Veterans Day Stories from WSL Staff

Nov 10, 2016

For Veterans Day, we asked Wyoming State Library staff to share stories of family members who served in World Wars I and II. They were able to fill in a few of the historical details using the military records in Ancestry.com, one of the GoWYLD.net genealogy resources.

lemiell-draftClyde E. Lamiell
by Karen Kitchens

My maternal grandfather, Clyde E. Lamiell, was born on October 13, 1893 in Ohio. He was a career Army Reserve officer, who served in both World War I and World War II. Details of his career have become fuzzy over the years, as my generation is the only generation still living on this side of my family. Searching AnsetryLibrary.com, I was able to get a clearer timeline of his career. In Ancestry, I found an image of his draft card from June 5, 1917. How interesting to see his actual signature from nearly 100 years ago!

This oil portrait of Clyde E. Lamiell was painted by a German POW at Camp Forrest

This oil portrait of Clyde E. Lamiell was painted by a German POW at Camp Forrest

Listed within the Official Roster of Ohio Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the World War, Vol. 10 1917-1918, I discovered that Grandpa had served as an enlisted man in Battery B, 134 Field Artillery within the American Expeditionary Force in Europe until April 10, 1919. Having grown up in a family of horse lovers, it was no surprise that he was promoted to First Lieutenant in 1920 while in the 107th Calvary Regiment. During WWII, he served as Commandant of Camp Forrest in Tennessee, which not only served as a training base, but also a POW camp for German Prisoners of War. A portrait of the then Major Lamiell hung in my Grandmother’s house until her death in 1975. This portrait was painted in oil by a German POW at Camp Forrest and now hangs in my cousin’s house (also a retired Army officer). Discovering these pieces of family history in Ancestry was fascinating!


Archie Carol Krook

Archie Carol Krook

Archie Carol Krook
by Abby Beaver

When asking my dad, Gary Beaver, about his parents’ activity during World War II, he always grows excited to share his knowledge. His stepfather, Archie Carol Krook, born October 15, 1922, served in the Navy during World War II. Using AncestryLibrary.com, I was able to pull up a muster roll and see what ship, US Fergus (APA-82), he served on and what day Archie enlisted, February 3, 1944. Looking a little further, I found that my grandfather was on a muster roll for the USS Conyngham (DD-371) on October 10, 1946. Archie was a radio man and worked primarily in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. My dad loves to tell us that Grandpa Krook was involved somehow in the testing of the first nuclear weapons.


Orville L. Vittitoe
by Susan Mark

vittitoe

The family story always went that my grandfather, Orville Leake Vittitow, went into the Army during World War I but never made it overseas, due to health issues. A little digging in the Ancestry database filled in some of the details. He signed his draft card as Orville L. Vittitoe on June 5, 1917 in Nelson County, Ky., and was ordered to report to Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville on May 25, 1918. On June 11, 1919, he was discharged due to disability for chronic, inactive, pulmonary tuberculosis. He was admitted to the National Military Home Hospital in Dayton, Oh. in September, 1920. He was discharged at his request in August, 1921, I assume to marry my grandmother, whom he met in Dayton. Their first child, my father, was born in July 1922. Although Grandpa never saw combat, Dad said he did receive a small pension for his service, which, at times, kept the family barely afloat during the Great Depression. As for the difference in spellings, what I was told was that it was my grandmother who made him change the ending to “w.”

If you have a question about this or any other article, please contact us at statelibrary@wyo.gov

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