Chester Fitzgerald

-

                                                 



Chester Fitzgerald
1896-1918
Section G115

    The death of a child can change the course of a parent's life forever. This is the case when it comes to Chester Fitzgerald and his mother. Chester entered the military during WWI at the age of 22. He was assigned to  Co I of the 125 Infantry. He was sent to France to fight in the first World War. Chester was killed at the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The war ended a month after his death, but Chester's story didn't. 
     Soldiers returning home from war told Chester's parents that he had not died. They claimed to have seen him in a hospital in France.  His parents contacted the Red Cross to find out if Chester was in fact alive. It wasn't long before word came that he had in fact perished in battle. 
    At the close of the war 70,000 bodies remained overseas. The government needed to locate the graves, confirm identities, and form records before transferring bodies. 
    Families were given the hard decision to leave their lost sons overseas or bring them home. Around 60% wanted the bodies brought home. Augusta Fitzgerald, Chester's mother, was one of them. In 1921 Chester received a proper burial here in his hometown. He was buried with military honors in a huge funeral. 
    In 1928 the Gold Star Mothers organization was formed. It was organization comprised of mothers who had lost a son in battle. They were often invited to veteran events and would have had front row seats at Memorial Day services. She remained active in the Gold Star Mothers until her death at age 100 years old. She had 113 descendants at the time of her death.



Mrs. Fitzgerald receiving a Memorial Day Poppy






Sources: Historical Society of The Tonawandas, Newspapers.com, Ancestry.com, Familysearch.com
Fultonhistory.com







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Barron Brothers

-
Image
William Barron 1895-1918 Section: D12 Edward Barron 1899-1954 Section: D12      William and Edward Barron of Tonawanda were among the local men who joined the United States Marine Corps shortly after the United States entered World War I in 1917. They became part of the rapid military buildup that sent thousands of American troops overseas to France as part of the American Expeditionary Forces. The brothers were attached to the famous 5th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Division, one of the most heavily engaged American units of the war. They were among the early Marines sent into combat against German forces in France and spent months serving together in trenches, reserve positions, and active combat zones      In June 1918 the Marines were thrown into the fighting near Château-Thierry during the German spring offensives. The battles around Belleau Wood and Château-Thierry became some of the most important engagements involving American forces during the war. B...
Read more

GAR Monument

-
Image
GAR Monument Dedicated: Memorial Day 1910      The GAR monument that stands before you was the product of many groups coming together in 1910. The Winfield B. Scott GAR Post of Tonawanda, The Winfield B. Scott GAR Post Women's Relief Corps, and the Ladies Auxiliary raised money, organized, and planned the erection and dedication of this twenty plus foot monument. The statue of a Union soldier at the top alone cost $450. The base would have cost about the same. It was made by the White Bronze Monument Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The groups raised just over two thousand dollar, which would be around seventy-thousand dollar's today.       The monument was designed to memorialize the names of over two-hundred members of the Winfield B. Scott GAR Post living and dead at the time. It also recognized the other groups who helped make the monument possible.       Miss Onelee Edmonds was supposed to dedicate the monument after a grand...
Read more