PALMER, JOSEPH LEROY--PRIVATESon of Samuel L. and Ellen Palmer; born September 3, 1889, Troy Township, Whitley County, Ind. Farmer. Entered service May 25, 1918, Columbia City, Ind. Sent to Camp Taylor, Ky. Transferred to Camp Beauregard, La. Embarked for overseas August 6, 1918; assigned to Company C, 127th Infantry, 32nd Division. Fought at Verdun, and Gesnes. Killed in action October 24, 1918, Argonne Forest. (Burial place unknown).
Gold Star Honor Roll: A Record of Indiana Men and Women Who Died in The Service of the United States and The Allied Nations in The World War 1914-1918 (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Commission, 1921) Page 720. Contributed by Meredith Thompson.
Columbia City Post ~ Wednesday, May 14, 1919
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Palmer, of Richland township, after months of suspense, received a message Saturday, from the government stating that their son, Joseph L. Palmer, had died from the wounds received on the 28th day of last October, passing away the same day.
The last letter Mr. and Mrs. Palmer had from their son was dated September 24, 1918, and at that time, although having been in active service, was in good health, but on January 15, 1919, a telegram came from Washington, stating that the young man had been mortally wounded on the 28th day of October. Following this information Mr. Palmer, through many sources, attempted to get into communication with some one who might give them further news. It wasn’t until about four weeks ago that they had a letter from a Mr. A. C. Burnshaw in France, whose duties were to trace missing men for their relatives, and he informed Mr. Palmer that he would make every effort to locate his boy.
Whether the message that came Saturday, announcing the death, was due to Mr. Burnshaw’s efforts or not, the family is not aware, but they still hope to hear more of the details of their son’s passing. The young man was 29 years old and left May 25th, 1918 for training camp, having been sent to France in August and on the 28th day of October was wounded and died. He was one of a family of six, who, with the father and mother are heart broken over his untimely death.
Dear Becky & Meredith:
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if this is useful to you or not, but Joseph L. Palmer is listed at http://www.abmc.gov/ as buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in France. Here is the search result:
Joseph Leroy Palmer
Private, U.S. Army
127th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Division
Entered the Service from: Indiana
Died: October 5, 1918
Buried at: Plot E Row 21 Grave 12
Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery
Romagne, France
Cordially,
A fellow WWI researcher