Milan Dunham Jeffers, enlisted in Company A of the 16th Wisconsin Infantry, on October 25, 1861. Fought in Battle of Shiloh, came down with dysentery, was discharged September 27, 1862. Almost died, recovered, reenlisted in Company C of the 35th Wisconsin Infantry. Attained the rank of Sergeant Major, finished out the war being discharged March 15, 1866.
Herschel Park Merriam enlisted in Company H of the 106th New York Infantry. He lied about his age, saying he was 45 years old, when he was really 55. He did this so his only son would not be drafted. In 1864 he got very sick and was sent to Lincoln General Hospital in Washington D.C. After he recovered, he worked as a nurse in the same hospital. He eventually was discharged on October 20, 1864.
James Lloyd Jeffers enlisted on October 15, 1941; he was in the Cavalry. He was actually riding horses. With modern warfare rearing its ugly head he was transferred to the 10th Armored Division Headquarters Company. During his service his division served under General George Patton. He fought at the Battle of the Bulge and was there when they liberated a concentration camp near Landsberg, Germany. It was a sub-camp of Dachau. He was discharged on October 25, 1945, with the rank of Corporal.
Arvil Edward Carroll, enlisted into the US Army Air Corp, on December 18, 1941. He ended up serving in New Guinea, maintaining aircraft. For his service he was awarded a Presidential Citation, and a Bronze Star. He was eventually discharged on August 31, 1945, with the rank of Sergeant.
Cecil Elsworth Hudson served during World War II, in the Headquarters Company of the 100th Engineer Service Battalion. He served in the European theater, and was awarded the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster. (Which means he was wounded more than once.) He was discharged at the rank of TEC5.
Mount Pleasant Cemetery,
Wild Rose, Wisconsin
Oakwood Cemetery,
Berlin, Wisconsin
Robert Gene Hudson was drafted on February 20, 1953. He reported for basic training at the Army base at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. After basic training he was stationed at Fort Belvoir, in Virginia. There he worked in the military Post Office. He was discharged as a Corporal on February 18, 1955.
Walter Allen Angel was inducted into the Army on January 19, 1954. After basic training he was shipped over to Korea. While there his main duty station was Squad Leader of an Anti-Aircraft Unit. On one occasion intelligence suggested a large attack was eminent. Officers stationed all of their single soldiers in the area the attack was supposed to occur, since they felt that area would be overrun. Luckily for Walt the attack never materialized. Walter attained the rank of ST3(T), and was discharged on December 20, 1955.
Manchester Cemetery,
Great Falls, Montana
Jefferson Barracks National
Cemetery
St. Louis, Missouri
Horace M. Knapp, enlisted into Company G, of the 2nd Vermont Volunteer Infantry on May 20, 1861. He was with Union troops at the first Battle of Bull Run. Just a little over a year after enlisting he died of Typhoid Fever, at White House Landing, New Kent County, Virginia. This was the childhood home of Martha Custis, who married George Washington. It was around this time that the home burned to the ground.
Horace was the son-in-law of Herschel P. Merriam, the second man in the first row of pictures above. It's thought that Horace's death was a direct cause of Herschel enlisting himself.
Todd enlisted in the Navy in August 2007. He was stationed in Rota, Spain, and was involved in Good Will tours around Africa and the Middle East, in a Navy Trimaran. He attained the rank of Electronics Technician 2nd Class, and finished his naval career in May 2013.
Jefferson Barracks National
Cemetery
St. Louis, Missouri
Jefferson Barracks National
Cemetery,
St. Louis, Missouri
Indian Creek Cemetery
Pike County, Missouri