Soldiers who served in the Great War or World War I
One hundred years ago, on May 21, 1921, citizens from Watertown and Oakville met on Veterans Hill to dedicate a monument to those who served in the Great War which is now known as World War I. Two-hundred and sixty one names on two plaques were affixed to a large stone across DeForest Street from a monument erected 11 years earlier to those who served in the American Civil War. A large bronze eagle atop a 25-foot flagpole nearby watched over the ceremony that day. That symbol of our country filled hearts with hope that this memorial to the “war to end all wars” would be the last monument – signaling an end to worldwide combat.
Please note that the information on the page is continues to be researched and is subject to review and revision. If you have any corrections or comments, please contact curator@watertownhistorymuseum.org.
Names on the Monument
The dedication on this monument reads:
Memorial to our sons and daughters who served their country in the World War 1914 – 1918
Dedicated in grateful recognition by the people of Watertown May 30th 1921
Names that have a * indicate someone who died while in still in the military.
In the following list, the following abbreviations were used:
- DNB – Died Non-Battle (died in the line of duty, including accidents outside combat areas)
- DOD – Died of Disease
- DOW – Died of Wounds
- KIA – Killed in Action
- WIA – Wounded in Action
[Cities or states in Italics] indicate the town of enlistment.
(Evergreen) indicates a Monument in Evergreen Cemetery in Watertown. Other known cemeteries as listed.
The following names are listed on the Watertown World War I Monument, and we honor their service:
Earl Davis Anderson [Waterbury] Private 1st Class (1893-1988)
Stanley Hawley Andrews [Waterbury] Merchant Marine 1st Class (1890-1957)
Joseph Morton Angel [Manchester] Private 1st Class (1893-1947) WIA
* Harold Raymond Archer [Watertown] Private (1894-1918) DOW
Harry Burton Ashenden [Watertown] 2nd Lieutenant (1897-1967)
Harold Chase Ashworth Private (1900-1989) (Evergreen)
Clifford Irving Atwood [Watertown], (1897-1989) (Evergreen)
* Hubert Leroy Atwood Private (1895-1916) KIA
Harold W Atwood [Watertown], (1896-)
Ina W Atwood (Bassette) Nurse (1890-1981)
Lester Whiting Atwood [Watertown], Wagoner (1894-1990) WIA (Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, KY)
Floyd N Barlow [Watertown], (1892-)
Leslie Richard “Dick” Barlow [Bridgeport] (1886-1940) (Evergreen)
Spencer W Barlow [Watertown], (1897-)
Wilfred Barlow [Watertown], (1894-)
Peter Bartkus [Watertown], (1897-)
Arthur Beard [Watertown], (1893-)
Joseph W Bebrininks [Watertown], (1898-)
* Harold A Beers (1892-1919) DOD
Edison James Bennett [Watertown], (1894-1987)
Clarence Benway [Watertown], (1900-), Seaman 2nd Class DIA
Joseph Bianco ([Watertown], Private 1st Class (1894-) WIA
Sherman R Birdsall [Watertown], Private (1894-)
William J Bogle [Watertown], (1889-)
Teresa Bolt [Watertown], Nurse
Clarence N Booth [Watertown]
Alice C Bormolini [Watertown] (1886-)
Joseph F Bormolini [Watertown] (1891-)
Albert Lincoln Botelle [Morris]
George W Botelle [Watertbury]
Louis? L Brandmeyer
Thomas J Brennan (1891-), Private KIA
Leman C Bronson (1894-)
George F Brooks
Harry A Brouette
J H Haydn Bryan
Wilfred B Bryan
Harold J Budge
Charles Burton
Edward Butler
George A Byrnes *
Alfred Cavannah
Carlton B Clyma
Robert Colburn
Clifford C Conrad
Howard P Conrad
Clarence J Book
Francis E Cook
Harry J Cook
George B Crawford
James Creahan
Erwin Creighton
William B Cruttenden
Anthony Daley
James Henry Damery (1898-1953) (Evergreen Cemetery)
John D’Amico
Michael D’Amico
David H Davidson
C Lewis Dayton
Herbert S Dayton
Walter E Decker
James J DeMartino
Alphonse Desaulniers
Otto T Dreher
Thomas H Dimock
Herbert Dougherty
Harry W Downing
William J Dundon
George Edmonds
John J Egan
Thomas C Egan
Thomas P Farrell
William A Fenn
Edward Fitzpatrick
John O Fitzpatrick
Joseph M Fitzpatrick
LeRoy Foster
Luther France
Harold R Fray
Harold R Fuller
Henry Gagnon
Frank V Gallagher
John Galligan
Elgie L Galpin
Matthew C Gee
Russell B Gee
J H D Grannis Sr.
J H D Grannis Jr.
Seraifino Greco
Jacques P Grenier
C William Griffin
Edwin H Glover
Joseph Glover
Joseph A Guglielmetti
Walter Guyette
Henry Hamel, Private * KIA
Martin E Hansen
Robert A Harrison
Charles E Haudberg
Bartow L Heminway
Buell H Heminway Jr.
Merrit Heminway
Nelson C Henger
Thomas W Herring
Clifford A Holleran
Floyd D Hotchkiss
Herbert B Howe
Frank E Hoxley
Earl R Hudson
Carlos W Hungerford
Arther C Ingraham
Raymond Irish
Harold P Johnson
John Johnson
William J. Johnston
Rena M Kane
Mark J Keaney
Charles T Kelly
Leslie T Kennedy
Peter Kenney
John Kieley
Clifford Kingsbury
Peter P Kvietkus
Joseph Lampron
Granville T Leeke
Harold H Lewis
Jeffrey S Lewis
Samuel A Lindsay
William G Lindsay
Harry B Lockwood
James A Logue
Samuel C Logue
Neil Lorensen
Gerald Curtiss Low [Watertown] 2nd Lieutenant (1894-1971) (Evergreen)
William F Lynn
Alfred J Magee
Harold T Magee
Nicholas A Manion
Joseph Marino
George A McCleary
John A McCleary
William M McDonnell
Alexander M McLean
James McLean
Henry J McGough
Martin P McGough
Charles S McGowan
John V McGowan
Thomas F McGrath
Frank A Menetrey
Dewey R Menetrey
H Morton Merriman
John T Miller
Angelo Moscariello
Frank Moscariello
Vinton W Mitchell
Joseph W Moddy
Wilbur J Moore
Robert J Mulhern
William Mulhern
James F Neagle
John A Ney
Edward F O’Brien
John J O’Brien
James E O’Connell
Edward F O’Connor
John H O’Connor
Earl M O’Dell, Private KIA
John O O’Donnell
Joseph O O’Donnell
Charles E Olson
Frederick T Olson
Louis Olson
Thomas J O’Neil
Raymond E Parker
Byron F Parsons
Albert E Patterson
John D Peacocke
George H Peck (1899-1918), Private * DOW
Walter Pendleton Jr.
Fred Pfeiffer
Alfred L Platt
Albert J Pope
Howard F Potter
Joseph W Purdy
J Harry Purvis
Frederick S Quick
Alfred Reichenbach Corporal (1898-1957)
August Reichenbach
Frank M Reinhold
John J Reirdon
Warren Reynolds
Charles Rikonski
John Rinkavage
Leonard Rinkavage
Frank S Roberts
Michael J Roberts
John Rodden
Philip Rodden
Thomas Rodden
Howard H Rogers
John A Rogers
John Rowe Private (1900-)
Alfred E Roy Jr.
George B Ryan
Clarence B Ryder
Eddir Sakalikes
Edward Schlenesky
Edmond Schreier
WilliamSchreier
Harris F Scott
Robert O Semple
De Leo Severia
Michael Shea
Patrick Shea
Joseph G Shields
Thomas H Shields
Hulet Shipman
Earl W Skilton
George W Skilton
Frederic W Slater
Justin L Smith
Seymour R Smith
Howard A Snyder
Frederick L Steindal
Harry C Steiskal
Joseph A Steponaipis
Olaf W Swanson, Private * KIA
Francis Synnot
William S Taylor *
William J Tetro
Herve Therrault
Charles L Thompson
Fred C Thompson
George L Thompson
Clarence V Thunberg
George I Tompkins
Jesse W Traver
G Belden Trinkaus
Nicholas Waehn
William Walton
Charles Warner
Charlton B Weed
William H Weiss
Samuel H Wheeler
James F White
Thomas F White
Robert W Whittaker
John H Wiehn
Charles F Wilkerson
Kneeland B Wilkes
Edward R Williams *
Francis Williams
Augustus Wood
Edward C Woodruff
Frederick B Woodward
Herbert D Woodward
LeRoy G Woodward, 1st Lieutenant * DNB (1893 – 1918)
Russell J Woodward
Harrold H Wright
John J Young
John (Jonas) Zuraitis, Private DOD
Samuel Zuraitis
Additional Names
While researching information for the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the World War I Monument, several sources provided additional names of men and women who lived in Watertown and Oakville whose names were not included on the monument. These names include individuals who may have been living elsewhere at the time of their enlistment, those who moved here after their service, and/or are buried in a cemetery here in Watertown or Oakville. They are listed here according to source.
CT Military Questionaires
The following names appeared in Watertown from the collection of Connecticut WWI Military Questionnaires, 1919–1920, available from the Connecticut State Library in Hartford:
- Richard Graham Bradley (1900-1946) WIA (gassed at Mercatel Switch) – living in Oakville and working at Oakville Pin Company at the time he enlisted, Richard was born in Roxbury and is buried in Forestville.
- James Stone Dawson
- Margaret Mary Fitzgerald (1884-1939) – (although listed in Watertown, Margaret Mary was from Winsted)
- Mike John
- Clarence Edmond Johnson
- Fenton Ferris Niver Quartermaster (1889 – 1964) (New Pine Grove Cemetery, Waterbury)
Rosters of Connecticut WWI Service
The following names do not appear on the Watertown Monument, but appear in the list of Veterans from Watertown on Fold3 in the CT WWI Service Rosters.
Wilfrid Paul Atwood [Watertown] Merchant Marine 1st Class at the end of WWI, but went on to become a Commander in the US Navy (1889-1962)
Joseph Bianco [Watertown] (1894-
Sherman R Birdsall [Watertown] (1894-
Richard Graham Bradley [Watertown] (may have deserted)
John Cassotto [Watertown]
Harry Engman Charlot [Watertown]
Edward M Chilinksi [Watertown]
Maurice I Clayman [Watertown]
Garwood E Dains [Watertown]
James Stone Dawson [Watertown]
Theodore F Downing [Watertown]
John Drenseck [Watertown]
Richard Edge [Watertown]
Paul H Freeman [Watertown]
George W Griffin [Watertown]
Walter G Hauser [Watertown]
Clarence Edmond Johnson [Watertown]
Benjamin Lancaster [Watertown]
Henry Joseph LaPlante [Watertown]
Arthur Larson [Watertown]
Henry L Olson [Watertown]
Ivan Omilchuck [Watertown]
John N Pharr [Watertown]
Terry A Rodden [Watertown]
John L Tedaldi [Watertown]
Wilbur C Valine [Watertown]
In A Cemetery in Watertown
Evergreen
The following individuals not listed in any of the sources above, but we honor their service as they are buried in Evergreen Cemetery with military honors:
Richard Olaf Anderson [Massachusetts] (1893-1985)