Obituaries

 

Le Verne A. Belding

 

Fayette County Leader

Thursday, August 4, 1921

page 4

 

WAUCOMA 

(From the Sentinel)

LeVerne A. Belding was born in Waucoma, Iowa, December 21, 1898, and died of wounds received in battle, in France, October 21, 1918, aged 19 years, 10 months.

LeVerne was admired by his boy friends and schoolmates for his happy disposition and sunny outlook on life. He went through his school life, when the days were all too short for the fun he put into them. He was a member of the class of 1917, and was awarded his diploma at the time of his enlistment, April 30, 1917. He spent six weeks training at Ft. Des Moines, then was transferred to Camp Dodge, where he remained until September 28, when he was sent to Camp Cody at Deming, New Mexico. Here he remained until June 15, 1918, when the Sand Storm Division of which he was a member, went east, and embarked for service overseas.

Upon arrival in France he was placed in a radio school; when his work there was finished he was transferred to the 26th Division, and was upon the firing line for several weeks. Upon that fateful day when his company consisting of 128 men, went over the top at 5 o'clock in the morning, only 25 of them were alive at the close of the battle at 3 p.m. Only 3 returned without scars of conflict, the others, dead or wounded, lay upon the field of battle. To the ambulance carriers who were gathering the wounded for the hospital he said, "Never mind me, go on, attend to the others who have to finish the work so many other lives are depending upon."

Attendance at the funeral Sunday is estimated at from 1,200 or 1,500 to as high as 3,000.

 

-Transcribed and submitted by Jeanie Belding for Iowa in the Great War