Monthly Archives: March 2019

To view this or an earlier profile at any time, click on the veteran’s name on the WWI Brunswick County Veteran list, which is also accessible by the blue button on the top right of the webpage.

Photo contributed by Mary Willetts Earp, niece.
George Finnis Willetts
Winnabow, Brunswick County, NC
US Army
Private
Served:
April 25, 1918 – June 21, 1919
Overseas:
August 8, 1918 – June 9, 1919

George Finnis Willetts was born and raised in Winnabow, Brunswick County, NC. Two of his brothers also served, William Edgar Willetts and Fredrick Arnold Willetts.

His Draft Registration shows he was single, living in Winnabow, and farming. He stated he was supporting his father, mother, and three children. His physical description was tall, medium weight, with brown eyes and dark hair.

George was the first Willetts brother ordered to report for duty. He reported on April 25, 1918, and was sent to Camp Jackson, SC [Source: Ancestry]. He was eventually assigned to Company E, 306th Ammunition Train, 81st “Wildcat” Division.

The 81st Division included 3,150 soldiers in the trains. There were engineer trains, supply trains, sanitary trains (ambulances), and ammunition trains. Previous profiled soldiers from Brunswick County included those in the Engineer Train. The Ammunition Train was similar; the soldiers transported artillery and infantry ammunition from the refilling point to the engagement zones.

Corporal John Burt Exum (left) served with Pvt Willetts in the 306th Ammunition Train. His letters to his mother are located online in the NC Archives and provide a wonderful view into the experience shared by Pvt Willetts.

Some of Cpl Exum’s letters and excerpts have been included below to add personal experiences to the events of the 306th Ammunition Train, from their arrival at Camp Jackson, to their duties in France, to their return home. Pvt Willetts likely had similar experiences and thoughts.

John Exum held the ranks of Private, Corporal, and Wagoner as needed. His letters reflect his changing rank.

(Grammatical and spelling errors were not corrected.)

The Brunswick County soldiers who served with Pvt Willetts are listed below.

81st Division, 306th Ammunition Train

Name	Company
Sgt Horace C Garrason	Ord
Cpl Rothschild Holden	G
Pfc Matthew Owens	D
Pvt George Finnis Willetts	E

This list and other rosters can be found on the World War I Army/Marine Rosters webpage.

Camp Jackson, 1918
Source: Library of Congress

Pvt Exum arrived in Camp Jackson on May 28, 1918, a month later than Pvt Willetts. He wrote:

17th Co., 156 Depot Brg.
Camp Jackson,
Columbia, S.C.
May 28, 1918

Dear Mother,
We had dinner yesterday at Wilmington, supper at Columbia and breakfast at Camp Jackson. We we drilled untill four o’clock this A.M. and got here at twelve. I thought we would never get through with the exams and find our lodging place. We were up at six thirty this morning and have been on some kind of duty all day. It was answering roll call and drilling. Went on a hike this evening. I am getting along all right and don’t need anything but sleep.

I will write more when I have time. I think that will be tomorrow evening if I am not detailed for guard duty. Tell everybody I am allright so far.
Your Son,

John

 

June 11, 1918:

17th Co., 156 Depot Br.
Camp Jackson,
Columbia, S.C.

Dear Mother,
I am getting along fine. Am near lots of good fellows that I know and can see them and be with them any time except when I am on duty.

I sleep in a tent on a one man cot with good springs and a straw matress. A good cotton comfort on that a two yarn blankets to cover with if I should need them.

I have no use for the blanket I brought from home. It is just in my way so I think I will ship it back as room is an object here.

Russell Peacock and Turl Flowers are in the tent with me. One on one side and the other on the other. Several Goldsboro boys that I know are in the next tent to us.

I was shot with typhoid antitoxine and also vacinated for small-pox day before yesterday. The antitoxine most killed me all day yesterday but is much better today so now my vacination is taking. The boys say it is taking fine but I say it is taking hard.

I am just across the street from one of the Y.M.C.A’s. It furnishes rest rooms, ice water, literature and stationery for any body and every-body. It is very convenient for me to be so near.

Your loving son,
John

His letter of June 14 letter includes the following:

We are being issued our uniforms today. Turl and I have had one for a week but we had to buy it. We got tired of looking like a “rookie”. That is a soldier with civilian clothes on.

A later letter written in June shares the news of his assignment.

Co. D.,
306 Am. Tr.,
Camp Jackson, S.C.,
Saturday evening

Dear Mother:-
I have been transferred to another part of the camp. I am now with a bunch of old boys that have seen much hard service and are almost ready to go over. I have taken ten thousand dollars of insurance for your benefit. My army service number or army serial number is 1,891,436.

I am in the motor truck division of the amunition train. Company D, to which I belong, will have about thirty three trucks. They will weigh about nine thousand pounds empty. They are two ton capacity with four wheel drive.

I have to work much harder now than when I was in the Depot Br. We drill all the morning and part of the evening. The balance of the evening is spent in hearing the officers lecture on our duties the rest of our time here and what we will have to do in France. We also have practice in truck driving and signaling back from one truck to another when the trucks are in line of train.

I was transfered over here Tuesday morning. I stood my physical examination for our sea duty Thursday evening and passed. From what I can find out this company expects to sail for France about July 15th.

I certainly was glad to see the folks from home that came to see me and especially May. She said she was going to see you when she got back and tell you how I was getting along and how I looked in a uniform. She has sent me two boxes since I have been down here. I only saw her once down here and that was Monday night. They took me over to town. I was transfered the next morning and transfered into a quaranteened company. I can’t go any where now nor do anything but work. Yesterday we had to work harder than usual for special inspection this morning. I tarted at 5-45 A.M. and stoped at 9-45 P.M.

We are having a half holiday this evening. The only time we get out of a week. I have to write some more and do some washing so good bye.

Your son,
John

Note: John Exum’s mother was a widow. John married a woman named May a few months after being discharged.

John traveled to New Jersey to attend the Ordnance Motor Instruction School. After returning, his letter in July described preparations to leave for France.

Co. D. 306 Amm. Tr.,
Camp Jackson, S.C.,
July 15, 1918.

Dear Mother:-
I was sorry you and May could not come up to N.J. to see me. I know you would have enjoyed the trip. As it is I guess I can’t come home and you had better not come down for we are now being issued the over sea stuff that we didn’t have. We are packing up part of our stuff and don’t expect to unpack it any more untill we get over. Of course we don’t know the exact time that we are to go.

Write to me here and if I am gone I guess it will be forwarded to me.

Write me if Sarah is married. I heard she was.

How is Sister and the kids?

Bye-bye for this time.

Hurriedly,
Cpl. J.B. Exum

Cpl Exum and Pvt Willetts traveled to NY to embark for France. While in NY, they had an opportunity for sightseeing. They left the country on August 8, 1918 on SS Cretic.

To read about the experiences of the 81st Division in France, begin with the WWI Profile of William Ralph Smith and read through Craven Ledrew Sellers. All of these can be found on the Published WWI Profiles webpage.

The 81st Infantry had just arrived in Verdun, when Wagoner John Exum wrote this letter. They would soon learn it was time to go over the top. Some companies of the 306th Ammunition Train served as reinforcements. It is not known if Pvt Willetts’ company was one of those. Read the WWI Profile post of Willie Hasper Hewett for details of the offensive operation.

Wagoner Exum’s letter from November.

From Wag. John B. Exum
Co. F. 306 Am. Tr.
Nov. 7, 1918

Dear Mother :-
I am still keeping fairly well. I had a sore throat and was pretty hoarse last week but am better now. I had a slight case of Influenza or French La grippe in September when I was near Paris but it only lasted about five days.

I am now living in a small dug-out back of the front. I can hear the big guns all night and at intervals the sky is lit up so you can see how to walk around without stumbling over rucks.

The weather here is rather damp. It rains every day and every night. At other times we have mist, dew, frost and fogs.

I saw Larry Hooks one day this week. I certainly was glad to see him but he is looking pretty bad.

Nedham Barnes has been living in my dug-out with me but had to leave to-day.

Write me real often. I don’t have time and conveniences to write in transit but will write every time I am stationed.

Your loving son
John

As described in Craven Ledrew Sellers’ WWI Profile, the 81st Division then hiked a brutal 175 km. Wagoner John Exum wrote about it in his letter home.

Dec. 12, 1918

Dear Mother :-
I will explain why I have not written in some time. We have a fifteen days hike. After that was over I was sick for a week. I had a deep cold, a chill, two days fever some aches and came near having the grip. I am well again now and am very glad.

I have received your letter telling about the celebrations. It certainly seemed good. I later received a letter of the 3rd written more than a week before.

The hike was pretty hard. Most of it was through the rain and mud. We lost about fifty men out of one hundred fifty on the trip. The way we came it must have been about one hundred fifty miles.

I don’t know when we will start for home but I hope it will be pretty soon. I have a sufficiency of “Rainy France” and this mud.

Your devoted Son
Pvt. John B. Exum
Co. D. 306 Am. Tr.
U.S.A. P.O. 791 France

Another letter in December describes his responsibilities, which may match what Pvt Willetts was doing at this time.

I get up now about five thirty get breakfast at six report at the place the trucks are parked at six thirty. See that the trucks are filled with gass, oil and water. Then I am off for a while in the middle of the day. For the evening I receive them when they come in. I have to park them, drain the radiators and gass and oil them again.

A later letter described Christmas in France.

Chammeson, France
Dec. 26, -18

Dear Mother :-
I received the first Fremont Messenger on the 23rd. On the same date I received the Thanksgiving letter you wrote from La Grange and the one you wrote from Fremont after you returned. I certainly enjoyed them. I read every add. in the Messenger.

I will write now about our Army Christmas.

After breakfast we were issued a bar of chocolate candy, a package of gum, a package of cigaretts, a cigar, a can of Prince Albert and some stationery.

Then we had company formation and marched over to the next town and saw a foot ball game between our batallion and the horse batallion. It was a pretty good game. The score was nothing to nothing.

We then came back and had a big Christmas dinner. We had turkey, fruit salid, cake and apple pie. I enjoyed it very much, We didn’t have anything to do in the evening.

This morning the ground was covered with snow and the scenery was beautiful.

Bye-bye for this time.

Your devoted Son,
Pvt. John Exum
Co. D. 307 Am. Tr.
A.P.P 791 A.E.F. France

In January Pvt Exum wrote of being homesick. He did not yet know he would remain in France until June. He closed with this:

I have to put on rubber boots that come up to my waist and wade out in the Seine and wash trucks.

His homesickness was surely shared by his fellow soldiers, including Pvt Willetts. Notice the sad last sentence before his signature.

More information about the 306th Ammunition Train was shared among increasingly homesick comments in his letters:

My company was engaged in a convoy. We left here Sunday morning of last week and returned Thursday night. We took fourty automobiles and trucks from one part of France to another. It looks like now that the 306 Am. Tr. will have a lot of this kind of work to do. On the trip I drove a big Riker truck made by the Locomobile Co. I carried the gass and cylinder oil for the trip. We started with five hundred gallons of gass and a fifty gallons steel drum of cylinder oil. We didn’t have an accident of any consequence on the whole trip.

He also wrote that they haul anything that needs moved from one place to another: wood, clothing, food, etc. He was informed that the 81st Division would probably remain in France for six more months.

In March the 306th Ammunition Train acted as Guard of Honor during a visit by the King and Queen of Belgium and General Pershing. Their duty was crowd control. Pvt Exum enjoyed the experience.

This 81st Division card was included in his correspondence.

To view this or an earlier profile at any time, click on the veteran’s name on the WWI Brunswick County Veteran list, which is also accessible by the blue button on the top right of the webpage.

David Elton Lewis
Brunswick County, NC
US Navy
Lieutenant (junior grade)
Served:
May 1, 1917 -unknown

David Elton Lewis was born in Brunswick County, NC, in 1891. A partial family tree is located in FamilySearch.

Two of David’s brothers also served in WWI. Grover Ransom Lewis enlisted in the Navy in NY in March 1918 [Source: Ancestry.com] John Quincy Lewis, served in the US Army. Grover was not originally included in the Brunswick County WWI Veteran List as his NY WWI Service Record shows he was born in Wilmington, NC. However, we now know he lived in Brunswick County which will allow us to add his name to the Brunswick County WWI Veteran List.

The 1900 Census shows his family living in Shallotte. David is 9 years old, one of eight children.

When David was about 12 years old, his father and uncle were lost at sea.

On the night of December 9, 1903, his father, Captain James Harker Lewis, and his uncle, Captain William Edward Lewis, along with all three crew members were lost at sea at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Captains James and William Lewis were captains and foremen of fishing crews but were passengers on the small schooner Clarence H. which was delivering goods from Shallotte to Wilmington, NC. The story was printed in newspapers across the nation.

According to the Dec. 11, 1903 edition of The Morning Post (Raleigh, NC), the boat was discovered lying bottom up on Oak Island beach that morning. That afternoon, his uncle’s body washed ashore. The Dec. 13 edition of The Morning Star reported that there was no evidence that Captain William Lewis had water in his lungs, indicating that his cause of death was likely the blow to his forehead, possibly from the mast. His body was sent to Shallotte for interment. His gravesite is unknown.

His father’s body washed ashore near the same location on January 9, 1904 and was identified by the papers in his clothing, according to the Jan. 15, 1904 edition of the Wilmington Messenger. He was laid to rest in the Old Smithville Cemetery in what is now Southport. By March, all five bodies had been recovered.

David’s grandson Dave Lewis of Brunswick County Historical Society shares this story about his grandfather.

My great-grandmother moved to Wilmington with all her children after my great-grandfather was lost in a shipwreck off Southport in 1903. She put my granddad to work in a cotton mill which he stayed for about one week. That was not for him, so he went down to the waterfront looking for work. After shoveling coal on a freighter from NY to China he taught himself to read and write and obtained his Engineer License allowing him to sail as Chief Engineer on any size ship. That was why he was in NY before enlisting in the Navy.

Family lore tells me that my great grandmother was told by family members, “they would be back before the peach trees bloom”, but they never returned to Brunswick Co. except for visits.

The 1910 Census shows him living with his mother and some siblings, working on a tug boat. As mentioned above, he is able to read and write now. His name appears in several years of city directories for Wilmington.

On May 1, 1917, David Elton Lewis enlisted in the US Navy Reserve as a Lieutenant (junior grade) [Source: Ancestry].

David’s WWI Draft Registration was completed on February 27, 1918, later than the required registration of June 5, 1917. Written on his registration by the Registrar and signed by David was the statement, “Was on the high seas on June 5.”

David’s passport application or Application for Seaman’s Certificate of American Citizenship of March 15, 1918 [Source: Ancestry] states that he has been a Seaman for 4 years, with his recent position as an Assistant Engineer on the Medina. The photograph attached to the application is shown at left.

Family documents confirm that he served on Medina for about five years.

In the September 1914 issue of International Marine Engineering she was referred to as “One of the most modern and largest freight steamships operating on the Atlantic coast.” When World War I broke out, she became a supply ship for the US Army, but was placed under the operational control of the US Navy. In August of 1918, the SS MEDINA was the Commodore’s Flagship in a convoy of about twenty ships enroute to Europe. During that arduous voyage, two ships in her convoy were torpedoed, but the MEDINA escaped without harm. Following cessation of hostilities, MEDINA was returned to her original owners. [Source: SS Medina]

It is not known whether Lt(jg) Lewis was serving at the time, but it is very likely. The following is a more detailed account of the convoy being torpedoed.

Note: The Medina served as the Commodore’s Flagship. Traditionally, “commodore” is the title for any officer assigned to command more than one ship at a time. A commodore’s ship is typically designated by the flying of a broad pennant, as opposed to an admiral’s flag. [Source: wikipedia]

Source of newspaper clipping: Chronicling America
The U.S.S. West Bridge, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Mortimer Hawkins, U.S. Naval Reserve Force, left New York, August 1st, 1918 in convoy with about twenty other vessels. The S.S. Medina acted as the Commodore Ship.

At about 1740 on August 15, the Captain of the West Bridge was notified by the Chief Engineer that the main engine turbine rotor was stripped and that the ship could not proceed or make any repairs. The Medina was notified of the engine trouble and the inability of the West Bridge to maintain position or hold speed.

At about 1800 the U.S.S. Montana, which was in the convoy and about four miles ahead of the West Bridge, was torpedoed. At 2358 one torpedo struck the West Bridge on her starboard side amidships abreast of the engine room. A second torpedo struck immediately afterwards at about twenty feet forward of the first. The vessel listed to starboard immediately and the captain ordered “Abandon Ship”. She settled quickly so that there was about two feet of water on her well decks, but as she sank she came back to an even keel while the survivors stood by the stricken vessel in lifeboats.

The West Bridge began settling and all hope of saving her was abandoned. The lives of four West Bridge crewmen were lost. [Source: Torpedoing of USS West Bridge]

David returned to Wilmington, presumably as he continued to serve; the 1919 City Directory lists him as US Navy. In 1920 (Census) he continued working aboard the SS Medina.

His grandson, Dave Lewis referenced above, added the following touching information.

I have the old painting of the ship [Medina] that hung in my grandparents’ dining room while they were living at Carolina Beach. The picture hung there as long as I can remember.

In 1922, David married Gertie Lancaster in Southport. The 1930 Census shows him living in Wilmington, working as a Marine Engineer. By the 1940 Census, he was in Texas. He and his wife raised two sons.

David Elton Lewis was living in Wilmington when he passed away on January 5, 1965. He was laid to rest in Greenlawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Wilmington. No military honors are displayed.

If you would like to help us honor David Elton Lewis or another Brunswick County WWI veteran, please use the following links:

Click here for the announcement: Announcement: Honor a Brunswick County World War I Veteran
Click here for directions to donate and honor a veteran: How to Honor a Brunswick County World War I Veteran

Click the category: Veteran Profile here or at the bottom of any veteran profile post to see all of the veteran profiles published. Follow or subscribe to the blog to stay updated on all new profiles.

To view this or an earlier profile at any time, click on the veteran’s name on the WWI Brunswick County Veteran list, which is also accessible by the blue button on the top right of the webpage.

Meuse-Argonne First Division Monument
John William “Johnie” Vereen
Brunswick County, NC
US Army
Corporal
Served:
July 15, 1916 – November 10, 1919
Overseas:
July 28, 1917 – September 3, 1919

Johnie Vereen was born and raised in Brunswick County, NC. A partial family tree is located in FamilySearch. Two brothers also served in WWI. Sgt Pearl Vereen enlisted May 1917 and served overseas with the 17th Railway Engineers. Seaman Jack Vereen enlisted in the Navy in July 1917 and served aboard the USS Peter Struven and USS Lakeside.

Johnie enlisted in the US Army at Fort Slocum, NY, on July 15, 1916.

When the United States entered WWI, the 1st Division was created, as described in the WWI Profile for William Thompson White. Pvt Vereen was assigned to the 6th Field Artillery.

In the beginning of the US involvement in the war, there were few transports available, which required that the division travel piecemeal. The infantry left first, on June 14. Pvt Vereen was promoted to Private, First Class on July 7. When the small fleet of transports returned after discharging the infantry in France, it was the artillery’s turn to board. Pfc Vereen and the 6th Field Artillery had left Douglas, Arizona, on July 23, and embarked at Hoboken, NJ, on July 28, 1917, on USS Henry R. Mallory, shown above [Source: Ancestry].

On the night of July 31st the convoy of three transports, with the cruiser “North Carolina” and five destroyers as escort, and an oil ship carrying fuel, started on another perilous trip across the Atlantic. St. Nazaire was reached August 13th without incident and all disembarked on August 14th.

The 6th Field Artillery, along with the 7th, were light infantry and were equipped with the French 77-mm guns (shown at left). The training continued for seven weeks and included road marching to condition the horses and drivers.

The 6th Field Artillery was credited with firing the first American shot in WWI, at 6:05am on October 23, 1917.

After the success at St. Mihiel, the first All American operation (described in detail in Herbert Burnell Ward’s WWI Profile), the next operation was planned.

Experience had shown that unless a final blow could be struck the lines would stabilize and there would be another winter in the trenches during which the enemy might recover the advantage that he had lost.

The Meuse River – Argonne Forest was targeted.

Nature had contrived to include within the zone the most difficult obstacles, from a military point of view, that could be encountered. The terrain was naturally so rugged and deeply cut by ravines that it was fit only for wild vegetation. Over this surface spread the great Argonne Forest, with an undergrowth that in places resembled a tropical jungle. The Meuse River was a formidable barrier to military operations. Between the forest and the river the country was cut by deep ravines, extensive woods and a succession of hills and ridges whose wooded crests afforded cover for machine guns to sweep their barren slopes. The Aire River flowed along the north and east of the Argonne Forest in a valley that was open throughout its length.

For the first time, the First Division was not waiting in the front line trenches. An eastward operation was planned instead. As the battle began on September 26th, the First Division waited. The Germans were resisting with desperate and relentless fighting and losses were mounting. All thoughts of the eastward operation were forgotten. The First Division awaited their orders to join the raging battle.

September 27, the First Division began to march.

This long night march proved to be another test of endurance and fortitude. For twelve hours the infantry plodded along the muddy and war-worn roads, the larger part of the time in a downpour of rain. The feet of many men were sore and inflamed from living in the mud and from ill-fitting shoes.

The pain that they suffered could be seen in their set faces, but only those whose condition was pitiable would succumb. It was touching to witness the devotion of these officers and men and to realize the sense of consecration that animated them. When the weary march ended, they found themselves in woods rendered boggy by old bivouacs or horse-lines and often tangled by the wire of the rear defenses.

The artillery and the trains were compelled to follow even more difficult roads than the infantry. Nothing short of the most patient and skillful handling could have preserved the strength of the horses. The strain upon these men was, if possible, more trying than that upon the infantry, for not only were they compelled to make their way on foot, but, at the end of the march, their remaining strength was required to care for the horses and keep their guns in readiness for the missions that lay before them.

The First Division relieved the 35th Division on the night of September 30th. The map above shows the location on the left side, as the sections marked “35” changes to “1.” See also the 77th Division on the left flank, as described in the WWI Profile of Forney Mintz, resulting in the Lost Battalion.

Wherever the eye rested, there were low crosses that marked the last resting places of the men who died for their country on either side. Many, alas, were new and crudely bore the names of American soldiers who a few days before went forward as the ranks of the First Division were now doing. Here and there were masses of swollen carcasses of horses torn beyond description by shell — dumb servants whose sacrifice was little less than human — and ceaselessly came the sullen roar of guns, growing ever louder and louder as the columns drew nearer the fate that awaited them.

These devoted men knew what battle meant, and all realized that some supreme test lay ahead. Their faces took on the grim resolution that had now become familiar, and their bearing told of a calm courage that takes little count of danger and death with those who follow the way of Duty, Honor and Country. Veterans of Lorraine [law-ren] and Picardy [pik-er-dee], of Soissons [swa-sawn] and St. Mihiel [san-mee-yel], proud in their record of achievement, strong in their faith of accomplishment and inspired by the memory of their sacrifices and their dead—these were the First Division.

When a passer-by warned of the grim task that awaited them, the reply was flung back from the ranks, “We are the boys who can do it.”

The clips below from the National Archives show the 6th Field Artillery on October 5, 1918. According to the 1st Division History they were in the area of Hill 272, so it is assumed to be recorded there.

“Batteries of the 6th Field Artillery holding a position under heavy shell fire near Exermont, Ardennes, France, October 5, 1918.”

The video clip above also contains the following segments from the Field Artillery of the First Division.

(16:36) “On July 5, 1918, the 7th Field Artillery fired 4000 shells of mustard gas, compelling the Germans to wear their gas masks for three days.”

(34:16) “The Artillery of the First Division opens a barrage near Beaumont, France, on September 9, 1918.”

General Pershing chose the 1st Division for the vital position, or post of honor, in most of his engagements. This, along with the long service time of the division, resulted in a large casualty count of almost 24,000: 4,964 killed in action, 17,201 wounded in action, and 1,056 missing or died of wounds. None of the men from Brunswick County became casualties.

On August 1, 1919, Johnie was promoted to Corporal. He boarded USS Mobile on August 24, 1919, to return to the United States. He likely marched in the parades shown in William Thompson White’s WWI Profile. He was then honorably discharged on November 10 and immediately re-enlisted. His re-enlistment evidently resulted in his rank reverting to private again, as the higher rank was likely only during war-time.

According to the 1920 Census he was stationed at Camp Meade, Maryland. Now known as Fort Meade, at the time it housed the nation’s tank school and experimental grounds. The census shows Pvt Vereen was serving with the Overseas Replacement Depot, Company 49, which processed soldiers sent to Germany for occupation duty.

Source: Ancestry.com. U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.

The Passenger List shown above lists Pvt Johnie Vereen sailing USAT Antigone on August 23, 1920 for Antwerp, Belgium. His name is crossed out and stamped with “Did Not Sail.” No explanation is found.

Johnie left the US Army on May 5, 1924 [Source: Department of Veterans Affairs Death File, Ancestry]. Around 1927, he married Lillian Hazel Gray. The 1930 Census shows he and his wife living in Waccamaw Township with their first child, little Johnie Jr, age 19 months. Johnie Sr was working at a lumber mill.

The 1940 Census shows him working as a foreman at the Reigel Paper Company. According to his family, his entire career was spent as a forester with Reigel Paper Company, planting and tending the forests around Lake Waccamaw.

Johnie William Vereen passed away on June 11, 1973. He was laid to rest in Lake Waccamaw Hillcrest Cemetery. No military honors are shown.

In 1991, his wife, Lillian Hazel Gray, passed away. The Brunswick Beacon published the obituary on April 25, 1991, p.6-B.

Lillian Hazel Gray Vereen

Lillian Hazel Gray Vereen, of Long Beach, died April 18 in Cornelia Nixon Davis Health Care Center, Wilmington. She was 80.

The funeral was April 20 in McKenzie Mortuary Chapel, with the Rev. Frank Elliott officiating. Burial was in Lake Waccamaw Cemetery, Columbus County.

Mrs. Vereen was born in Brunswick County and was the widow of Johnny W. Vereen Sr. She was a member of Ocean View United Methodist Church, Yaupon Beach.

Survivors include a daughter, Joyce V. Formyduval of Long Beach; two sons, Wayland Vereen of Yaupon Beach and Johnny W. Vereen Jr. of Long Beach; a half-brother, John B. Gray of Garner; a half-sister, Erma Holden of Supply; a stepmother, Maude Gray of Makatoka; three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a local rescue unit.

Johnie Vereen, Jr, his son, is living in Brunswick County today. Johnie Vereen III served as mayor of Oak Island for four terms and passed away in 2015.

Sources:
The Society of the First Division (1922) History of the First Division During the World War, 1917-1919. Philadelphia, The John C. Winston Company.

Meuse-Argonne Map: The Society of the Fifth Division (1919) The Official History of the Fifth Division USA, During the Period of its Organization and its Operations in the European World War, 1917-1919. New York, Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Company.

If you would like to help us honor John William “Johnie” Vereen or another Brunswick County WWI veteran, please use the following links:

Click here for the announcement: Announcement: Honor a Brunswick County World War I Veteran
Click here for directions to donate and honor a veteran: How to Honor a Brunswick County World War I Veteran

To view this or an earlier profile at any time, click on the veteran’s name on the WWI Brunswick County Veteran list, which is also accessible by the blue button on the top right of the webpage.

Source: Brunswick County News, Nov. 15, 1917; Courtesy of Gwen Causey and Wilson T. Arnold
William Thompson White
Shallotte, Brunswick County, NC
US Army
Corporal
Served:
April 15, 1917 – September 2, 1919
Overseas:
June 14, 1917 – August 23, 1919

William Thompson White was born and raised in Shallotte, NC. A partial family tree is located in FamilySearch.

On April 6, 1917, the US declared war on Germany. Nine days later, on April 15, 1917, Willie enlisted in the US Army at Fort Thomas, Kentucky.

Pvt White became one of many recruits added to the existing 16th Infantry to bring it to war strength, which was quickly chosen by General Pershing to form the 1st Division, America’s first division.

The 1st Division, or the “Big Red One,” was the first American Army division to arrive in France (June 26, 1917), the first to enter battle (October 23, 1917), the first to report American casualties (October 25, 1917), and the first to lead an American victory (May 28, 1918).

On June 3, Pvt White presumably joined the division’s journey to Hoboken, NJ, to embark for France. As the first troops, they had confidence their participation would be swift and successful, and they would soon return.

On June 14, 1917, they departed in a convoy of twelve ships. (A passenger list for the 16th Infantry was not found in order to confirm that Pvt White sailed with the convoy, but his NC WWI Service Card does confirm these dates.)

The 16th Infantry landed at St. Nazaire, France on June 26, 1917.

Samuel Leob Mintz also traveled with the convoy, serving with Machine Gun Company, 26th Infantry of the 1st Division. Pvt Mintz had been serving for almost a year, having enlisted on August 15, 1916. He would make the military his career.

The photo of Pvt White shown at top was printed in the November 15, 1917, edition of Brunswick County News, with the following.

Willie T. White
(Somewhere in France)

The above picture of Willie Thompson White, son of Mr. and Mrs. F.M. White of Shallotte, who enlisted in the Army early in the Spring was made in France. He is a member of the 16th Infantry, and was one of the two first boys from Brunswick County to be sent to France; the other is Leob Mintz, son of Mr. S.K. Mintz of Mill Branch.

“Son” makes a good looking soldier in uniform, but says it is not a good picture – being taken by a Frenchman.

The second battalion of the 16th Infantry (which did not include Pvt White’s Company B) represented America in a parade in Paris on July 4, 1917. The march ended at Lafayette’s Tomb, where General Pershing reported for duty by declaring, “Layfayette, we are here” in honor of the “friendship and support that France had given to the American colonies in their hour of need when they fought for their liberty.”

Two soldiers from Brunswick County, Pfc Johnie Vereen, a member of the Regular Army, and Sfc Edward Johnson, a 46-year old man from Southport (originally from Norway), joined the division in July when the 5th and 6th Field Artillery of the 1st Division arrived in France. Sgt Johnson was a bandleader. The bands were fiercely protected from injury, as statements from historical documents like the following show.

“The Band was not permitted to go forward, musicians are too hard to replace, and of too great value in maintaining the morale of the men.” ~ Source: Official History of the 120th Infantry

On April 19, 1918, Pvt White was assigned to Company B, 1st Supply Train, in which he remained throughout his service.

General Pershing chose the 1st Division for the vital position, or post of honor, in most of his engagements. This, along with the long service time of the division, resulted in a large casualty count of almost 24,000: 4,964 killed in action, 17,201 wounded in action, and 1,056 missing or died of wounds. None of the men from Brunswick County became casualties.

The division insignia was adopted and first worn after the Armistice. Around this time, November 14, 1918, Pfc White was promoted to Corporal. The Division then began their work in the Army of Occupation, marching to Germany. Cpl White would have likely been given three day passes to explore the countryside during the occupation, as described in the division history.

Pfc Leob Mintz transferred to another division after the Armistice. Bandleader Sfc Edward Johnson returned home in February 1919, retiring soon after. Cpl Bryant Mintz, a Brunswick County soldier with a NC WWI Service Card showing service in the 1st Division, had no record of overseas travel to/from France and apparently served stateside.

In the middle of June 1919, the Allied negotiations with Germany became unsatisfactory and there were doubts that Germany would sign the Treaty of Versailles. The First Division was put on alert and began preparations to resume hostilities. On June 23, word was received that they would sign; the threat had thankfully passed.

As the division began preparing to return home, several units including Cpl White’s were ordered to remain in Germany. Those willing to stay were quickly transferred in, while those wishing to return home were permitted. Cpl White did not remain. On August 12, 1919, he began the journey home from France on USS Nansemond, arriving in Hoboken, NJ, on August 23 (Source: Ancestry). He then received his honorable discharge on September 2.

The 17 Aug. 1919 edition of the Wilmington Morning Star, p.8 included this item.

Mr. and Mrs. F.M. White are in receipt of the welcome news that their son, Willie White, is at last sailing for home. Willie was in the first contingent of American troops to go overseas, and apparently with [sic] the last to come back. He is a member of the First Division.

The division marched in NYC on September 10, followed by Washington DC on September 17. William White did not participate. He likely was in poor health as the passenger list referenced above was labeled “First Division Casualty Company.”

Cpl Johnie Vereen, who served with the 1st Division from the beginning (6th Field Artillery) and Pvt Alvin Milliken, who joined the 1st Division (7th Field Artillery) in August 1918, likely did march in the parades.

Willie White returned home to Shallotte. According to the 1920 Census, he was working as a blacksmith at a fish factory. He married Julia Hemmingway and raised one son, Kenneth Welch White.

William Thompson White passed away on October 29, 1969. He was laid to rest in Chapel Hill Cemetery in Shallotte, joined a few years later by his wife. A military flat marker is shown.

In 2002, his son passed away. His obituary is shown in the Findagrave link as follows:

Kenneth Welch White

SHALLOTTE – Kenneth W. White, 72, of Shallotte Avenue, SW, died Thursday, September 12, 2002 at his residence.

Born in Brunswick County on February 20, 1930, he was the son of the late William T. and Julia Hemmingway White. He was predeceased by his wives, Videll White and Marlene White. After his retirement from the N.C. Department of Transportation, he owned and operated K.W. White Trucking Company and delivered the Wilmington Morning Star Newspaper for many years.

Surviving are two sons, Kenneth Dale White, Shallotte, N.C. and Steve Allen White and wife, Teresa, Holden Beach, N.C., two daughters Cathy W. Sibbett and husband, Jeff, Ash, N.C. and Julie Anne White, Shallotte, N.C., two step daughters Karen S. Westmoreland and husband, Wade, Swansboro, N.C. and Shawna Stanley, Shallotte, N.C., six grandchildren, Kelly Prestipino, Alex White, Chelsa Sibbett, Kara Westmoreland, Jessica Barnes and Damion Purvis and his closest friend, Harry W. White, and two great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be conducted Saturday, September 14, 2002, at 1:30 p.m. in the Brunswick Funeral Service Chapel by the Rev. Brent Evans. Burial will be in Chapel Hill Cemetery, Shallotte, N.C.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., Friday, September 13, 2002 at the funeral home.

Active casketbearers will be Wayne Smith, David Moore, David Danford, Ricky Danford, Chris Hargis and David Edwards. Honorary Casektbearers will be Harry White, Marvin Watts, Curman Arnold and Roney Cheers.

Source: The Society of the First Division (1922) History of the First Division During the World War, 1917-1919. Philadelphia, The John C. Winston Company.

If you would like to help us honor William Thompson White or another Brunswick County WWI veteran, please use the following links:

Click here for the announcement: Announcement: Honor a Brunswick County World War I Veteran
Click here for directions to donate and honor a veteran: How to Honor a Brunswick County World War I Veteran