, the two would later marry and have several children together. Egbert would pass away in 1957; he would later be buried in the Knoxville National Cemetery. Mr. Stollings’ information was given to the Center for the Study of Tennesseans and War via Mr. James Angel from the Veterans’ Success Center at the University of Tennessee.
Edward R. Talley (National Guard/Army/MOH) Documents
Edward R. Talley was born on September 6, 1890 in Russellville, TN. He worked as a breakman and joined the Tennessee National Guard before entering the army. During World War I, he used a rifle to single handedly silence a German machine gun, and, when the Germans tried to replace the gun, he continued to use his rifle to drive them back. Because of these actions, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor. After the war, he moved to Appalachia, Virginia. He died on December 14, 1950 and is buried in Whitesburg, Tennessee.
Charles McGhee Tyson (United States Naval Reserve Flying Corps) Documents
Charles McGhee Tyson (1889-1918) was a renowned World War I veteran. He grew up in Knoxville, TN, but later went on to graduate from Princeton University. He enlisted as a second-class seaman and received his training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During his service, he escalated to the rank of lieutenant. Later, Tyson was assigned to the United States Naval Reserve Flying Corps. Washington, D.C., gave him executive orders to load supplies onto aircraft, but he requested to join his squadron and was deployed to see battle. On October 11, 1918, he died in action while serving as a bow gunner on a Naval seaplane mission, where he experienced a head-on collision with another plane. Today, Tyson is buried in the Old Gray Cemetery, Knoxville, Knox County, TN.
Lawrence Davis Tyson (Army) – Documents
Lawrence Davis Tyson (1861–1929), father of McGhee Tyson, was an American military officer, politician, and businessman from North Carolina who rose to prominence in Tennessee. A West Point graduate, he served in the Spanish–American War and later as a brigadier general in World War I, commanding the 59th Brigade of the 30th Infantry Division in France. His unit was instrumental in breaching the Hindenburg Line, a decisive Allied victory, and he received the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal, along with Britain’s Companion of the Order of the Bath and Distinguished Service Order. After the war, Tyson became a successful textile manufacturer in Knoxville and entered politics, winning election as a Democratic U.S. senator in 1925. He is remembered as a decorated soldier-statesman whose leadership shaped both America’s military success abroad and Tennessee’s civic and economic growth.
Earl Warren Vickery (Army) Documents
Earl Warren Vickery, born in April 1898, attended Central High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before enlisting as a private in the army on May 8, 1917. On August 20, 1917, he was promoted to Corporal. The Chattanooga News published excerpts of his letters to his parents, where he describes his time in no man’s land as “thrilling” and “full of excitement.” He also describes the courage of the American soldiers, how expensive tobacco is in France, and how he and his fellow soldiers were eager for news from home. Vickery was killed on July 28, 1918, in France, and he is buried in the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Belleau, France.
Spencer Wallace (Army) Documents
Spencer Wallace was a Knoxville, Tennessee resident who was born and raised in Bearden. Wallace entered the United States Army on September 21st, 1917, and was assigned to Company A of the 328th Infantry Unit. In April of 1918, now Private Wallace, was shipped off to go serve in France after having spent some time in camps in Georgia and a fort in South Carolina. Private Wallace’s life tragically came to an end at the age of 22 in France while he was serving with the 15th Machine Gun Battalion on September 13th, 1918. Post his death, Private Wallace was buried in the Knoxville National Cemetery.
Calvin John Ward (Army/Medal of Honor) Documents
Private Calvin John Ward was born on October 30, 1899, in Greene County, TN, to Alvin Lewis Ward and Laura Magnolia Maltbay. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions on October 8, 1918, near Estrees, France, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Alongside Sergeant James Ernest Karnes, he charged and captured a German position that had stalled their unit. After the war, he re-enlisted but struggled with depression and alcoholism, leading to a dishonorable discharge in 1930. He passed away at age 78. His honors include the Medal of Honor, Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, Distinguished Service Cross, WWI Victory Medal (with Defense Sector clasp), and six foreign awards.
Alvin C. York (Army/Medal of Honor) Documents
From Pall Mall, Tennessee, He was convinced to fight for the U.S. by his commanders, and on October 8th, 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne offensive he performed the deed that earned him a Medal of Honor. York’s team was tasked with destroying an enemy machine gun encampment, and took heavy casualties during the assault. York led the charge of the remaining members into the enemy line, killing multiple German soldiers and ambushing the main line. The Germans surrendered, and York and his unit captured 132 German soldiers. After the war, York moved back to Fentress county and attempted to reform education in the area, establishing the Alvin C. York educational institute in 1926. York died on September 2, 1964 at 76 years old in a veterans hospital in Nashville.
