Memorials › John L Arnold
John L Arnold
2 Aug 1896 – 27 Jan 1957
| Birth | 2 Aug 1896 |
| Death | 27 Jan 1957 |
| Cemetery | McWilliams Cemetery Shelby County , Texas , USA |
| Added by | Gar on 17 Aug 2013 |
| FaG | https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/66878562 |
Bio
John was born on a Sunday during the "dog days" of summer, August 2nd, 1896 to Olivia "Ollie" Arnold and Albert Beckham. His birthplace was Shelby County, Texas which is located in the far eastern part of the state. His siblings of which he was the oldest were Fred, Robert "Bob", Grant Jim, and Reona. Sadly, Renona died at the age of six in 1917 and was buried in the Thompson Cemetery, Shelby County. The Waco Times-Herald newspaper dated April 6th, 1917 carried the headline "WAR PROCLAMATION WAS ISSUED TODAY". With President Wilson's signature that same day, the United States was officially at war with Germany and a part of the World War that had been raging in Europe since 1914. The following month, May 18th, Congress passed the Selective Service Act that gave the Federal Government the authority to temporarily expand the military through conscription and set three mandatory registration dates. The first was on June 5th, 1917 for men ages 21 to 30, and the precincts of Shelby County were very busy that Tuesday as the Champion Newspaper, Center, Texas, June 6th, reported over 2,472 registrations took place in an orderly and quiet way. Of the 28 precincts, Waterman was yet to be counted at that time. John, now age 21, was one of the 534 African American citizens to register that day and complete a registration card titled "Form 1". This simple card asked fifteen questions and revealed this about John Arnold: his home address was Choice, Texas, he was a natural-born citizen, he was self-employed as a farmer, he was single, of the African race, did not have prior military service, and claimed no exemption to the draft. Physically he was described as tall, of stout build, with brown eyes, black hair, and was not bald. Draft # 1086 was handwritten on the card next to where John signed by making his mark "X". Seven months later on January 19th, 1918, he and Miss Bertha Lovell were married in Shelby County. He was drafted over a year later and took the oath of enlistment on Saturday, July 20th, 1918 at the county seat, Center, becoming US Army Private Arnold, serial # 3513230. He and other inductees were then entrained to the 165th Depot Brigade, Camp Travis, San Antonio, Texas for basic training. On September 6th, 1918, following basic, he was reassigned to Company A of the 815th Pioneer Infantry Regiment that had just been organized at Camp Funston, Kansas. Later that month they moved to Camp Merritt, New Jersey, and the following month, to the Port of Embarkation at Hoboken, New Jersey. October 11th, 1918, saw John and the 815th board the troop transport USS Maui (ID-1514) at Hoboken, and depart for France under the command of Colonel Lawrence P. Butler. John listed his wife Bertha of Choice, Texas as the next of kin in the event of an emergency. Upon arrival the 815th Pioneer Infantry Regiment, along with the 813th and 816th, was sent to Romange (a commune in the Jura department in eastern France) for work with the Services of Supply (SOS), collecting and reburying the American war dead in the Argonne National Cemetery. The war ended on November 11th, 1918 and the regiment remained in France until July 18th, 1919, when they boarded the USS Aeolus for the journey home to the United States. They arrived at Newport News, Virginia on July 29th and were then transported to nearby Camp Stuart before entraining to where it all began, Camp Travis, Texas. Private Hooper was honorably discharged there on August 8th, 1919 and the following year would be authorized the Victory Medal. Returning home to Shelby County, he and Bertha took up the farming life, and their firstborn, John, Jr. came along in 1925 followed by his sister Mary Lois in 1931 who tragically died two years later. This was at the start of the "Great Depression" that lasted until 1941 when the United States entered World War II. John was once again required to register for the military draft and did so on April 27th, 1942 at the Shelby County Courthouse in Center. This registration was called "The Old Man's Draft" and was a way to gather data on the skills of men considered too old for active military duty but potentially useful to the war effort. John was 46 years of age and was working as a farm hand in Shelbyville for R. M. McWilliams. He again signed his draft card with his mark "X". He and the other World War I Veterans who were still living could say they saw the beginning and end of two world wars. By the 1950 census, he and Bertha were living at 1111th Fifth Street, in Orange, Texas where John was employed as a government labor worker at the naval air station. His son John, Jr. and wife Anna also lived with them. Seven years later on January 27th, 1957, at the age of 60, John died at the Orange City Hospital of heart problems due to Hodgkin's disease. His remains were returned to Shelby County two days later where he was buried in the McWilliams Cemetery. On March 7th, Bertha completed the application [QMC Form 646] for an upright marble veteran headstone with a Christian Cross that now stands at his final resting place. Bertha Lovell joined him there in 1985 at the age of 85. Day is done, God is nigh. SOURCES: (1): Year: 1900; Census Place: Justice Precinct 3, Shelby, Texas; Roll: 1669; Page: 3; Enumeration District: 0088 (2): Registration State: Texas; Registration County: Shelby County (3): http://www.shelbycountytexashistory.net/Shelby/Marriages/groomsansby-ansfory.htm (4): "Texas, World War I Records, 1917-1920." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 18 July 2022. Texas Military Forces Museum, Austin. (5): The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 493 (6): The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 3 (7): McMahon, Margaret Ph. D. A Guide to the US Pioneer Infantry Regiments in WW I. 2023. (8): Year: 1920; Census Place: Justice Precinct 3, Shelby, Texas; Roll: T625_1846; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 189 (9): Year: 1940; Census Place: Shelby, Texas; Roll: m-t0627-04136; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 210-7 (10): The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War Ii Draft Cards (4th Registration) For the State of Texas; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147 (11): United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Orange, Orange, Texas; Roll: 2972; Sheet Number: 13; Enumeration District: 181-4A (12): Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin Texas, USA; Texas Death Certificates, 1903–1982 (13): National Archives at Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Applications for Headstones For U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1941; NAID: 596118; Record Group Number: 92; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General
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