William Ilg, the gone but not forgotten Uncle

     Wow, it sure is cold today! What is this weather? It just seems too cold for fall. It feels almost like winter. You know, thinking about the weather and the time of year it is, we are fast approaching the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I (otherwise known as The Great War). Great Grand Uncle William served in that war in 1918. He was at the battle of the Meuse-Argonne. The weather during that time was cold, wet, rainy, foggy.... all around miserable. Can you imagine what Uncle William felt like during those last few days? Brrr…. What's that? You don't know about Uncle William? Well, grab some hot cocoa and come sit with Auntie Jen. Let me tell you the story of Great Grand Uncle William otherwise known as Willie.
     Up until I started researching our family in 2012, no one knew who Great Grand Uncle William Ilg was or that he even existed. He is the brother of Great Grandpa Joseph Ilg. But because he died so long ago, no one knew him. Great Grandpa Joe never talked about him as far as I know, because Grandma Ruth never mentioned anything to us. I only learned about him from the little date book Grandma Ruth gave me before she passed. His name was mentioned in the book. That's how I found out he was killed in World War I. Here let me show you. Be careful though, this is a very old book and the pages are falling apart.

     Who are all these people, you ask? These are all his brothers and sisters. He was the 4th child of Great Great Grandpa and Grandma Ilg but the oldest of the surviving children. What do I mean by that? Well, Great Great Grandma Pauline had a total of nine children, but only four of them survived childhood. All of Willie's siblings before him had died and he had two more siblings pass away after him as well. See, Great Great Grandpa and Grandma Ilg were poor. Very poor. They could barely afford a place to live, nor could they afford food. They lived in the Carondelet area, which had the nickname "Vide Poche". That translates into "empty pockets" in French. With being so poor, it's not surprising illnesses ran rampant through the family. One of his siblings even died of starvation. Amazingly, Willie survived. If that wasn't bad enough, tragedy struck the family in 1901. Willie's father died in an accident at his job at the Provident Chemical Works factory. Grandma Ruth told me the story one time. She said he was operating a piece of machinery that required two operators. The story goes that the other operator slipped and caused a piece of machinery to come down and crush Great Great Grandpa's head. I know, so tragic.
     Willie was only 7 years old when he lost his father and his mother was still pregnant with his youngest brother. He and his surviving brothers were obviously too young to work, so things just got worse. Doing research one day at the library, I found a newspaper article in the Carondelet News about Willie and his family, asking for help. It still breaks my heart to this day. Let me think, yeah it was published right around this time in 1903. Right around winter time and Christmas. Oh, Christmas... Soon you will be making a list for Christmas. Probably will include things like an Amazon gift card, the new iPhone, maybe some CDs, things like that. Willie was probably hoping for food. Or coal to keep warm. Maybe a blanket. Puts things into perspective, doesn't it? Poor Willie. I think... yeah I have a copy of that article right here.

     I know, I felt the same way after reading this. So heartbroken. It didn't stay this way forever though. Although I'm sure it felt like it would. Great Great Grandma Pauline got married again to a man named Jacob John Baumgartner. I have to say, I'm not sure which name was his first name, cause the documents kept going back and forth, so we will just call him John. This is where I'm a little fuzzy on the details. I can only speculate. I don't think Pauline's marriage to John was a good one, sadly. In 1910, they were all living together at one address on Tesson in Carondelet. By 1916, Pauline is living at a different address with Willie and her three sons on Virginia Ave. in Carondelet. So I think they separated. I've found no proof of divorce yet, but I'm still looking. I know John was still alive at this point cause I found his death certificate from 1938. It still only mentions his first wife and that's who he was buried with. Pauline took her original last name of Ilg. The whole situation makes me wonder, but that's all I can do right now... it is a wonder.

     So now Willie, being the oldest, is supporting his family. It is 1917. He is 22 now and working as a cook and bartender. He also worked during the summer at Mannion's Park there on Broadway as a waiter. What's Mannion's Park? It's an old theme park. Yes! I was surprised too, to learn they had an amusement park in Carondelet. So I guess it runs in the family. I used to work at Six Flags in Eureka during the summer. I wasn't a waiter though. I didn't want food service, haha!  Sorry, I was chasing a rabbit there. Anyway, Willie has been working since at least the age of 17. Can you imagine? Being 22, and having to not only support yourself, but your mother, who is partially blind, and your three brothers as well. Do you know any 22 years old doing that? Great Grand Uncle Otto was the second oldest child but was unable to work for some reason. How do I know that? Well, sadly this would be the year Otto passed away from Pneumonia. On his death certificate, it states he was unable to work; that he helps at home. This was right before the time the 1918 Spanish Flu ran rampant throughout the world. Poor Uncle Otto. And poor Uncle Willie. He was the informant on the death certificate. I can't imagine going through that pain again, of losing a sibling. But he was the man of the family, so you have to do what you have to do. Anyway, he didn't have much time to grieve. He had bigger fish to fry. Cause Willie would soon be drafted for World War I; otherwise known as "The Great War".

     By now, the war had been going on for three years. The U.S. didn't declare war on Germany until April 6, 1917. After intercepting a message sent from Germany to Mexico asking to form an alliance against the US, President Woodrow Wilson thought it was time to step up and fight. And when that was decided, the Selective Service Act went into effect; otherwise known as the draft. Oh gosh, my heart would just drop. I can't imagine how Great Great Grandma Pauline felt. Knowing there was a possibility that her sons could be drafted. When the draft was enacted, Willie was forced to register. I saw newspaper articles threatening police involvement if anyone tried to avoid registering. What could Willie do? He had to register. Great-grandpa Joe and Great uncle John were still too young to register at that time. Willie was hoping he could claim hardship and not have to serve in the war. On his draft card, he stated that he was the "sole support of Mother". You want to see a copy of that card? Here you go. There is information on the front and back.

     The first lotto occurred around June of 1917. Willie must have been relieved when his number wasn't called. He could go on living his normal (or close to normal) life. I wish that could be where my story ended. But it doesn't, cause there was another draft coming in 1918. And this time around, they weren't so lenient. In June 1918, there was a second lotto, and this time, Willie wouldn't be exempt. The US Army was in serious need of soldiers, so some that were exempt before, were not exempt this time, except for serious circumstances. I've had a hard time finding out what his draft number was, but I believe it was 774. I found the List of Men Ordered to Report for Duty for 1917-1918. His name was listed with the order number being 774. So Willie would look for that number in the newspaper.
     During my research, I came across more articles talking about the draft. This included photos of the draft. I also found some vintage videos on YouTube. Here let me show you. It really makes it seem more real.

     The draft began in the morning on June 5th, 1918. It took hours for them to go through and draw the capsules out of the bowl. When it as all said and done, it would be published in the newspaper. Willie would have been notified by mail that his number had been selected and was expected to report to his local board for service. Sadly, I don't have any of Willie's documents (except for his registration card I already showed you), but I did find a few samples online of what would have been sent out. Would you like to see them? These are possibly some of the documents Willie would have received.

 

     So, William Christian Ilg was inducted into the U.S. Army on July 6, 1918, at Jefferson Barracks. Just after the fourth of July celebration. The days leading up to him leaving must have been miserable for Great-Great Grandma Pauline. Helping her son pack. Discussing the plans with him. Him telling her what she needs to do while he is gone. Her saying she will be praying for him. I'm sure many tears were shed as she hugged her son with the intent of never wanting to let go. He probably spoke with his brothers, preparing them to be the men of the house now and to take care of mom. Great-grandpa Joe would have to get a job and look after the family now. Willie probably told his family he would write them the soonest chance he got. As he walked off, I'm sure Great Great Grandma Pauline cried, wondering if she would ever see her baby again. And just like that, he was gone. Off to serve his country. Off to War.
     According to the List of Men Ordered to Report that mentioned earlier, He was ordered to report to his Jefferson Barracks for induction, then he would be off to Union Station to take the train to Camp MacArthur in Waco, Texas. I wondered what was going on in his head as he left his family. Was he scared? Was he excited? Worried? Sad? I wonder if he had some friends that were drafted with him. The train ride took quite a while. Probably making stops along the way, picking up more soldiers. All before their final destination. Once arriving at Camp MacArthur, he probably didn't have much time to get settled in before training began. Training took a little less than 12 weeks, which was the standard. Here are some photos I found of Camp MacArthur during that time. Camp MacArthur was also known as "Tent City"; you can see this from the photos. The living conditions were pretty primitive as most of the men lived in those tents. Yes next time you have to do laundry, maybe you won't complain. How would you like to do laundry like that? But this would be luxurious compared to what was ahead.

     Now from this point, most of what I tell you is based on my research of soldiers in World War I and the facts about his unit. I can only speculate his feelings through this whole ordeal. After training, they would have taken a train up to New York for the next leg of their trip. Willie boarded the S.S. France from New York at Pier 86. Embarkment began on September 25 at 1:30 pm until 5:07 pm, then resumed on September 26 at 10:25 am until they finished at 11:45 am. Finally, at 3:35 pm on September 26, 1918, they began their journey. From what I've learned, the journey would have taken approximately 8 days to get from New York to France. I bet the sight of the Statue of Liberty was a beautiful sight. A reminder why Willie was going to fight. I wonder if he stood on the deck as they sailed away. I wonder if he ever got seasick. I've never been out on the ocean for that long on a ship that big. I do love being on the water, but I don't know how I would have handled it. The anxiety alone of knowing where I was heading and what I was about to face would be torturous enough. I wonder how they passed the time.
     Approximately 8 days later, they would arrive in France, then probably take another form of transportation to their next destination. Train most likely. I've had quite a bit of difficulty trying to trace where Willie would have been. On the few military records I do have for him it lists a few different Companies and Units he was a part of. It was hard enough trying to find out which Division he was in. Most of all the information having to do with the battle was divided up by Divisions first. Once I learned what Division he was in, that made it somewhat easier. First, he was part of the 83rd division, then he was part of the 5th Division, also known as the “Red Diamond” Division because of their Red Diamond Shoulder insignia. Since Willie was part of the Replacement Infantry, he came into the Division after they were already in France fighting. First, he was listed with Company E 49th Infantry, then with Company I 11th Infantry.
     Not much is known about these particular Companies and infantries. I've gone through some morning reports and read up on some of the battles they fought in. Here is just a little information I dug up about the 5th Division:

On September 16, 1918, they “...moved by road and bus to the Argonne front and went into the attack on October 12th east of Montfaucon. The division continued in the attack until October 22d when it was relieved by the 90th Divison, and was withdrawn to the vicinity of Malancourt. On October 27th the division was again brought into the attack southwest of Brieulles, crossed the Meuse river and took Dun-sur-Meuse...” Source

     According to a Newspaper article, Willie had written home to his mom about his fighting during this time. Gosh, I so wish I had a copy of that letter. I would have loved to have read, in his own hand, his experiences over there. Now I could continue to bore you with facts and details about the war and his Division which would never give you the full effect of what Willie went through “over there”. Although, I did find a video on YouTube that is a recreation of the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne. Have a look.

 
     Doesn't that just speak volumes? I can't imagine anyone going through that. But look how excited the soldiers were when they announced the end of the War. The Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, and was put into effect at 11 am. That's it! The war was over. And the 5th Division had such an important role in the final push. By Armistice Day, the 5th Division had advanced further east than any other Allied division. I've got a copy of the Map from the Research Library in St. Louis to show you. See? Look at the spot that says 5th and you can see their line is the farthest.

     The celebrations at home began as soon as the Armistice was announced. Parades, dancing, singing, etc. Here is a copy of a newspaper article from the Cardondelet News dated November 15, 1918. I got this copy from the Carondelet Historical Society. It talks about the celebrations going on in Willie's hometown.

    Can you imagine how Great Great-grandma Pauline felt, hearing the news? Being woken up in the middle of the night to the sounds of noisemakers, yelling, celebrating, etc. Thinking, “Oh my gosh, my son will be coming home...” That last line in the article really got to me. "Never again will a nation so thoroughly celebrate any occasion unless it is when the two million young American soldiers return to their homes."
    Why do I look so sad? Well... There is something I haven't told you yet. Great Grand Uncle Willie was killed in action, Today, 100 years ago, November 8, 1918 – 3 days before the end of the war. I can only speculate based on information I have found, that he was shot in the face. In one report, it states his skull was fractured and his upper jaw was missing. I know, it's so awful to think about. I pray he didn't feel anything. When I went to the Soldier's Military Memorial Museum, one quote from a soldier states that you couldn't poke your head out of the trenches because once you did, it was just a mess of what sounded like machinegun fire. Could it be that when Willie stepped out of the trench to fight he was killed instantly? That's a possibility. As of right now, I do not have any reports of what happened. Again, all I can do is speculate from what I do have.
     So he would never be part of the end of the war celebrations we saw in that video. He would never come home... And what's worse, Great Great Grandma Pauline would not find out until over a month later. Since the announcement of the end of the war, she would be expecting to hear from her son any day to tell her he was coming home. This whole time, she was waiting for the moment to finally hug her baby again. That moment would never come. On December 20, 1918, it was published in a few newspapers announcing those who were killed in action. Here I have a few newspaper clippings.

     This would be the worst Christmas present that Great Great Grandma Pauline has ever received. After all the heartache she has been through in her life already. She now has lost another son. Willie gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country. With this war going on, there wasn't much they could do with the dead, so they got buried right where they fought. I got copies of Willie's Burial Case File, which explained more than I ever thought about what happened after he died. I was able to hold these original documents in my hand. The same documents Great Great Grandma Pauline held and signed. It was humbling for sure. I will have to show you the copies I got. As you can see from this paper, Willie was buried on November 12, 1918, at the brow of the hill, north of Liny. He was buried in his uniform with one dog tag and his mess kit. For identification purposes. Then one of his dog tags was placed on a cross marking his burial location.

     Once the war was over, the military decided to give the soldiers a more proper burial. Willie was disinterred on July 10th, 1919 to be moved to the Argonne American Cemetery (#1232) in Romagne, Meuse, France. He was buried in a pine box this time. Still in uniform, but "badly decomposed" as the paperwork stated. He was in Grave #29, Sec. #60, Plot #1. A lot of soldiers are still buried over there to this day. Willie was one of the lucky ones to have had his remains shipped back home to be by his family. Great Great Grandma Pauline decided she wanted her son home by her. It took three years before they could start sending the soldiers back. But at least he was coming home.... just not in the way anyone had hoped. Here is a copy of the card she filled out to have her son brought back to her. Yes, this is one of the original documents I held in my hands.

     So once again, Willie was disinterred (a gentle way of describing the fact they were digging up his remains again) on July 25, 1921. His remains had quite a journey before he arrived home. He was sent by rail to Antwerp, Belgium on August 11, 1921. He was to take a ship home from there. He arrived on August 12, 1921, then had to wait to be shipped back to the United States. Finally, he was loaded on September 19, 1921, on a ship called the "U.S.A.T Wheaton". They set sail on September 20, 1921, carrying Willie along with many other soldiers who lost their lives. They arrived 13 days later in Hoboken, New Jersey on October 3, 1921, at Pier 4. He would then be transported by train. Trains were the best forms of transportation during this time. He left New York on October 10, 1921, at 10:05 am on the Pennsylvania Railroad and arrived just a day later, on October 11, 1921. He was to be picked up by Joseph Fendler & Son Undertaking, so he could be prepared for his burial.
     They would have a visitation at Fendler Chapel on Michigan Ave in Carondelet, then they would have the funeral itself at St. Boniface Catholic Church. The same church that Willie had attended when he was a young boy for church and for school. Once the funeral was over, he would be then taken to Mount Olive Cemetery on Lemay Ferry for a proper military funeral. He was buried right next to his brother, Uncle Otto.
     Willie was finally home... and laid to rest for the final time. Because of his sacrifice, along with other brave men, we won World War I. I know he would have rather have stayed home to take care of his family, but he protected his family in the best way he could by standing up to fight. I know his death really shook the family. For so long, he was the one that the brothers looked up to. He was the one Great Great Grandma Pauline relied on. He was practically the glue that held the family together. I know the family was never really the same again. He is honored by the City of St. Louis in the Soldier's Military Memorial Museum downtown. His name appears on the memorial dedicated to the St. Louis native soldiers who gave the Ultimate Sacrifice in World War I. In 1924, a local group in St. Louis called the Gold Star Mothers began a project to honor the St. Louis sons and daughters who had made the ultimate sacrifice during the war. They created the Court of Honor. The memorial featured a bronze plaque for each fallen St. Louisan bearing the individual's name, rank, unit, the branch of service and cause of death. The memorial has since been destroyed due to urban development, but many of the plaques still exist and are housed at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Great Great Grandma would have been a member of this group and would have shown her support by wearing a yellow star on her sleeve. Here is a photo I found of the Court of Honor in 1919 when the soldiers came home from war. This is where they would eventually place those plaques.

     Great Great Grandma Pauline died a few years later and was buried right next to both of her sons. William is the only one who has a headstone out of the three. That is because it was provided by the military for free. The family was still very poor and couldn't afford to place a headstone for Uncle Otto or Great Great Grandma Pauline. Great Grandpa Joe filled out the request in 1931 for Willie to have a headstone. And that is the one that is placed there today. Today there are other family members buried there including Pauline's other son, John, and his wife, Leona, and John's two children. At least Great Great Grandma Pauline is surrounded by family.

     Looking through some old photos that were given to me, I came across this one. There are what appears to be three soldiers on a train. I looked at the back and it had written on it: "Taken in Marshfield, MO Sept. 18 - 1918 - about 5:00 pm". That date fits within the time period he would have been traveling. So it's possible, Willie is in this photo. Unfortunately, I do not know which one he is. And this is the only known photo I have.

     I think it is very important to make sure he is remembered for the sacrifice he gave. So I tell you the story of him today, so hopefully, you can pass it down to your family. In that way, he will live on forever. And his sacrifice will not have been in vain.

     What do you say we go and visit him at Mount Olive Cemetery? Go lay some flowers down at his grave?  Come on, let's go.

Sources: 

Family Date Book

Carondelet News

Missouri Marriage Records

St. Boniface Church Records

St. Louis City Directories

Missouri Death Records

World War I Draft Registration Cards

St. Louis Post Dispatch

St. Louis Star and Times

YouTube

Various Website Relating to World War I

List of Men Ordered to Report

Map of Meuse-Argonne Offensive

William's Burial Case File

Pictures were either provided by Me or found on the Internet

Repositories include:

Missouri Historical Society

St. Louis County Library Headquarters

National Archives Library - St. Louis Branch

Carondelet Historical Society

Ancestry.com

FamilySearch.com

Findagrave.com