Harlow Menzie (1883-1918)

MENZIE, HARLOW--PRIVATE

Son of William and Cora Kerr Menzie; born September 20, 1883, Troy Township, Whitley County, Ind. Carpenter. Served on Mexican Border in 1916. Enlisted in U.S. Regular Army March 28, 1917, Ft. Wayne, Ind. Sent to Ft. Thomas, Ky. Overseas in May, 1918; assigned to Company C, 47th Infantry, 4th Division. Killed in action August 10, 1918, near St. Thibaut, France. The Menzie-Reece Post of the American Legion, Pierceton, Ind., is named in his honor.

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 719. Contributed by Meredith Thompson.

Columbia City Post ~ Wednesday, August 28, 1918

Harlow Menzie, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Menzie, of Troy township, was killed in action in France on August 4th, according to a telegram received by the young man’s father from the War Department late Friday afternoon. No details were given, other than those contained in the usual message of that sort. He was a member of the 47th Infantry, U. S. Regular army.

The deceased enlisted in the regular army in July, 1916, at the time of the threatened trouble with Mexico, when the American troops were sent to the border. He was still in the army when war was declared against Germany, but his regiment was not sent overseas until the latter part of May, this year. His relatives heard from him regularly, but he did not give much information concerning his movements in France.

Besides his parents, there are four brothers, John, Max and Bert, at home, and Jess, of Iowa, and one sister, Mrs. Levi Barney, north of Larwill. Had he lived until Sept. 21st, he would have been thirty-five years old.

The death of this young man just impresses on the people of this community more emphatically the fact that the nation is in war and that hundreds of thousands of American soldiers are standing side by side with our allies, stemming the efforts of a heartless and ambitious war lord who is driving his subjects to their death in the hope that he might gain world power and world dominion. Fearful as the price is, it is what must be expected from war and the sympathy of all goes out to those whose hearts are torn by the losses and sacrifices which are being sustained by their own flesh and blood.

Harlow Menzie was a fine young man and his friends and relatives sincerely mourn his death and his memory will be cherished along with the others who are giving their lives on the battle fields of France.