52 Ancestors - Week 4 Witness to History

 This week's theme gave me a bit of a dilemma I hadn't realized. Rather than not having anyone to write about this week, I actually had trouble choosing from multiple choices. So I peeked ahead to some other themes and chose to focus this week on my maternal great grandfather Louis Bill Sr.

 

Louis Bill far left

Louis was the tenth child born to Godfrey and Anna Elizabeth (Zoss) and their sixth born in the US. He was born in Roanoke, Illinois on March 28 1892. He was of an age that he registered for the draft for both WWI and WWII.

Louis registered for the draft as part of the first draft on June 5 1917.

He married Carrie Poppinga on Febraury 28, 1918 and entered the army on April 28 at Camp Grant in Winnebago, IL.  The 360th Infantry 90th Division sailed from New York on June 14, 1918 on the Olympic.

 

 

 Louis served in Europe for nearly a year. I remember being told that he was awarded a purple heart while overseas having been exposed to mustard gas. It had done permanent damage to his lungs. 

He departed from St. Nazaire, France aboard the USS Mongolia to Camp Devons and officially released from Military service on June 14, 1919.

By the outbreak of WWII Louis had moved with his wife and children from Benson, IL up to Chicago.

In 1942 the government initiated the fourth draft registration, sometimes called the Old Man's Registration because it asked for men from 45 to 64 to register. At age 50 Louis registered for the draft.

Louis lived to be 81 years old and passed away on September 7, 1973.