This file portion of www.watertownhistory.org website

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 9 a.m. the city band paraded the streets, led by Mayor Charles Mulberger and ex-Mayor Herman Wertheimer. The orders to march came and the company lined up behind the band, followed by members of the Red Cross Society and thousands of citizens, who packed every inch of available space about the depot. The special train pulled in at 9:05 a.m.

"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 Aug. 17, 1917, for Camp Douglas. It remained in camp until Sept. 25 when it was sent to Waco, Texas, and became Company C, 120th Machine Gun Battalion. Later it became identified as Company D and continued with that designation throughout the war.

The company left Texas on Feb. 4, 1918 for Camp Merritt, N.J., where it arrived on Feb. 10. On Feb. 18 it left for Hoboken and sailed on the George Washington, arriving at Brest on March 14. The George Washington was the liner which later carried President Woodrow Wilson and his party to the peace conference.

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 May 21, 1919 that the unit returned to Watertown and was greeted with a welcome of the magnitude that had never been seen here before.

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 5 p.m., the three surviving Watertown members will meet at Lindberg's by the River to drink a toast to the 83 members of Company E who have gone before them. Company E fought in Europe in World War I.

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