WWI Snapshot: Luther James Inman 1896-1937

NC WWI Service Card
Luther James Inman was born in Freeland in Brunswick County, NC. His WWI Draft Registration on June 5, 1917, at age 21, shows his occupation as farmer, employed by his father.

One of Luther’s brothers, William Lafayette Inman, also served in WWI and has his own WWI Snapshot.

Source: Ancestry.com. U.S., Lists of Men Ordered to Report to Local Board for Military Duty, 1917–1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Luther was ordered to report for duty on October 15, 1917, along with six other Brunswick County men. At left is the list from the Local Board, indicating dates and acceptances of the seven men. Click image to enlarge.

This photo, courtesy of Gwen Clemmons Causey, was taken of the seven men as they reported for duty. Gwen’s grandfather Henry Lindon Clemmons is standing in the center. Beside him (order unknown) are Luther, Owen R. Mintz, Willie H. Hewett, Robert W. Holden, Mack Leonard, and Isaac Fred Edge.

All seven Brunswick County men were sent to Camp Jackson, SC, and officially accepted on October 26, then assigned to Company F, 322nd Infantry, 81st “Wildcat” Division. (Robert Holden and Owen Mintz would be reassigned before leaving for Europe, while Isaac Edge was honorably discharged with a disability in Dec 1917.)

The WWI Division Rosters webpage shows that Sgt Henry Clemmons, Bugler Willie H Hewett, Cpl Luther J Inman, and Pvt Mack Leonard served in the same Company F throughout WWI. To read more about the 81st Division, begin at the first WWI Profile post, Richard Herbert Gray and cycle through each post following it. They are also listed in order on this page.

From his NC WWI Service Card, we know that Luther attained the rank of Corporal. His Service Card does not show any details about his ascent to that rank. According to the US Army Transport Service Passenger Lists in Ancestry, he was a private when he embarked from Brooklyn, NY, on July 31, 1918.

This high quality photograph was shared within Ancestry. Luther Inman is identified as the soldier on the left. His rank insignia indicates he was a corporal at that time. He does not have the wildcat insignia on his left shoulder which was officially approved on October 19, 1918. Neither soldier appears to have a chevron on the lower half of the left sleeve, indicating six months overseas. This may help determine the approximate time the photo was taken. To learn more about WWI insignias, see the WWI Profile of Richard Herbert Gray.

Luther served overseas until June 18, 1919 and was honorably discharged on June 25, 1919.

Following the war, he married Flossie Leah Simmons. The 1930 Census shows three children. Luther was employed at a lumber mill. The family lived in Brunswick County.

On July 24, 1935, the State Port Pilot reported a Luther Inman left Freeland two days earlier for Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employment.

According to his death certificate, Luther Inman passed away on October 24, 1937, at the young age of 41 from influenza. The 1940 Census shows his widowed wife with four daughters and a son, living near her father in Brunswick County. His wife never remarried, living to age 91.

His wife applied for and was shipped a military headstone [Source: Ancestry], but none is shown in Findagrave.

 


To view this or an earlier profile or snapshot at any time, click on the veteran’s name on the WWI Brunswick County Veteran list, which is also accessible by the blue button on the top right of the webpage.

If you would like to help us honor Luther James Inman or another Brunswick County WWI veteran, please use the following links:

Click here for the announcement:
Announcement: Honor a Brunswick County World War I Veteran
Click here for directions to donate and honor a veteran:
How to Honor a Brunswick County World War I Veteran

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