Friends of Fort Caswell Rifle Range

To view this or an earlier profile 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.

Source: 119th Infantry Unit Rosters for Company H to Company M, Page 13

Elder Eugene Heath
Bolivia, Brunswick County, NC
NC National Guard
Corporal
Served:
May 27, 1917 – April 7, 1919
Overseas:
May 12, 1918 – April 2, 1919
Severely Wounded: September 29, 1918

Elder Eugene Heath was born, raised, and lived most of his life in Brunswick and New Hanover Counties, NC.

On May 27, 1917, at the age of 19, Elder Heath enlisted in the NC National Guard by way of the Boys’ Brigade, as described in a previous post. He was eventually assigned to Co. I, 119th Infantry, 30th “Old Hickory” Division.

Cpl Heath’s NC WWI Service Card shows he was a Private. Company rosters, such as the one pictured above, US Army Transport records to and from France [Source: ancestry.com], casualty lists printed in newspapers at the time [see below], and his military flat marker refer to him as Corporal Elder E. Heath. It is not unusual for discrepancies in historical records, and the evidence is overwhelming that the service card is incorrect.

Before settling at Camp Sevier, SC, the soldiers were at Camp Jackson, SC. There, photographs were taken. This photograph is Pvt Thomas Newton Bryson (on the left) with three unknown fellow soldiers. [Source: NC State Archives] Pvt Bryson also served in the 119th Infantry. More about Pvt Bryson later.

Previous posts described training with the 30th Division at Camp Sevier, SC, the transportation to France, and events up to and including the Hindenburg Line assault.

Cpl Elder Heath was seriously wounded during the assault on the Hindenburg Line, along with many of his comrades in the 30th Division. Recall that History, 119th Infantry, 60th Brigade, 30th Division, U. S. A. Operations in Belgium and France, 1917-1919 reported the casualties in the 119th Infantry on that day were as follows:

146 KIA
691 Wounded
16 Died of Wounds
37 Taken Prisoner
12 MIA

Source: The commonwealth [Scotland Neck, NC], December 17, 1918, p. 4

This (partial) casualty list appeared in many newspapers after he was wounded.

Pvt Newton was also severely wounded that day. He recuperated in France and had this photo taken, again, with an unknown fellow soldier. [Source: NC State Archives] Pvt Newton’s photographs give us a glimpse into the experience of the other soldiers from the 119th.

Cpl Heath luckily had a complete recovery, returning to duty December 2, 1918. [Source: 119th Infantry Roster, Page 91] The war had ended a month earlier.

When he boarded USS Huron on March 21, 1919, to return to America, the passenger list shows All Class “A” (fit for duty).

After Cpl Elder E. Heath was discharged, he married. It doesn’t appear he had children.

Elder Eugene Heath was laid to rest in Columbus County, NC in 1984. He was 88 years old.

If you would like to help us honor Elder Eugene Heath 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

Click the category: Veteran Profile here or at the bottom of any veteran profile post to see all of the veteran profiles published. Follow or subscribe to the blog to stay updated on all new profiles.

To view this or an earlier profile 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.

Source: Soldiers of the Great War, Vol. II
Benjamin Bantie Smith
Ash, Brunswick County, NC
US Army
Private
Served:
September 19, 1917 – October 17, 1918
Overseas:
May 11, 1918 – October 17, 1918
Wounded: September 29, 1918
Died of Wounds: October 17, 1918

Awarded Distinguished Service Cross; British Military Medal

Benjamin Bantie Smith was born and raised in Brunswick County. There is a partial family tree in FamilySearch.

His WWI Draft Registration from June 5, 1917, shows he was single and working on his family’s farm.

Benjamin B. Smith was one of 16 Brunswick County men ordered to report for duty on September 19, 1917. Included were John Carlisle, Samuel G. Fulford, James R. Ganey, and William P. Comron/Cameron, who were all eventually assigned to 119th Infantry, 30th “Old Hickory” Division, to train at Camp Sevier, Greenville, SC.

Previous posts described events up to and including the Hindenburg Line assault.

This account of the assault can be found in the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources blog:

At 5:50 AM on the morning of September 29, 1918, the North Carolinians of the 30th Division—then serving under British command as part of the Fourth Army—emerged from the safety of their trenches and formed up in a single line, each man standing shoulder to shoulder, roughly four to six feet apart.

As they moved across the field under a cacophony of machine gun and artillery fire, the men did their best to stay abreast and maintain unit cohesion. Due to the poor visibility, the difficult nature of the terrain, and battlefield obstacles, however, the lines began to waver almost immediately. Enemy artillery fire punched at the Allied lines as a thick cloud of fog and smoke enveloped the field. “[Y]ou could hardly see your hand before you,” remembered Luther Hall, a Surry County native attached to the 119th Infantry Regiment.

Pvt Benjamin Smith died later from wounds received that day. According to History, 119th Infantry, 60th Brigade, 30th Division, U. S. A. Operations in Belgium and France, 1917-1919, the casualties the 119th Infantry reported that day were as follows:

146 KIA
691 Wounded
16 Died of Wounds
37 Taken Prisoner
12 MIA

Also included was this description.

The field over which this fight took place, on the 30th day of September, presented a miserable appearance, as dead soldiers were scattered broadcast over its area. Shell holes were so numerous that one could not walk three steps without falling into one. Huge masses of barbed wire had been partly cut by the bombardment and the Tanks. Not a telephone pole nor a tree had been left standing by the sweeping Artillery fire. The town of Bellicourt was a complete wreck.

Pvt Benjamin Smith died of his wounds on October 17, 1918, over two weeks after the Hindenburg Line assault.

On November 18, 1918, he was recommended for both a British and American military medal. Pvt Benjamin Smith was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (pictured left) by the United States Army for great bravery in battle. His NC WWI Service Card and page 8 of the 119th Infantry military honors recommendations list shows he was also awarded the British Military Medal (pictured right).

On July 8, 1918, the United States Congress approved an act permitting members of the military forces of the United States serving in the World War to accept and wear certain foreign decorations.

This is an example of a Distinguished Cross Citation that Private Benjamin Smith would have been awarded. This citation was awarded to Captain Ben F. Dixon, who was KIA during the same battle to break the Hindenburg Line.
[Source: NC State Archives]

An account of his bravery can be found in a NC Armistice Day program in 1921
[Source: North Carolina Day. Friday, November 11th, 1921. Armistice Day. North Carolina in the World War; North Carolina. Dept. of Public Instruction]

BENJAMIN B. SMITH, private, Company A, 119th Infantry. For extraordinary heroism in action near Bellicourt, France, September 29, 1918. After being wounded twice in making attacks with his own organization, he joined Australian troops and attacked with them, being wounded a third time before he consented to be evacuated.

Included in the program is this table:

NORTH CAROLINA’S WAR RECORD (A TABLE)

73,000 . . . . . men in the Army.
9,000 . . . . . men in the Navy and Marine Corps.
1,600 . . . . . men gave their lives.
1 . . . . . man awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
200 . . . . . men awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
12 . . . . . men awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

The 1921 NC Armistice Day program ended with this dedication

Eighty-two thousand North Carolinians fought in the war. One thousand six hundred of these gave their lives in battle. These are the men whom we should especially honor today. Some day their names and homes will all be known. But scholars will have to work a long time to get them all right. In the meantime you should learn as many as you can of the men from your own county who died. Their names should be read on Armistice Day, and hymns sung and prayers offered in their memory. Some of these men have been brought back from France and are now buried in their home cemeteries. Their graves should be visited this day, and decorated with flowers. Remember that these men died for us, and honor them always.

The remains of Private Benjamin Bantie Smith were returned from Belgium on the USAT Wheaton on July 2, 1921 [Source: ancestry.com]. He was laid to rest in the Smith Family Cemetery on Hwy 130 in Ash. His headstone is not a military one but includes the inscription, “Served with honor in the World War and died in the Service of his country.”

If you would like to help us honor Benjamin Bantie Smith 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

Click the category: Veteran Profile here or at the bottom of any veteran profile post to see all of the veteran profiles published. Follow or subscribe to the blog to stay updated on all new profiles.

To view this or an earlier profile 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.

Source: findagrave
Lindsey Pigott
Supply, Brunswick County, NC
NC National Guard
Corporal
Served:
May 5, 1917 – March 6, 1919
Overseas:
May 11, 1918 – January 19, 1919
Severely Wounded: September 29, 1918

Lindsey Pigott was born and raised in Brunswick County, NC. A partial family tree is located in FamilySearch.

On May 5, 1917, at the age of 21, Lindsey enlisted in the NC National Guard by way of the Boys’ Brigade, as described in a previous post.

In October, the 30th Division was created from NC National Guard units. Pfc Lindsey Pigott was assigned to Company B, 119th Infantry, 30th “Old Hickory” Division. In December, he was promoted to corporal.

Previous posts detail the 119th Infantry’s operations up to the assault on the Hindenburg Line on September 29, 1918. The assault itself is also covered in posts about the 105th Engineers, also part of the 30th Division.

Very early in the morning of September 29th the 60th brigade [119th Infantry, 120th Infantry, and 115th Machine Gun Battalion], with some units of the 117th regiment, assaulted this terrible line on a front of 3,000 yards, captured the whole Hindenburg system, then advanced still further and took the tunnel system with all the German troops hidden in it and next captured the towns of Bellicourt, Nouroy, Riqueval, Carriere, Etricourt, the Guillaine Ferme (farm) and Ferme de Riqueval; in this part of the assault advancing 4,200 yards and defeating two German divisions of average quality and taking from these (the 75th and 185th) 47 officers and 1,434 men. – Source

Corporal James E. Gregory, Company M, 119th Infantry, shared these memories of being “sent to the Somme front in France to help the Australians break the famous Hindenburg Line at Bellicourt.”

“Here we learned we were used as storm troops for the English 4th Army.”

Source: NC digital Archives 2

“At 5:50 a.m., September 29th, our Division attacked the Hindenburg Line on a front of three thousand yards. For four long hours the barrage continued without one minute of let up from both sides. It looked to me as if the destruction of the world had begun.

I couldn’t hear myself think, shells were falling everywhere, and shrapnels filling the air with their horrible whistles, and men were moaning and groaning at every side, pleading for someone to help them.

German prisoners were coming over with hands up yelling ‘Kamerad,’ enemy aeroplanes whizzing low to the earth and sending showers of bullets down on us, friends everywhere falling dead and wounded.

I was in a continuous struggle for life and almost unconscious of what was really happening, when the hardest of the battle was over and we had reached our objective, the tunnel of St. Quentin and the entire Hindenburg Line at Bellicourt. We spent the night in a German dugout seventy feet under ground, where the night before Hindenburg’s men never dreamed of having to give up.

On the morning of the 30th we began to gather up the remainder of the dead and wounded. Horrible sights
were to be seen. I saw men piled beside the shell-torn road in piles of from two to a dozen, and Australians hauling men to bury in wagons like we haul wood-a dozen or fifteen to a load. At the burying ground some of the men could not be identified for only half a man could be found, sometimes his body being blown to pieces and the identification tag lost.

Cpl Lindsey Piggot was among the severely wounded. He would not return to fight again.

On January 10, 1919, Cpl Lindsey Pigott was transported from Camp Hospital 40, Liverpool, England, to Lapland for home [Source: ancestry.com]. On March 6, 1919, he was discharged from the US Army with a 50% disability.

Lindsey lost his left hand and wrist in the battle and sustained serious injuries to his left side. More tragedy awaited after returning to the United States. A shotgun fell from a counter and discharged, resulting in the loss of both legs. But Lindsey didn’t lose his fighting spirit.

An article on the front page of the State Port Pilot [1946, Dec 25] announced Lindsey Pigott as the new manager of the Gulf Station and lunch room at the corner of Routes 74 and 17 near the Brunswick River bridge.

Folks who know Mr. Piggott regard him as a very striking illustration of independence despite adversity. …[Un]daunted by the loss of both legs and a hand and wrist, Mr. Pigott, who is married and has two young children, has worked for several years operating concessions with the R & S Amusement company. Tired of having to be constantly on the road, he decided to engage in a business of his own.

On February 22, 1960, Lindsey Pigott was laid to rest in Wilmington National Cemetery. His headstone with military honors is shown above. The notation “PH” indicates a purple heart was awarded.

If you would like to help us honor Lindsey Pigott 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

Click the category: Veteran Profile here or at the bottom of any veteran profile post to see all of the veteran profiles published. Follow or subscribe to the blog to stay updated on all new profiles.

To view this or an earlier profile 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.

Postcard of the Boys Brigade Armory in Wilmington, 1908.
Photo courtesy of the New Hanover County Public Library
Rufus Earl Sellers
Supply, Brunswick County, NC
NC National Guard
Corporal
Served:
May 7, 1917 – April 7, 1919
Overseas:
May 14, 1918 – April 2, 1919
Wounded: September 29, 1918

Rufus Earl Sellers was born and raised in Brunswick County, NC. A partial family tree is located in FamilySearch. Rufus had two brothers who also served in WWI, Pvt Oscar David Sellers and Mechanic Chesley Burgwyn Sellers.

Rufus’ NC WWI Service Card shows that he enlisted in the NC National Guard on May 7, 1917. He was 18 years old. He actually was a member of a group of young men who answered the call of Boys’ Brigade, which was then accepted into the NC National Guard. The story behind this is an interesting one.

The Boys’ Brigade was a national organization that gained popularity in the 1890’s. It was similar to Boy Scouts, with a civic and military focus. In 1895, Colonel Walker Taylor, a prominent businessman in Wilmington and regional commander in the state militia, organized a local group that was admitted to the United Boy’s Brigades of America as Company A, First North Carolina Regiment, the first company of its kind ever organized in the state.

Col. Taylor supplied muskets and bayonets. There were uniforms consisting of white pants, shoes, caps and blue jerseys. There were annual encampments and drilling at the State Guard. Members were required to attend a Sunday School of their choice and regular drills with the brigade.

In 1903, Col. Taylor bought a house at Second and Church streets in Wilmington and an armory was constructed for Brigade members. The photo is shown above. The building included an auditorium, dining room, kitchen, gymnasium, dressing rooms, a bowling alley and a 2,000-volume library. Membership swelled to nearly 500 boys. Sports, clubs, vocational classes and more were added. The Boys’ Brigade was disbanded in 1916, then later became part of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and still exists today.

The armory was used for various military functions during the early part of the war such as troop quarters for North Carolina Cavalry and the Field Artillery infirmary. Near the later part of 1918, Carolina Shipbuilding Corporation leased it for employees.  The building eventually fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1962.

On May 18, 1917, six weeks after the United States formally entered the war, the U.S. Congress passed the Selective Service Act giving the president the power to draft soldiers. The first draft, June 5, 1917, was required for men between the ages of 21 and 31.

Likely anticipating the draft and age ranges, the former Boys’ Brigade leaders must have realized that younger men would have an interest in serving. These former leaders organized meetings in Wilmington.

On March 29, 1917, a call was made to former members to organize an infantry company. It was their hope that the NC National Guard would accept this infantry once assembled.

“These young men are now anxious, in the country’s crisis, to offer their services to the government in any capacity… They have announced that they are willing and ready to go anywhere their country may call them, even to Europe.”

At an April 2 meeting, Col. Walker Taylor told the young men that they should answer their country’s call, saying that it would be much more pleasant to serve with friends than with utter strangers.

On May 16, 1917, the list of recruits was published, which included the following young Brunswick County men. Wanted were those between 18 and 30 years of age, who weigh at least 120 pounds and stand at least 5’4″. Training was planned at Camp Royster in Goldsboro, NC.

Edgar L. Ballard, age 19
Calmer T. Clemmons, age 22
Elder E. Heath, age 19
Alvah H. Nance, age 21
Lindsay Pigott, age 21
James R. Potter, age 18
Rufus Earl Sellers, age 18

The Boys’ Brigade was soon accepted into the NC National Guard and Rufus was eventually assigned to Company I, 119th Infantry, 30th “Old Hickory” Division. Except for James R. Potter, all from the Boys’ Brigade listed above served in the 119th Infantry.

Previous posts described training with the 30th Division at Camp Sevier, SC, the transportation to France, and events up to and including the Hindenburg Line assault.

Cpl Rufus Sellers was wounded on that tragic yet victorious day when the Hindenburg Line was broken. Recall that History, 119th Infantry, 60th Brigade, 30th Division, U. S. A. Operations in Belgium and France, 1917-1919 reported the casualties in the 119th Infantry on that day were as follows:

146 KIA
691 Wounded
16 Died of Wounds
37 Taken Prisoner
12 MIA

Cpl Rufus Sellers was described as “slightly wounded” and returned to duty October 17, 1918. The war had less than a month to go.

After Cpl Rufus Sellers was discharged, he married and raised a family. He passed away on June 23, 1946, at age 46. His obituary was published on the front page of the State Port Pilot [June 26, 1946].

Note that his age was misprinted. See his family tree referenced above for documents verifying he was 46.

Rufus E. Sellers is Laid to Rest
Former Engineer with U.S. Engineers Dies at Veteran Hospital in Fayetteville

Rufus Earl Sellers, 61, for many years employed as engineer by the U.S. Army Engineers Office in Wilmington, died in the Veterans Hospital in Fayetteville Sunday. He had been in failing health for some time.

Mr. Sellers is survived by his widow, Mrs. Opie Sellers; three sons and one daughter, Burwin Sellers, John Paul Sellers, Earl Lee Sellers, and Miss Cellie Sellers, all of Supply. In addition three brothers and two sisters survive. They are Willie Sellers of New York, Charlie and Oscar Sellers, of Supply, Mrs. Homer Peterson, of Wilmington, and Mrs. Annie Belle Fullwood, of Supply.

The remains were brought back to Brunswick by Kilpatrick’s Funeral Home and burial was made at the Galloway cemetery near Supply yesterday afternoon at three o’clock. Rev. Mr. Fulmer, pastor of Mt. Pisgah Baptist church, had charge of the funeral services.

The active pallbearers were Murdic Holden, J.R. Lawrence, Floyd Evans, Murchison Holden, Dewey Sellers, and J.B. Sermons. Honorary pallbearers were Dr. J.W. Hayes, Dr. L.C. Fergus, Dr. L.G. Brown, Floyd Kirby, Herbert Sellers, Yates Sellers, Herbert Holden, E.L. Holden, Hiram Long, Elwood Clemmons, O.P. Holden, and T.T. Clemmons.

Rufus Earl Sellers was laid to rest in Supply. No military honors are shown.

The information on Boys’ Brigade was gathered from the following sources.
Dudley, First Lieutenant E.P. “The Boy’s Brigade.” The Wilmington Morning Star, 18 Jul 1897, p. 1.
“Boys Brigade Members are Ordered Out.” Wilmington Dispatch, 29 Mar 1917, p 5.
“Boys Brigade in Line.” Wilmington Morning Star, 03 Apr 1917, p. 5.
“Boys Brigade Unit.” The Wilmington Morning Star 19 May 1917, p. 5.
Star News (Wilmington, NC) Ask a Reporter of Feb. 2011.

If you would like to help us honor Rufus Earl Sellers 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

Click the category: Veteran Profile here or at the bottom of any veteran profile post to see all of the veteran profiles published. Follow or subscribe to the blog to stay updated on all new profiles.

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

Source: 119th Infantry Unit Rosters for Company E to Company G, page 24.
Mack D Atkins
Makatoka, Brunswick County, NC
Regular Army/US Army
Sergeant
Served:
October 31, 1914 – July 20, 1919
Overseas:
May 11, 1918 – April 2, 1919
Wounded: September 11, 1918

Additional information about historical records

Trace through historical records and you will discover many contradictions. Headstone dates don’t match birth and/or date records. Census records often make one wonder: can a person truly avoid aging the ten years between them? Yes, there are census records spaced ten years apart that show a person with the same age.

Records handwritten through a war that occurred 100 years ago surely have many errors.

The more records found and the more detailed the records are can actually add questions, not answer them. In the case of the 119th Infantry, the source listed below has a wonderful and unusual feature: a roster that shows dates wounded and the date returned to duty. It shouldn’t have been a surprise to have some issues with the roster. These caused some missteps:

• The alphabetical list is not actually alphabetical, although close, so Brunswick County names were constantly being missed. Imagine the writers alphabetizing 3400+ names on multiple company rosters by hand.
  
• There are misspellings that added more complexity in a list that large.
• The use of the word “sick” caused confusion. Given that some NC WWI Service Cards showed gassing injuries and the roster showed “sick” it was left up to the researcher to make the determination. In the case of Pfc Perry G Carlisle, mentioned in the previous post, his Service Card showed no injury but the roster showed he was “sick.” Newspapers did not include his name in the list of wounded, so the conclusion was made that he contracted an illness. This may be incorrect. Others appeared more straightforward. If the Service Card showed a gassing injury, then the “sick” of the roster must mean gas sickness. Maybe.
• The usual inconsistencies with dates were present, such as dates wounded listed in the roster didn’t exactly match the NC WWI Service Cards. In that case, the unit history documents help to suggest the correct date, as the unit may not have been in combat during one date presented.

Creating the WWI Profiles begins with the NC WWI Service Cards, then the WWI Draft Registration Card. The date and place of birth don’t always match. Death certificates and Findagrave listings cause more discrepancies with dates and places of birth and dates and places of death.

Another idiosyncrasy with war records is the rank. Battlefield or field promotions are commonplace. Soldiers may leave the country with one rank, then return with another much lower rank. The NC WWI Service Cards show ranks going up and down and back up again and assignment changes between units or even divisions. Yes, some were demoted. Diaries mention soldiers demoted for drinking alcohol. But, it is assumed that the vast majority were due to new assignments or battlefield promotions that were no longer in effect after combat ended. When writing WWI Profiles, the rank chosen is the highest rank the veteran had obtained as listed on the NC WWI Service Card. This matches the military headstone applications that have been found.

The military headstone applications are submitted after death and confirmed by official War/Military Records. But even some inconsistencies are found on those. If an inconsistency is found, the WWI Profile post will include a note. In some cases, the veteran continued to serve which is beyond the scope of the WWI project.

Every WWI Profile on this blog has had, at the very least, an inconsistency with dates. The links are typically included so the reader can investigate further. But Mack D. Atkins’ records had a few more than usual, which makes it difficult to state his story with confidence.

What we do know is that a large portion of his short life was spent in service to his country.

Mack D. Atkins was born and raised in Brunswick County, NC.

His NC WWI Service Card is complicated and there are discrepancies between it and other sources. Using the service card and the following sources, a possible timeline can be pieced together.

• Ancestry.com. U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
• History, 119th Infantry, 60th Brigade, 30th Division, U. S. A. Operations in Belgium and France, 1917-1919

October 31, 1914: Mack D. Atkins enlisted in the Regular Army at Fort Caswell. He served with 19th Company, Coastal Artillery Company, Fort Caswell.

April 6, 1917: America declared war on Germany.

June 1, 1917: Pvt Atkins was promoted to Private, First Class.
September 6, 1917: Pfc Atkins was promoted to Sergeant.
September 22, 1917: Sgt Atkins was assigned to Quartermaster Corps at Camp Sevier, NC.
January 30, 1918: Sgt Atkins was ranked as Private. The assumption is this is due to him being reassigned, below.
February 14, 1918: Pvt Atkins was assigned to Company G, 119th Infantry, until discharge.
March 1, 1918: Pvt Atkins was promoted to Corporal.

At this point, Cpl Atkins was training with the 119th Infantry, 30th “Old Hickory” Division as explained in Pvt Luther Benton’s profile.

May 11, 1918: Cpl Atkins boarded Haverford to France.

September 3 or 11, 1918: Cpl Atkins was wounded or became ill.

The roster shows that Cpl Mack Atkins became sick on September 11th, yet his service card shows undetermined wounds on September 3rd. Newspaper accounts at the time report that he was wounded, so an assumption is made that he wasn’t just sick. Using information about the unit activities at the time, it is assumed that he suffered a gas injury.

Cpl Atkins’ injuries occurred during the occupation/operation as described below. His service card shows he was engaged at Ypres and the Canal sector, and the date of September 3 matches this timeframe.

Kemmel Hill/Mont Kemmel/Kemmelberg
The Canal sector was the general line extending from immediately southeast of Ypres, about two miles southwest to Elzenwalla, inclusive, on both sides of the Ypres-Commines Canal and the country on this immediate front was very low and wet, thus causing many hardships upon the troops occupying it. To the right of the Canal sector stood Mount Kemmel, from the top of which the Germans had a dominating view of the entire sector, thus causing camouflaged screens to be erected on all main roads leading towards the front, and making it very difficult to move about during the day. On the left of this sector was the remains of Ypres, after the great battle the British fought in July, 1916, when the Germans used gas for the first time. – Page 18, History, 119th Infantry, 60th Brigade, 30th Division, U. S. A. Operations in Belgium and France, 1917-1919

According to Col Pratt’s diary, the 105th Engineers and some infantry, possibly some from the 119th Infantry, performed a gas attack on August 28th, which resulted in many engineers and infantry being gassed. An investigation was ordered to prevent injuries in the future. This could have been the source of Cpl Atkins’ injury.

Then Col Pratt wrote the following on August 31, 1918, the 30th Division’s first contact with the enemy.

The unexpected happened. The Germans are off of Mount Kemmel and the “German Eye” will no longer watch us as we work. … The British were on top of Kemmel early this morning and moving over the slope. Our Division also advanced a short distance, capturing fifteen prisoners and one machine gun. They (the Germans) are not retiring on our front and we are meeting with considerable resistance. I received orders to assign one company of engineers to each Regiment in the line, which I did. Company F with the 120th Infantry; Company E with 119th Infantry. Our troops are attacking and we have actually come in contact with Germans in a fight.

The German retirement is very probably due to his desire to straighten his line and thus cut down the number of troops necessary to hold it. He will probably try and withdraw to the old Hindenburg line and make a stand there. He is fighting hard and giving way as slowly as possible so as to be able to withdraw all his guns and ammunition.

Kemmel Hill/Mont Kemmel/Kemmelberg in 1918
Col Pratt writes of many German gas shells throughout the operation.

(The 30th Division were then moved to the Hindenburg Line and did not participate in the Battle of the Peak of Flanders.)

While evidence points to Cpl Atkins being gassed, whatever injury/illness he suffered, his recovery took 3 months. By then, the war was over.

December 2, 1918: Cpl Atkins returned to service.
December 16, 1918: Cpl Atkins became a Private. The assumption is his previous rank was a field promotion.
March 21, 1919: Pvt Atkins boarded USS Huron in France to return to the US.
July 20, 1919: Pvt Atkins was discharged [Source: 119th Infantry demobilization camps rosters, Camp Jackson, Page 17]. Pvt Atkins immediately re-enlisted.
August 3, 1919: Mack Atkins married Mattie Caison.
January 6, 1920: The 1920 Census shows Cpl Mack Atkins serving at Camp Jackson, SC. This census record shows his service extended into 1920, and also confirms his rank of Corporal.

Mack Atkins and his wife had two children. But Mack’s life ended soon. He passed away on February 25, 1930 at age 37. His cause of death is included in current medical research papers as having possible connections to mustard gas exposure.

Mack D. Atkins was laid to rest in Hope Mills, NC.

His application for a military headstone does not match the above service information. It shows his rank as Private, serving in the 48th Infantry, 20th Division. The 20th Division was created in October 1918, never went overseas, and was demobilized in February 1919. It could be a mistake, as mentioned earlier, or previous and later service could explain this. Anyone with information, please contact Friends of Fort Caswell Rifle Range and this profile will be updated.

If you would like to help us honor Mack D. Atkins 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

Click the category: Veteran Profile here or at the bottom of any veteran profile post to see all of the veteran profiles published. Follow or subscribe to the blog to stay updated on all new profiles.