by Quanda Vines

Osborne Berry Thomas was born June 5th, 1892 in Norfolk, Virginia to Laura Chessman and John B. Thomas. Osborne was a Baptist and was not a registered voter or married. The highest level of education he completed was public school.

Before the war, he worked for the City Water Department in Norfolk. He enlisted into the regular Army October 8th, 1914. He was sent to Ft. Slocum, NY. There, he was a private and a cook. He was originally signed to troop A-10th US Calvary regiment. While at Ft. Slocum he received his training. Thomas was discharged from the military March 8th, 1920 as the same rank he enlisted in, a private. After the war he was employed at an Army Base. Later on, he was registered for the US National Homes for disabled Veterans.

His disability was Pulmonary hypertension artery. This meant that he had high blood pressure in the arteries that go from your heart to your lungs. This is different from having regular high blood pressure. With PAH, the tiny arteries in your lungs become narrow or blocked. Osborne Berry Thomas passed away on July 1, 1935 in Elizabeth City, VA. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery his hometown Norfolk, VA. His tombstone is so worn out that the words are not legible anymore.

By Robert Terrell

     Harry Mathews was born on May 29, 1889 in Mathews, Virginia to John Henry Mathews and Susan Crosby. He attended public school but never went to college. His draft card listed his address as 834 Whites Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia. It also describes him as a colored man who was tall and slender. It stated that he was single man who was Baptist and a dock laborer in Norfolk, Virginia.

 Mathews’ draft card listed him as being 30 years old when he enlisted in the National Army on June 20, 1918. Mathews obtained the rank of Private after completing his infantry training at Camp Lee, Virginia. His company number was 45.

After serving a year in the military he was discharged on July 8, 1919 still as a Private. He returned to civilian life and worked as a seaman. He died on July 18, 1953 at the age of 64.

by Claude Funn

William Young Marshall was born on November 1, 1895. Marshall was born in Norfolk, Virginia to George Marshall and Georgia Young. There is not much information about William Young Marshall, however, in his early child hood years, his family practiced the religion of Baptism.

In his early life before joining the military, William Young Marshall was a bellman. A bellman is someone who helped out with luggage within hotels or motels, for people that cannot carry their own luggage. He attended Shaw University which is located in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Marshall enlisted on June 13, 1918. William Young Marshall was a private who had an MOS of 11B which is Infant. He received his initial training at Hampton School from June 14-August 13, as well as Camp Sherman from August 15-August 28. His first duty station was Headquarters 802 Regiment, 1st Division

Marshall was a young private when he had his first deployment, which was in Hoboken on the Carmania and he arrived at Liverpool, England on September 13, which the engagements of Measse Argonna.

After the War he arrived at Hoboken on July 9th and he discharged from the Army on July 16th in Camp Dix, New Jersey as a 1st class Private in the Infantry.

William Young Marshall’s death date is unknown

Sources:

Shaw University Archives, 1800-1900 Raleigh, NC

https://fromthepage.com/lva/norfolk-va

https://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/norfolk-journal-and-guide-1921-2003

By Halimat Kadri

Vernal Clingman Hodges was born on October 4th, 1895 to Julia V. Harris and Clingman Hodges in Norfolk, Virginia. He attended J.T. West Public School before going to Norfolk Mission College and Howard University for his Bachelor of Laws.

He enlisted into the Army as a Private on August 5th, 1918 in his home city and was assigned to Company 17, Engineers Training Regiment in Camp Humphreys, VA. He was soon transferred to Company B, 540th Engineers, about August 27,1918 and to Company Headquarters, 540th Engineers about September 1, 1918, where he was promoted as a Private-1st Class.

Hodges embarked from Hoboken, New Jersey on the Leviathan on Oct. 27, where he arrived in Liverpool, England Nov. 3, 1918. The soldier proceeded from Winchester, England to South Hampton, England, then from Cherbourg, France to Adainville, France. He was sent to New York on June 6, 1919 and discharged at Camp Lee, VA on July 17th, 1919 as a Private First Class.

He died June 19th, 1968 at the age of 72 in Summit County, Ohio, and was buried in the Sunset Memorial Garden in Dover, Kent County, Delaware.

Sources:

Deveraux, Colleen Dolan. “Vernal Clingman Hodges 1895–1968.” FamilySearch, Family Search, www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/LTRH-ZQ6.

“Virnal C Hodges.” Ancestry.com, search.ancestry.com/collections/60525/records/2163220.

“World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.” Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com, search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=6482&h=21553092&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=gRW8&_phstart=successSource.

Halimat Kadri is a student at Norfolk State University.

By Ronnie Rolka

George Harrison Jordan was born December 2, 1893 to George H. and Harriett T. Jordan in Norfolk, Virginia. Before enlisting he was employed as a barber and completed some college coursework at Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia.

Jordan enlisted in Boston Ma On January 26^th, 1915 and was assigned to L company in the 6^th regiment of the Massachusetts National Guard as a Private Bugler. On January 1^st, 1910 he was promoted to Sergeant Bugler while training at Camp Stuart in Newport News, VA. From Newport News, Jordan and his unit shipped out aboard the USS Susquehanna en route to St. Nazaire, France at the end of March 1918.

After arriving in France on April 13^th, 1918 it was nearly two months before Jordan’s unit entered combat. From June 05^th, to November 10^th, 1918 his unit was in continuous service without a single day furloughed. During this period Jordan was gassed by enemy forces and his unit was awarded the Croix De Guerre, a French citation issued to non-French allied forces for valor.

On February 27^th, 1919 Jordan was honorably discharged having maintained his rank as Sergeant Bugler. Following his service, he was employed as a chauffeur. He was a practicing Mason, and was married to fellow Norfolk native Bertha C. Johnson. They spent their lives together in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sources:

“Jordan, George Harrison,” World War I History Commission Questionnaires, Library of Virginia.

By Nathan Foster

William Hines, born September 12, 1897 in Norfolk, Virginia, was the son of William Henry Hines and Nannie Hilton. He had five other siblings and his mother, Nannie, died sometime after filling out his military questionnaire. His stepmother’s name was Sarah C. Foster.

On August 27, 1918, Hines enlisted in the Army and trained for about two weeks at Camp Humphreys in Virginia and embarked from Newport News, VA as a Private. After serving his time, William Hines returned in July of 1919 as a Corporal and married Josephine W. Crawley in Norfolk. He returned to civilian life employed as a driver for a Mr. Wasserman. Hines only had a public-school education and no known higher education, however he was a member of the fraternal order known as the White Lillies. Hines also had military training with the Soldier Company in Norfolk and was a devout Baptist. He and Josephine had three children: Eliza, Sam Bunyon, and Josephine Elaine Hines. William Hines died on December 30, 1960 in Norfolk, VA. His wife, Josephine, died on November 18, 1974.

Romulus Cornelius Archer was born March 11th, 1890/1891 in Norfolk, Virginia to Lissie Poindexter and Romulus C. Archer Sr. He was the oldest of five children. The Archers lived on Hale Street in the Lindenwood neighborhood. His father, Romuls Archer was a plasterer. In 1908 Romulus Jr. graduated from Norfolk Public High School and enrolled at Norfolk Mission College until 1910, he then took classes in architecture through the International Correspondence School in Scranton, Pennsylvania. For his capstone Romulus attended Columbia University in 1913, where he then went on to be a self-employed architect. Some time after graduating from Columbia, Romulus Jr. married his first wife, civil rights activist Louise Williams. 

Romulus Jr. enlisted in the United States Army on March 11th, 1918. He served as a private in the Engineers Section of the National Army and was assigned to “D” Company in the 317th Engineering Regiment 92nd Division. Romulus was stationed for his initial training at Camp Sherman, Ohio from March 1918 to May 1918. In July of 1918 he was transferred to Headquarters Company of the 317th Engineers Division. On June 9th, 1918 he embarked on the USS Mount Vernon in New York and was deployed to Blondefountaine, France. While deployed in France Romulus Jr. was involved in the Meuse-Argonne offensive and while he was not on the front lines his unit served as support for Infantry and Artillery units.During his time in France, twelve of the men in his unit died of diseases in different places. After spending eight months in France, on March 6th, 1919 Romulus Jr. arrived in New York aboard the USS Corona.

After returning from France, Romulus Jr. was discharged as a Sergeant from service on April 8th, 1919 and returned to civilian life as a architect. At the end of 1921 he opened an independent architectural office in D.C. and is credited with designing Virginia University of Lynchburg. Between 1939 and 1947, he is listed as architect on over 100 permits as the builder of properties in the D.C. area. In 1954, he was the recipient of the Washington Board of Trade Award in Architecture for Superior Design. Archer was known for the numerous apprenticeships he provided for young black architects in his office and, because of this, he received the “Citizen of the Year” award from the Young Men’s Christian Association in 1964. 

Romulus Cornelius Archer died on November 29, 1968, at age 77 and he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Sources:

FromThePage.com. “3.” FromThePage, fromthepage.com/lva/norfolk-va/archer-romulus-cornelius/display/644942.“Romulus C 

Archer (1891-1968) – Find A Grave…” Find a Grave, www.findagrave.com/memorial/22989835/romulus-c-archer.

Abel, J., 2020. DC Architects Directory. [ebook] D.C. Available at: <https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Architects%20Bios%20A%20and%20B.pdf> [Accessed 1 May 2020].

by Christian McManus

In 1894, George Boynes was born in Andrews, South Carolina to Elizabeth Austin and William Boynes. Boynes was a Baptist and later joined the Elks Fraternal Order. Before enlisting into the Regular Army, George Boynes moved to Norfolk where he lived on 740 Smith St. and worked as a concreting and pile driving laborer employed by James Steward.

Boynes enlisted into the infantry of the Regular Army on August 5, 1918 and trained at Camp Humphreys in Virginia. After training Boynes was assigned to Co. F as part of the Labor Battalion nine miles away from Camp Humphreys as a Private. During this time, George Boynes would suffer from one permanent injury: his right ankle. He was discharged from Camp Humphreys, VA on December 28, 1918 due to his injury. Once he returned to civilian life, Boynes became a laborer at the Naval Base where he remained unmarried and without children according to his questionnaire.  

Boynes provided a lot of additional information on his questionnaire including information about his feelings towards military service, effects of camp experiences, and effects of service on his physical and mental health. Beginning with his feelings towards military service, Boynes believed that, “… the United States should maintain an army large enough to protect its interest both in times of peace and in time of war.” Following this response, he said that military service “did no harm to me and no good that I know of” however mentioned that he was “made stronger” in his religious belief. He goes on to say that God, “… directed the forces that defeated Germany and her company” when asked the effects of his experiences when contrasted with his state of mind pre-war. George Boynes signed off on his questionnaire on April 21, 1920 at the Y.M.C.A. building on Queen Street in Norfolk, Virginia.  

by Davyne Hughes-Davis

Milton Eugene Hughes was born on January 13, 1890, in Norfolk, Virginia to Zachariah and Martha Hughes. The family lived in a small neighborhood called Tanner’s Creek . According to the 1910 U.S. Census, Milton Hughes attended Matthew Fontaine Maury High School and graduated in 1909. After graduation, he enrolled at Howard University for two years to obtain a bachelor’s degree, however, he did not graduate due to joining the military.

On September 16, 1917, he enlisted in the Army as one of many privates in the Infantry Corp division in Alexander Virginia. He served as a Rifleman and was assigned to the 355th Labor Battalion; Company 38, 154th D.B. He began his training at Camp Alexander, Virginia but soon transferred to Camp Meade, Maryland to continue his training. After the completion of his service as a Corporal, he returned to Newport News, Virginia where he was discharged on June 25th, 1919 due to medical reasons.

After being discharged, he worked at the Norfolk Navy Shipyard and married Estelle Turner of Newport News, Virginia. The couple had four children: Milton Jr., Elwood, Maurice, and Estelle Hughes. He continued his career at the Norfolk Navy Shipyard until his retirement. On August 28th, 1966 he passed away from Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease at the age of 76. He was buried at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk, Virginia. Though he may seem like a simple man, his legacy will continue throughout this world from his heroic behavior by joining the National Army to fight and serve the United States of America.

Sources:

“Milton Eugene Hughes” World War I History Commission, Library of Virginia

United States Census, 1900-1940

“Milton Eugene Hughes” Death records, 1900-2000

“Milton Eugene Hughes” U.S., World War I Draft registration card 1917-1918