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WWI
Lexington's Contributions
McLean County, Illinois
(Transcribed by: Teri Moncelle Colglazier)

Lexington was among the first to answer the call for men to defend her country, and many of her young men enlisted before the draft came; a total of 120 or more men answered the call. Some were gassed, some wounded, but none lost their lives on the battlefields. Most of the men came home after the armistice, but some stayed with the Army of Construction. Capt. T. F. Feiker did service in Coblenz, Germany, after the war, and W. Earl Ballew, Y. M. C. A. Secretary, also served in the same place. The Lexington branch of the Red Cross was organized April 29th, 1917, with over three hundred in membership, and Mrs. N. E. Franklin, Chairman, Dr. L. J. Hammers, vice chairman, Mrs. L. B. Strayer, secretary, and Mrs. F. W. Wald, treasurer. The chapter was very active in all branches of war work and met each Tuesday and Thursday of every week. Mrs. L. J. Hammers being in charge of the surgical dressings, Mrs. O. L. Hiser of the knitted articles, and Mrs. W. C. Lindsay, Sr., of the sewing. A total of 22,000 articles was made and sent out by this branch. When McLean County was asked for $50,000, Lexington came to the front and oversubscribed her amount of $2,000 and gave over $4,000.00. Much credit is given to Mrs. J. V. McCullough who was the captain of this drive, and her assistants for their work. In the later drive E. A. Kennedy was the chairman. After the war this branch was the first to install a community nurse. Miss Phoebe Grundy of Chicago, who began her duties January 1, 1920. The present officers are: Mrs. Charles Arnold, chairman; Mrs. E. A. Kennedy, vice chairman, and F. W. Wald, secretary and treasurer. Lexington Township subscribed $1,000 for the Y. M. C. A. and the Liberty loans are as follows: 1st., $22,950; 2nd., $16,250; 3rd., $35,750; 4th., $49,950; 5th., $70,800; total, $195,700. H. S. Shade was the chairman of the Liberty loans. In December, 1917, the State Council of Defense organized a Volunteer Training Corp, recognized as Unit 45 of 100 members, for the purpose of military training. April 1918, from this unit Co. H 5th Regiment Illinois Reserve Militia, was organized consisting of sixty-five privates and three officers. The officers were: W. F. Goddard, Captain, Ira M. Whitman, 1st Lieutenant, and James Arbogast, 2nd Lieutenant. The officers and Sergeant John Mantle were all ex-soldiers, having served their country in the Spanish American War in 1898. The company was very active in drilling and instructing men of draft age, who were soon to be called in service for their country. They furnished firing squads for military funerals, for the boys who died for their country. The roster of the company was: Captain, Wm. F. Goddard; first lieutenant, Ira M. Whiteman; first sergeant, G. H. Calhoun; Q. M. sergeant, A. P. Schantz; sergeants, W. C. Lindsay, John M. Scrogin, E. H. Ricketts, John Mantle, W. C. Hicks; corporals, B. Haushalter, R. E. Arnold, J. G. Gilmore, Charles Wright, F. W. Wald, Perry Stanton; musicians, L. M. Magill, C. L. Rosenberger; privates, H. F. Amick, C. L. Barrett, W. A. Bornder, G. E. Brown, J. H. Botkin, E. R. Buzzard, Roy Courtney, B. E. Dawson, J. E. Donnelly, J. H. Ervine, W. N. Falkingham, Howard French, Guy Hensley, M. E. Jenny, Clarence Jenkins, Leonard Koehler, W. A. Lucas, J. T. Leach, I. E. Cook, Ray Muffley, Thos. Oddy, E. H. Payne, H. E. Payne, A. P. Printz, J. J. Pils, Kenneth Stone, J. C. Shoop, Delbert Snyder, Henry Schmitz, Earl Turnipseed, Lawrence Whiteman, H. C. Wormley, Ralph Wilmuth, Noah Weakley, Ora McNemar, Dewey Ralston, Wm. Leonard, Elden Murphy, Russell Golliday, Theodore Walker, Rex McConnell, Loren Freed, Clarence Zook, Elmo Jenkins, John T. Moore, Ervine Printz, Dewey Burke, S. Herman Poole. [McLean County, Illinois, in the World War, 1917-1918; by Edward E. Pierson & Jacob Louis Hasbrouck c 1921]

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