World War I Gold Star Veterans

Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. In the United States, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954. Starke County paid dearly in this conflict.  Eight local boys went to war and didn't come back. 

Albert W. Williams was the first Starke County soldier to lose his life in "The Great War". As such, the Knox American Legion Post is named in his honor. Williams was born in North Bend Township, Starke County, Indiana. A machinist by trade, he enlisted in the U. S. Regular Army on May 12, 1917, in Detroit, MI, where he was employed. Williams was first sent to Camp Jacinto, Texas. He shipped overseas in June, 1917, where he was attached to the First Division. Wounded on March 25th, 1918, while fighting in the Toul Sector, Corp. Williams died two days later. Although originally buried in American cemetery, No. 108, Grave 15, Sebastopol Barracks, France, his body was returned to Starke County where he was buried with full military honors in August, 1921.

Harry Keller of North Judson enlisted in the U. S. Regular Army on June 27, 1917. He was sent to Camp Jackson, SC, and assigned to 17th Engineers. In July, 1917 he shipped overseas. Keller was gassed during the drive in the Marne Sector. Sent back to the US, he was taken to Cook County Hospital, Chicago, where he died on July 28th, 1918. Keller was buried with military honors in North Judson. The American Legion Post at North Judson is named for him.

John Earl Good was born in Knox, Indiana. He was working at the Rubber Boot Factory in Mishawaka when he entered service October 5, 1917. Good was first sent to Camp Taylor, KY, then transferred to Camp Jackson, SC. His unit shipped overseas on May 11, 1918. Good participated in some of the final fighting at Bullecourt (Austria). On Oct. 24th, 1918, Good was gassed and died. His body was returned to the United States, where he was buried at Knox with military honors.

Charles Emigh was a farmer here in Starke County. Emigh was mustered into service on July 23, 1918, then was sent to Camp Wadsworth near Spartanburg, SC. There he was assigned to the 321st Ambulance Company. The Spanish flu pandemic was at its height during this time. American combat deaths in World War I totaled 53,402, but another 45,000 American soldiers died of influenza and related pneumonia by the end of 1918. Emigh was one of those who came down with pneumonia. He died Nov. 29th, 1918, and was buried in Bass Lake cemetery with military honors.

Frank Clifford Garbison was born in Davis Township, Starke County, Indiana. A farmer, Garbison entered service on June 24, 1918, and was sent to Camp Sherman, OH and then transferred to Camp Mills, NY. Garbison shipped overseas on September 3, 1918. While in Europe, he contracted pneumonia and died on October 14th, 1918. Garbison was originally buried in the American cemetery at Menesterol Montignac, Dordogne, France. After the war, his remains were moved to the US where he was reburied in Oak Grove Cemetery, Starke County, IN.

Columbus Shilling was born near Knox. Shilling, both a farmer and salesman here in Starke County, chose to enlist in the U. S. Marine Corps on August 7, 1918. Shilling was first sent to Parris Island, SC, then transferred to Quantico, VA where he was in the 10th Regiment. Shilling also contracted influenza and died from pneumonia on October 4, 1918. His body was returned by train to Knox, Indiana. His funeral service, held in the courthouse yard on October 9, was conducted with full military honors.  Shilling was buried in the Round Lake cemetery. According to newspapers at the time, all business in Knox was suspended between 2:00-3:00 pm, and every member of the Home Guard and Boy Scout organizations marched in his funeral procession.

Joseph Regnold’s family moved to Starke County, Indiana, when he was 9 years old. Regnold enlisted in the U. S. Regular Army on May 8, 1917. He was first sent to Ft. Thomas, KY, then transferred to Syracuse, NY. He was attached to the US 3rd Division and shipped overseas on April 2, 1918. Regnold fought in many major battles of World War I...Saint-Mihiel, Montfaucon, and the Meuse-Argonne offensive. After his heroism in the battle of Hill 204 during the 2nd Battle of the Marne, he was promoted to Sergeant. (As an aside, the US 3rd Division earned the nickname "Rock of the Marne", an honor they still hold today.) Regnold lost his life October 9, 1918, in the battle of Meuse-Argonne. The regiment in which he was fighting was decorated as a whole by the French Government with Croix du Guerre. Joseph Regnold was originally buried in Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne, France. His remains were returned to his family in September of 1921 where he was then buried in Oak Park Cemetery, Knox, IN.

Walter J. Wallace’s family moved to a farm near Hamlet in Starke County, Indiana, when he was a young boy. Wallace enlisted as a Y. M. C. A. Secretary for Foreign Service and on June 15th, 1918, departed for France. Due to a shortage of men in the Red Cross, he was loaned by the Y. M. C. A. to that organization.He accompanied the army, and during this time was badly gassed (from which he never fully recovered). During the drive at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, all of the Y. M. C. A. equipment was destroyed by a German shell so Wallace decided to enter the contest as a real fighting man. Wallace was decorated with the Croix de Guerre. After receiving a painful flesh wound, he was invalided to Paris and then the US. He died in a tuberculosis sanitarium at Val Mora, New Mexico, on March 18th, 1921. His body was returned to Knox where he was buried with full military honors. Attached is his obituary from the front page of the Starke County Republican, April 14, 1921, detailing the full military honors accorded him.