Matthias Popish
Submitted by: Raymond W Schaffranek
Matthias Popish born around 1896, Matthias Popish served in World War 1 with the the United States Army . The enlistment was in 1917 and the service was completed in 1918
Matthias Popish was born on May 14, 1896, in the township of Portage, a coal mining town in the central Allegheny Mountains of western Pennsylvania. His father, Michael Popish, and mother, Mary Kostan, were immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire who arrived in the United States in the early 1880s. They ultimately purchased and settled on a farm in the German community known locally as Dutch Settlement (Dutch being a misnomer for Deutsch) in Portage Township where they raised four sons and four daughters.
At age 21, their son Mathias was single, living with his parents, and working in a coal mine in Portage, PA, when he registered for the military service draft on June 5, 1917. On his World War I draft registration card, Matthias was described as being of medium height and build with blue eyes and light brown hair.
Dytiari R. Singh
Submitted by: Tanveer Kalo
Dytiari R. Singh served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known July 25, 1918 to February 5, 1919.
Private Dytiari R. Singh was born in Calcutta, British East India on May 4, 1896 to Tadan Singh and Kointa Podhan. He immigrated to the United States in 1914 and settled in Brooklyn, New York City.
Singh registered for the draft on June 5, 1917 in in Brooklyn. His draft card listed his race as white, marital status as married, and served in the British cavalry with the rank of private prior to his arrival to the U.S. The exact time he served with the cavalry could not be deciphered on the draft card.
Private Dytiari R. Singh was inducted into the U.S. military on July 25, 1918 at LB 25 New York, New York. He was assigned to 152 Depot Brigade at Camp Upton in Long Island, New York until August 26, 1918. Then he was assigned to ordinance training camp at Camp Hancock near Augusta, Georgia until October 1, 1918.
Harnam Singh
Submitted by: Tanveer Kalo
Harnam Singh served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known April 22, 1918- June 26, 1919.
Corporal Harnam Singh was born around 1888 or 1889 in British India. He immigrated to the United States prior to 1918 and settled in Manhattan, New York City. Singh lived at 272 W 36 Street.
He registered for the draft on June 5, 1917 in New York City and at the time was unemployed. His draft card listed his race as Caucasian.
Singh was inducted in the U.S. Army on April 22, 1918 in New York City.
Corporal Singh served domestically only. His New York military service abstract listed his race as white. He was stationed at Camp Johnson in Florida until June 27, 1918. Singh was then assigned to the quartermasters school of fire at Fort Sill in Oklahoma until October 28, 1918.
Andrew A. Capets
Submitted by: Andrew J. Capets {grandson}
Andrew A. Capets served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known April 1918 to June 1919.
How do you write a 'Story of Service' about a young Doughboy and make it stand out among the millions of men and women who served in the Great War? Do you tell the story about this Private being so cold during a night in France that he had to sleep on top of a manure pile just to keep warm? Do you talk about his pride after returning home from the war, and that he routinely attended Battalion reunions in Erie, PA to commemorate his service with friends?
The answer is yes, you document as much as you know, and write down any story you were told to ensure that the experiences of this young Doughboy will be known 100 years from now.
I went a whole lot farther and released a book in September 2017 called "Good War, Great Men. The 313th Machine Gun Battalion of World War I." The book was written for the same reason this portion of the WW1CC website was created, "The stories of the service of all these Americans should not be forgotten." I wrote the book to commemorate my grandfather's service during the Great War, as well as wanting to help other family members that have descendants of the 313th Machine Gun Battalion read about their own soldier's experiences through the writings of over a dozen men that served together in World War I.
Vishvanath Narayan Banawalker
Submitted by: Tanveer Kalo
Vishvanath Narayan Banawalker served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known September 6, 1918- Januray 21, 1919.
Vishvanath Narayan Banawalker was born on July 21, 1892 in Vengurla, British India. He arrived to the New York City from Liverpool, England in September 1915 on the ship Mauretania a age of 21. His New York passenger list noted his race as Hindu (East Indian) .Banawalker settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts after his arrival to the U.S and found work as a machinist.
On June 5, 1917, Banawalker registered for the draft in Cambridge. His draft card listed his race as Malayan (Malaysian). The bottom left hand corner of the card was ripped off, which was done if a person was black.
Vishvanath Narayan Banawalker entered military service on September 6, 1918. He served in the Motor Transport Corps and was honorable discharged on Januray 21, 1919. He did not serve overseas.
Sgt Henry Veal, II
Submitted by: Johnette Brooks {granddaughter}
Sgt Henry Veal, II served in World War 1 with the United States Army . The dates of service are: Known 30 APR 1918 - 30 AUG 1918.
18 FEB 1895, Henry was born in the Spring Hill District 2 of Milledgeville, GA. He was the baby son of eleven (11) children of Henry Veal, I and Lucy Ann Hearst of Deepstep, GA (the home of the Honorable Elijah Mohammed, Nation of Islam). Henry, II’s father was a minister and a farmer. Henry, II (Sr.) grew up a few doors down from his future bride, Mamie Solomon on the highway that would later (13 AUG 2011) be named in their honor. He joined Green Pastures Baptist Church as a youth and attended school until the 5th Grad . On 5 JUN 1917, Henry registered for the WWI Draft.
He was inducted in Milledgeville GA on 29 APR 1918 and was entrained on 30 APR at Camp Gordon in the 157th Depot Brigade until September 21, 1918. he departed Newport News VA on the USS Mercury headed for Brest, France.
Willis Lewis Burnworth
Submitted by: Peter Stassen
Willis Lewis Burnworth served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known May 30 1917 - November 1 1918.
Willis Lewis Burnworth was born June 6th, 1891 at Bremen, Fairfield County, Ohio as son of Alderman Burnworth and Lavina Householder.
He was 5'7" tall, had light brown hair and had four brothers and four sisters. Goldie May and Charles Elliot were older than him. The others: Ira Newton, Edgar Wayne, Nellie, Margaret, Viola and Teddy were younger.
After he finished his education at the public schools of Rushcreek Township and Bremen High School, he became a farmer.
Willis entered service (ASN: 1518883) at Bremen on May 30th, 1917 with the Ohio National Guard. He got his basic training with Company D of the 7th Infantry Regiment at Pleasantville, Ohio. On July 15, 1917 this regiment was recalled to federal service. It was now re-designated the 145th Infantry Regiment, and assigned as one of the components of the 37th Division. Willis became a member of Company H.
Henry Zeller
Submitted by: Wanda Zeller Peterson {granddaughter}
Henry Zeller served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known August 28, 1918 to January 27, 1919..
My Grandfather Henry Zeller was in the United States Army, his service number (SN) was: 4 706 169.
His dates of service: He was inducted at Carson, ND on August 28, 1918 and sent to Camp Lewis, WA. He served in the 166th Depot Brigade to September 6, 1918; Company H, 76th Infantry to discharge on January 27, 1919 at Camp Lewis, WA. He was only in for 5 months. He was a Private First Class.
He was born in the United States of parents who were Germans from Russia. He was very proud of his German Heritage and very proud to have served in the US Army. Decorations and Awards per the National Archives and Records Administration: WWI Victory Medal and WWI Victory Button (Bronze).
Lee A. Dunham
Submitted by: William H. Dunham {son}
Lee A. Dunham served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known 07/24/1917 - 03/23/1919.
My father, Lee Dunham, was a member of the Ohio National Guard and served in the 37th “Buckeye” Division, 148th infantry, in the First World War. He fought with the 37th Division in the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne in September 1918, and was transferred to Eyne, Belgium in the Ypres-Lys sector near the end of the war.
After the war, Lee returned to Ohio where he worked as a barber. One day, when I was about 10 years old, I was in the barber shop waiting to get my hair cut. I was snooping through the drawers of the back counter of the ship and came across some medals -- a Purple Heart and a Silver Star!
As I remember, this is what he told me about how he got the medals: