Memorials › PFC William Harrison “Will” Salyer

PFC William Harrison “Will” Salyer

12 Nov 1894 – 4 Nov 1918

Birth	12 Nov 1894
Death	4 Nov 1918
Cemetery	Castle-Salyers Family Cemetery Virginia City , Wise County , Virginia , USA
Added by	DEBBY BRYANT on 04 Feb 2020
FaG	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/206833250

Bio

Was the son of Elbert and Samantha Castle Salyers. He was a private in the United States Army and killed in action, World War I. Never married. --- Private First Class William Salyer served in Company A, 317th Infantry Regiment, 80th Division, in World War I. His serial number was 2467759. After completing Army training, then-Pvt Salyer sailed to France with the 317th aboard the USS Mongolia on 26 May 1918. The passenger manifest (Fold3) lists his father, Mr Elbert S Salyer of Virginia City, Virginia, as his emergency contact. PFC Salyer was killed in action on 4 November 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. For descriptions of combat at that time, see 80th Division, especially pp 16 and 47-52; and 317th Infantry ch 8 (sources below). He was initially buried in an isolated grave at Buzancy commune, Meuse (burial card, Fold3). Isolated graves were typically located on the battlefields where the deaths occurred. Following Armistice, PFC Salyer's remains were transferred to the new Argonne American Cemetery at Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, Meuse. At family request, PFC Salyer was later transported home for burial. E S Salyer accepted his son's casketed remains at Virginia City on 10 September 1921. A newspaper item shows that William H Salyer's military service began at Norton, Wise County, Virginia, on 31 March 1918, when he was one of the "Wise Boys Called to the Colors" (Big Stone Gap, VA, The Post, 3 Apr 1918, Newspapers.com). The men traveled by railroad for training at Camp Lee. In December 1918, newspapers reported that PFC Salyer had been killed in action (e.g., Lynchburg VA News and Advance, 17 Dec 1918, Newspapers.com). William Salyer was born 12 November 1894 in Scott County, Virginia, according to a Scott County birth ledger and typescript index (FamilySearch). His World War I draft registration card stipulates that he was born at Nickelsville, and gives a slightly later date of birth (see Notes). In the 1900 US census, the family of Elbert and Jane S Salyer was enumerated in Scott County, on a farm owned free and clear. Neither the youngest child "Willie," 7, nor his older siblings, attended school that year. In 1910, the family was again enumerated on the family farm at Scott County. William, 14, was attending school and working as a farm laborer. When he completed draft registration in 1917, William Harrison Salyer, 21, was living and farming in Virginia City. He was unmarried. Notes Apparently in error, William Harrison Salyer's World War I draft registration card gives his date of birth as 25 November 1895, over one year later than his Scott County birth record. This later date is reflected in the VA Master Index. Several men named William and Elbert Salyer lived in Virginia in the early 20th century. Extra research steps were taken to identify PFC William H Salyer's records. (Researched in 2025. Biography by Mrs. Bee, Find A Grave contributor 47112547. For general information, see 80th Division, Summary of Operations in the World War, American Battle Monuments Commission; and History of the 317th Infantry, Edley Craighill, HathiTrust.)

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