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ebook History of Watertown,
Wisconsin
Watertown's Company E
Went to War in 1917
1905
Watertown Daily Times, 09 03 1905
It is surprising
that in a city the size of Watertown, there is no militia company. There are
any number of places with not half of its population
that have companies in the National Guard. There is an abundance material here
for a good company, which would be a great advertisement for the city in a
trusting attention toward it, for it shows enterprise in public spirit upon the
part if the members and the citizens in general.
At the
present time, the infantry branch of the state's militia consists of forty-four
companies, and that number is already organized and assigned, but from time to
time companies for various reasons disband, leaving vacancies in the regiment
to be filled, and it is quite probable that, should a company be organized
here, it would not be very long before it would receive regimental assignment.
There
are several gentlemen in the city who have been members of militia companies
and have had experience, and should they take the initial steps looking to the
organization of a company, a sufficient number of young men would respond to
make the efforts a success.
1917
Watertown Daily Times, 08 22 1992
It
seems almost impossible that it could be 75 years ago that Watertown's Company
E of the National Guard marched off to battle in World War I.
To our
knowledge, no members of that company remain alive today. At a minimum they
would have to be well into their 90s.
In
Watertown's century and a half of existence our men and women have answered the
country's calls, but the day Company E left here marked the largest single
local effort ever made to fight in one of the country's wars.
Of the
original Company E, four members lost their lives in the war. They were Sergeant Frank
L. Pitterle, after whom the local American Legion Post is co-named, Benjamin
Potter, Fred Bergman and Luke B. Dunnigan.
Old
records show the day when the men left for the war was a pretty somber one.
Hours before the men were to leave for war, the crowds were lining up at the
armory. That's the building which later became the city's recreation
center, and is now the site of The Heritage Inn. From there the entourage went
to the depot.
It
must have been a moving day. Here's what our paper had to say about it:
"Shortly
before
"The
Misses Margaret Abele, Catherine Blair, Ruth Cruger
and Helen Schultz carried an American flag through the streets, forming a
pocket of it, each girl carrying a corner and soliciting donations for the mess
fund of Company E so that the boys might have little items added to their daily
fare. The sum of $200 was collected by the girls and was wrapped up by them and
given to the treasurer of the company."
The
company was organized shortly after the United States entered the war and left
Watertown
The
company left Texas on
The
first experience of war for the Watertown men came when they were traveling on
the ship. The Atlantic was then infested with German submarines and many
death-defying experiences were encountered.
The
company landed at Brest on March 4, leaving for Vousolersl
on March 9 and then the Alsace front at Ettuefont and
on May 18 the unit was ordered to the front.
Until
May 29 the company remained at the front and was then sent into the reserves at
La Chappelle.
Later
the company returned to the front and remained there until July 20. From there
the company was transferred by train to Chateau Thiery,
arriving on July 29 where it encountered its first major battle. Until Aug. 10 the company remained on duty there and was then sent
to Joinville and then to Juvigny. Later the
men saw action in the famous Argonne Forest, serving from Sept. 20 to Nov. 11
when the armistice was signed and hostilities ceased.
The
unit had some occupation duties in the ensuing months, but it was on
The
roster of Company E on the date of departure contained many familiar family
names. The list follows:
A. F. Soliday, captain; J. T. Hale, Jr., first lieutenant; L. W.
Murphy, second lieutenant; Alfred Krueger, first sergeant; E. J. Dunn,
quartermaster sergeant; Frank L. Pitterle, company
clerk.
Sergeants
- Allen Biefeld, Fred Hollenbeck, Elmer Kehr, William Kubow, James
Monroe, Samuel Kontos.
Corporals
- Edwin Kaercher, Walter Kuester,
Edward McCall, Seth Perry, Benjamin Potter, George Semrich,
Fred Ullrich, Lester Williams, Benjamin Winkleman.
Musician
- Walter Simon.
Privates
- Alvin Beerbohm, Percy Behlke, Ray Behlke, Fred Bergmann, Raymond Bock, Francis McCall, Ralph Dittman, George Draeger, Luke Dunigan, Clarence Eickstaedt,
Fred Erdmann, Herbert Euper, Walter Flint, Thomas Gavney, Herman Gerth, A. C.
Gillard, Anton Glun, Thomas Hady,
William Hayes, James Hannes, Emil Hoefs,
Frank lhde, Albert lhde, Delphus Jackson, Joseph Kioes,
Arthur Koch, William Kortegast, Hilmer
Krueger, Alfred Kuehnemann, Michael Kunitz, George Lambras.
Roy
Lane, Arthur Lietzke, August Luebke,
Frank Luebke, Edward Luebke,
Elmer Luther, Edwin Mantz, Victor Marks, George McCall,
Francis McCall, Lawrence Meitner, Bernhardt Neitzel, Alphonsus Noon, Henry Novotny, Jay Perry, Gustav Rennhack, H. E. Rennhack, George
Ryan, George Schilling, Edwin Schlueter, Arthur Schmeling, Fred Schultz, Gustav Sendlebach,
Irving Somner, Joseph Stacy, Alex Stoebe,
Albert Tews, Herbert Tolksdorf,
Fred Vergenz, Clinton Vesper, Ernest Wilde, Edwin
Wilde, Alexander Woelffer, Harold Zickert,
Oscar Zillisch.
Last Man's Club
A Last
Man's Club was formed out of the membership of Company E. A special bottle
of wine was purchased at the first reunion of the group, and each succeeding
year it was brought to the reunion and set in the center of the table and then
put back in a vault until the following year.
When
the membership was down to one member, it was to have been opened and the last
survivor was to give a toast to his dead comrades.
Watertown
Daily Times, 08 16 1956
The
Last Man's Club of Co. E., Watertown, made up of veterans who served with the company
in World War I, held its annual reunion and dinner Saturday night at the Green
Bowl. A place of honor was accorded the
bottle of wine which was put aside at the time the club was organized. It is to be drunk by the last member who is
to toast his departed comrade when he meets to close the club's archives. A brief memorial was held to departed members
and a business meeting was also held.
Elected president was F. B. Hollenbeck, Percy Behlke,
Milwaukee, and Herman Gerth, this city, were elected vice presidents. Seth Perry was named
secretary-treasurer. Allen Biefeld was named chaplain.
Watertown
Daily Times, 08 18 1982
The
Company E Last Man's Club will open no wine before it's time. And after 42
years, the last few members have decided it's time. Today at
The
company started out as a Wisconsin National Guard unit that trained at
Riverside Park before becoming part of the U.S. Army at the start of the war,
said Arthur Lietzke, the club's president, secretary
and treasurer.
Cross-References:
No 1: Pitterle-Beaudoin American Legion Post
