Honoring a WWI Deceased American Soldier

JGalt

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Mar 9, 2011
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While I was at a flea market yesterday, I found an 11" by 9" framed document for $4.00. The document was signed by the Adjutant General of the Army of the United States of America, and was dated October 1, 1919. The document read as follows: "To all who shall see these presents, greeting" This is to certify that Fred L. Dunsmoor Private, Company A, 315th Engineers, died with honor in the service of his country on the tenth day of November, 1918.

The soldier died one day before the war ended on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918.

After doing some online research, I found some history of this man who gave his life defending his country. Private Fred L. Dunsmoor was from Strawberry Point, in Clayton County, Iowa...

https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=554611#:~:text=Fred L Dunsmoor is among the 10,735 American,the Vietnam War. Generations of sacrifice and service.

This account was from the 90th Division's memorial page:

FRED L. DUNSMOOR, STRAWBERRY POINT, IOWA

"Dunsmoor was one of the men sent to us from Camp Dodge, Iowa. He joined the Company at Camp Travis during May, 1918. He served us faithfully until November 10, 1918, when he was missed. Little is known of his death. He was last seen on the evening of the 1 0th, while the Company was resting along the National Highway about two Kilometers south of Mouzay. When the Company was formed he was absent, and was carried as “Missing” until November 29th, when notification was received from Central Records Office that his body was found and interred by a Chaplain of the 360th Infantry, who gave as the cause of death “Shrapnel.” His grave is on the outskirts of the town of Mouzay, where his body was found."

WWI315EA

Digging deeper, I also found a transcript of Private Dunsmoor's obituary from 1918:
Dies Facing the Foe
Fred Dunsmoor Lies Buried in the Fields of France
Died on November Tenth
Gives His Life in the Cause of Freedom and Humanity
We announced to you through the columns of this paper last week that another of our boys had given the complete and final sacrifice for his government and country that democracies may live and people continue to rule themselves upon earth. In this article the subject is Fred Dunsmoor, Jr., who died in France November 10 from woulds received in action probably on the night of November 7th or early morning of November 8th as his parents received a letter from him which was dated November 7th. He was well and in good spirits when this letter was written but stated that he expected to be called on detail duty at the front even before he would have time to complete the letter.
The telegram from the government announcing his death reached here Wednesday evening December 11, just one day over a month after his death, and his letter under date of November 7th reached here the next morning, December 12. One place in the letter he spoke of not being able to get home by Christmas but hoped to soon after as he thought the war would soon be over. In another place he said he wished he could bring home a souvenir but his pack was so heavy that he didn't feel like carrying anything extra. He also stated that he had been receiving his mail regularly, letters from home and the home paper.
Obituary.
Fred Leroy Dunsmoor was born June 18, 1894 and died in France, facing the foe, on November 10, 1918, the day before the war ended.
He was called to the colors on April 25, and started his training at Camp Dodge. From Camp Dodge he was transferred to Camp Travis, Texas, and then to Camp Mills, Long Island from where he embarked for overseas service arriving in France the latter part of June, just about two months after the time he entered the service.
He leaves to mourn his loss his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Dunsmoor, his grandmother, Mrs. Thos. Dunsmoor and five sisters, Mrs. Martin Gruman of Lamont, Mrs. Frank W. Smith and Mrs. Ernest Dunsmoor of County Corners, Mrs. Howard Berry of Cedar Rapids and Mabel, at present at Grand Rapids, Mich., besides a host of friends and other relatives.
His toils are past, his work is done,
And he is fully blest.
He fought the fight the victory won
And enters into rest.
The honor due this young man can never be paid. He gave all he had and in his death a nation of mourners and ever friend shall weep.
_____
Sources:
Obituary was published in the Strawberry Point Press Vol. No. 44 Strawberry Point, Iowa on Thursday, December 19, 1918 [issue] No. 50 and was found on microfilm (Strawberry Point Press Jan 3, 1918 – Dec. 25, 1919) at the Iowa State Historical Society in Iowa City.
Photo of Fred Dunsmoor courtesy of the State Historical Society of Iowa
dunsmoor_f.jpg


Dunsmoor, Fred L. JR 1894-1918
I believe this should be returned to a family member. I have contacted the Clayton County Iowa Veteran's service Officer and am awaiting a reply. Here are a couple pictures of the document:

dunsmoor1.jpg


dunsmoor2.jpg
 
I wonder if the descendants (if any) of the Soldier know or care. The latest American Legion magazine tells about a guy who purchased an inscribed American Legion wristwatch on Ebay. He found that the watch went missing from the estate of a retired Legion Post Commander when he was in a nursing home. The watch was reunited with the family.
 
The veteran's Service Officer gave me her email address and I emailed the info to her. She's contacting some people to see if she can find some next of kin to send it to.

I would have put that on Ebay because there are collectors who would have paid good money for it. But I felt like that would have been a shitbag thing to do.
 
There are tons of signed documents and family documents related to the Civil War on every auction site. I wonder when the cut off date for WW1 documents would be.
 
There are tons of signed documents and family documents related to the Civil War on every auction site. I wonder when the cut off date for WW1 documents would be.

Apparently not yet. There are numerous WWI-era documents on there, but very few pertaining to soldiers who died. Probably because even though WWI ended over a hundred years ago, there are many living descendants of those soldiers.
 

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