Article Contributed on: 1/19/2007 2:42:33 PM
Around 150 men from Golden served in the effort to defeat the Central Powers of the Great War, as World War I was originally often called. Here are the rest of the Golden heroes who died serving our country in that war, here and "over there":
Albert Edward Shepherd died just two days before the war ended, on November 9, 1918. The Private was severely wounded in heavy fighting in France as a member of the 354th Infantry, 89th Division, and later died of his injuries. He was 24 years old. Shepherd likely was fatally wounded in the same action as fellow Goldenite
Charles Neeley, who also served in the same division. Aside from Golden, Shepherd also lived at Craig and joined the Army with one of the Moffat County contingents in April of 1918. Albert Edward Shepherd is buried at the Golden Cemetery.
Charles Vere Neely, a brave soldier who escaped injury despite being countless times in harm's way, fell in combat just 50 minutes before the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. He died in France while serving with the 354th Infantry, 89th Division, the same as fellow Goldenite
Albert Shepherd. He went as part of the draft contingent from Golden on April 27, 1918, and received his training at Camp Funston. Neely was born in Cheyenne County, Nebraska, the oldest of three sons (Charles,
Chester and
Harlan) of
Calvin and
Ella Bliss Neely, all three of whom served in the Great War. Charles was well-known and endeared to people throughout Kimball County, Nebraska, even after he left for Colorado in 1906. He lived at Golden, Fruitdale and Maple Grove before he joined the war. He was the grandson of
Ambrose K. Bliss, who served in the Union Army with the Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War. In a letter written to his family after Neely fell, his closest friend,
George H. Ware, who served with him in France, said:
"In reply to your request of Feb. 10th will say that your brother, Chas. V. Neely, was the closest and best friend I had in our company. We were both runners for the first platoon, in the same squad, marched and slept together every night from the time we first went to the trenches until Nov. 11. I guess I knew him bewtter than anyone else. In the company for we were the best of buddies and bunkies for so long. We slept together in dugouts, hay-lofts, wine-cellars, or the bottom of the trench in the mud and water, likewise on the open ground and in the holes we were so often forced to dig for ourselves."
"A better buddy in every way, a more fearless soldier, a quicker or more dependable runner, and a surer guide, than your brother, never lived."
"On the morning of Nov. 11th we were marching along the road going to take over the front line again. We sat down to rest beside a big saw mill just back of Pouilly, France, and while resting there a Roche 77 shell landed right in the midst of our company, killing three men outright, one of whom was the first lieutenant commanding the company that day, as the captain was commanding the battalion, and wounding twenty-five others, one of whom was Charles. At first we thought he had been killed instantly, as he did not move, being badly wounded in the head, back and side. Soon he showed signs of life, though never regained consciousness and was immediately rushed to a hospital in a waiting ambulance. A few days later we received official notice from the hospital that he had died, together with three other men who were wounded at the same time. This shell hit at 10:10 a.m., just fifty minutes before the armistice took effect."
"I am very sorry, but now we have no record of the number of the hospital he was sent to. I do not think there is any possivility of his being alive, judging from the nature of his wounds. Believe me, the death of your brother caused me as much as if he were my own brother."
Neely Post No. 22 of the American Legion at Kimball, Nebraska is named in Neely's honor. Charles Vere Neely is buried at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery at Romagne, France.
David Williams was a casualty because of the same war as fellow Goldenites, though he died on American soil. Williams died on October 18, 1918 at Camp McArthur, Texas, of the great influenza epidemic brought over to his post from Europe by his comrades, who were among the first in the world exposed to the deadly disease because of their service there. Therefore Williams was considered by the Golden community to be a casualty of the war himself, and was publicly honored and respected as such. At the time of his death Williams was a member of Company 2, School Troop, awaiting transfer to the war zone in Europe. He was the son of
Mr. and
Mrs. W.R. Williams, and spent most of his life in Golden, living on 9th Street. Williams was one of the well-known and popular young men of Golden, and graduated from Golden High School in the Class of 1912. He had joined the service in July of 1918, and was training at Camp McArthur.