WW I 28th Infantry Regiment Grouping

[Championhilz]

Last weekend I went to the Civil War show in Vicksburg, Mississippi and set up a table to sell some of my odds and ends. The seller across from me had one table filled with nothing but paper ephemera. At the end of the day I decided to look through the boxes of "Stuff," and I found a small plastic zip lock bag filled with a number of photographs, letters and booklets. After a quick glance at the contents I asked the seller "How much?" and we he said $10, I paid very quickly. The first piece of paper in the bag that I looked at was this:

 

 

The grouping belonged to Robert A. Owens of Hardie, Louisiana, and he served in the 28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. I did a little research and found that he was severely wounded in August 1918:

 

 

 

Clipping from The Town Talk, August 19, 1918

 

 

I also found this WW I era photo of a soldier named George Lorraine - I wonder if he served with Owens?

 

[Championhilz]

Robert Owens stayed in the army after the war, and in 1919 he was serving in Company A, 33rd Infantry Regiment, stationed at Gatun, in the Canal Zone. Included in the grouping were two Christmas programs and a copy of the regimental newsletter, "The Tropical Breeze:

 

 

Back of the program - I liked the cigarette ad:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Championhilz]

By 1924, Owens was stationed at Fort Niagara, New York - one of the last things I pulled out of the bag was a letter from Colonel Berkley Enochs to Owens' parents, informing them that he had died:

 

 

 

 

 

Owens' parents did have his body brought back to Louisiana for burial, and he rests today at Bayou Macon Cemetery, in West Carroll Parish.

 

[Fiziwater]

Always enjoy glimpses of history from the more personal perspective. Thanks so much for the post.

[USAFnav]

Thanks for sharing this. Can you imaging the mother getting such a letter about her son?

Pete