Ken Kolbe

Submitted by: Ken Kolbe {Grandson}

Ken Kolbe served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The enlistment was in 1917 and the service was completed in 1917.

Story of Service

I know this is long but some of you maybe interested World War One a Hundred years ago.

Lets start in the beginning. He was born in Grafton to a, as best can be figured, married couple. But it was later learned that the father was already married in another state so she divorced him.

The young son was sent to his fathers parents near Lyndon Station WI who was a German immigrant that was in the Civil war and received a land grant to a property in WI. The grandparents raised him along with his half sister.

When his mother remarried and moved to about 3 miles south of Wahpeton he returned to help on that farm and grew up and attended what is now NDSCS but was only a single building, Main, north of Wahpeton. He was one of the early graduates from the school. His step father had only agreed to help raise him and would not get a part of the farm so he went to work for his mother's family's traveling harvesting company.

Along came WWI, the war to end all wars and he was in Canada and registered at the American Consultant in Winnipeg. Now begins the rest of the story.

On July 14th 15th 1918 the second Battle of Marne began. It is historically considered to be the ending battle of WWI. On that night a Platoon of Americans were trapped behind the German lines and all communications were severed. In a Wahpeton paper of a post discharge this soldier stated that 4 couriers were killed attempting to get behind the lines to those trapped but were killed. He, a cook, then volunteered and got in. He once said “he had to shut his motorcycle off and push it 5 miles before he could start it again. He also said when he got there the commander did not believe anyone could have gotten through and refused to accept the orders. He said “I had to kick him where it hurt”. Interesting that that Commander George Price Hayes First Lieutenant, United States Army 10th Field Artillery, 3rd Division Platoon commander received the Congressional Medal of Honor crossing back and forth getting orders. Wonder how he found the way he was an officer?

Some historians note that this could have been the reason for the turning of the battle as the German line was split.

On the 15th in battle notes it says that 5000 German soldiers surrendered to the Headwaters Company under command General John Pershing. He had commented to family members that Pershing wanted to go to the front line but the field commanders thought it was unsafe but Pershing insisted and he took Pershing to the line. The surrender of the German troops was considered the break down of the Germans and Headquarters was given the name “Liberators” also the “Rock of Marne”. In his interview he said that the German prisoners called them the Wildcats. Headquarters in the battle notes were said to have received the greatest number of casualties. In the exit interview he said only 4 yes 4 were not killed or severely injured. He was one. He actually in his later years after retiring from the Wahpeton Post Office complained that he should have gotten a Purple Heart for being gassed. He needed glasses in his 60's! At the time of his retirement he was one of the longest if not the longest Post employee ever in Wahpeton.

He went on to marry Mabel Matejcek and they lived in Tyler just across the field where Mabel was born and grew up. They had 4 children the son oldest died young Vern the next son served in WWII on the USS Hadley and some his children are still in the area. When Vern was discharged he returned to Wahpeton got a degree in Business and was part of The Citizens First National Bank. Vern's twin Verla married a classmate from Fairmont and lived in Wahpeton. Verla and her oldest son were in The Haas apartment, SE corner Dakota and 3rd St South when it burned in the winter of 1952 her husband and a son are still live in the area. Several of her children and, or their spouses and grandchildren have been public servants following in her father's footsteps. He still has families of his half siblings living in the Wahpeton area. Also Mabel's siblings families are still around the area. His youngest son Robert was one of the first B-52 bomber pilots.

A side note his half sister in Wisconsin married one of the first Wildlife Agents in WI and was a friend of Aldro Leopold and their son became a professor of Environmental Studies in Steven Point WI receiving numerous awards and honors for environmentalism, and was a part of the beginning of the environmental movement of the 1970's.

He was a member of St Adalbert's Catholic Church, a Third Degree Knights of Columbus and a life member of the American Legion in Wahpeton, VFW, Cooties and Forty and eight . Being a military cook you could find him in the kitchens of the KC's or Legion into the 60's. I have his apron!!

To the best I can find until Woody Keeble was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, after his death in the early 2000's, he was the highest decorated soldier in Richland Co. He had stated to his Air Force son that he had been put in for the Congressional Medal of Honor but because he was a private and too many were given out he did not get one.

After this long story who is he?

FRANK, WILLIAM J. 
Private, U.S. Army 
Headquarters Company, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3d Division, A.E.F.
Date of Action: July 14 - 15, 1918
Citation:
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to William J. Frank, Private, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Bois-d'Agrimont, France, July 14 - 15, 1918. On the night of July 14 - 15 Private Frank volunteered and carried messages through heavy shell fire, after other runners had been killed in the attempt to perform the same mission.
General Orders No. 32, W.D., 1919
Home Town: Wahpeton, ND

His uniform was on display in the Wahpeton Museum.

http://www.fortyandeight.org/history-of-the-408/
https://usshadley.net/
https://www.lotcs.org/history.html
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/second-battle-of-the-marne-begins-with-final-german-offensive
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/11969