Arthur Little was born on March, 4, 1896 in Plymouth Washington, North Carolina to Martha and Anthony Little. He had six siblings, 4 brothers and 2 sisters. He lived in North Carolina until he was about 14 years old. He moved to Norfolk, Virginia sometime between 1910 and 1917. Prior to the war, Little was a longshoreman for a company in New York where he enlisted.

Little enlisted at Camp Upton, New York (1917) in the National Guard as a mechanic at the age of  21. Little was assigned to Company A of the 367 Regiment 92nd division and he was stationed at Camp Upton from October 1917 until June 1918. In June he deployed to Brest, France where he participated in a number of engagements. As a mechanic, Little most likely did not actually see much combat despite being involved in major battles, such as the battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Argonne Offensive which resulted in Allied victories. Little arrived back in the states in early March 1919 and was discharged a few weeks later. According to Little’s service record, he did not mind fighting on the behalf of the United States and felt that his time in the military was quite nice.

After the war, Little resumed his longshoreman job while living with his aunt. Not much is documented on Little’s life after the war as he was very much an average guy. Little did not marry. Arthur Little passed away on April 9, 1944. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery.

 

 

Sources:

“Arthur Little,” Findagrave.org Available online: http://findagrave.org/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=150308220, Dec. 9, 2016.

“Arthur Little,” The New Journal and Guide, April 22, 1944.

“Arthur Little,” United States Headstone Applications for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1949, National Archives and Records Administration.

United States Census, 1910-1920.

Xavier Mitchell is a history major at Norfolk State University.