Ole's Blog

In case you can’t stay for all 600 words of this post, let me sum it up: It seems that in the course of one four-day battle (perhaps more), Smith Larson went from a healthy, able-bodied Marine private, to a terminally ill veteran with an uncertain diagnosis, bouncing from one hospital to another for the 2-1/2 years until his death. Not “wounded,” though, and board-certified as “not disabled.” Hmmm.

Let’s put together what we’ve found so far about Smith’s medical history. From his birth on 22 April 1877, until 17 Sept. 1918 (following the WW1 Battle of St. Mihiel), no health information whatever has surfaced as of yet. That only proves how little we know. In his Marine records from 1906-1910, the full 4-year hitch, I found no medical notes other than a couple of “no sick days” at various posts. However, for the eleven months following Sept. 1918, we have a flurry of clues. First, revisiting a couple of the “muster rolls” posted earlier.

Sept. 1918

The one above shows that Smith was in combat for all four days of the St. Mihiel offensive, then on the next day “sick in hospital” for two days before transferring to Replacement Battalion on 18 Sept.

The entry below is different from most of the muster rolls, in that it details a period of several months, and seems to concentrate on medical events.

July 1919

I’ll try to translate the abbreviations; accuracy not guaranteed: 16th Company: Field Hospital #16 jd (joined?) 9/17/18 from Command, Enteritis, transferred 9/19/18 to Base Hospital #45, Base Hospital #56 jd? 9/19/18 Bronchitis, Base Hospital #45 jd? 9/19/18 Enteritis acute, transferred 9/24/18 to HT? I was thinking HT might stand for something meaning an active unit, but “Abbreviations.com” lists “Hospital Treatment” and that also makes a lot of sense.  But if that is so, it seems there would be more abbreviations about what hospital and where.

After a gap of about six weeks, we pick up the thread: Field Hospital #1 jd? 11/5/18 from Command, Exhaustion, transferred 11/5/18 to Field Hospital #16, Field Hospital #41 jd? 11/10/18 from Field Hospital #1, transferred 11/11/18, Base Hospital #59 transferred 12/14/18, sailed 7/19/19 on Kroonland, arrived 7/30/19.

If all, or even some, of those entries are hospitalization records, Smith apparently spent at least Nov. 5 to Dec. 14 staying or being transferred from hospital to hospital, and also the period of Sept. 17 to Sept. 24. The period from Sept. 24-Nov. 5, ominously, is unaccounted for. Still unknown whether Smith was hunkered down sick somewhere, or in the thick of combat  so intense that record-keeping may have broken down, in the Battle of Meuse-Argonne (the “Argonne Forest”).

There is one more hospitalization record, coming two days before Smith sailed for home. It appears on one of the muster rolls, and also on this little card.

1919 hospital order

The other document confirms that the “CH” stands for “Camp Hospital.”

Finally (well, actually dated five days earlier than above, but still the final insult), there is this finding of the disability board.

Disability board

How ironic is that? All it mentions is hemerhoids (sic), -preexisting(!) Disability denied.

On a much lower standard of reliability, we have his obituary from the LaCrosse newspaper. It states that Smith suffered from “chronic heart trouble” and “a rare blood disease.” Not very informative. Also that his leg was amputated two weeks before his death. An interesting clue, however tragic.

Perhaps more important, the obit also says Smith was “in the hospital practically all the time since his discharge.”

Hopefully more info may surface later; for now, I am moving on to other areas. I pray that Smith rests in peace throughout all this grilling.

Perhaps I was a bit hasty to pooh-pooh the value of the packet I received from the National Archives. For one thing, it puts an end to my speculation that Smith lied about his age to enlist for WW one. It wouldn’t have worked in his case, since there was record of his first enlistment in 1906.

Enlistment document, 1906

And when “The World War” came around, it turns out that Smith was first denied reenlistment.

Appeal Telegram 1918

The appeal succeeded, as we know. With apologies to cousin Aline, who I’m sure used the best available sources, I am leaning toward this birth date of 22 April 1877, rather than the one in “Larsons and Slettens” (14 April 1876).

It also provides at least a piece of evidence (not too reliable) that Smith was actually living and farming in North Dakota prior to the war. Couple that with the statement in his obituary (even less reliable), that Smith “disposed of his farm” to reenlist, and one might look to the year 1918 for the transfer of that land to Isaac.

But that brings into question just where Isaac, Anna, and their first three sons lived until then? In some other, long-gone, house? In “Uncle Smith’s” house (why?)? Any ideas?

Here’s another big piece. Huge thanks again to cousin Carmen, who located Smith Larson’s obituary from January, 1922.To be sure, there are some misconceptions in it, as well as some new information. “Earl, ND” is not recognized by Google maps. But we know where Smith’s ND connections are, near the hamlet of Skaar. Smith had three brothers living in that area, but no sisters there.

The new information I refer to is the timing of losing his leg: only two months before his death. Still unclear is the underlying cause of  his frequent hospitalization both in the military and later. This article speaks of “chronic heart trouble and a rare blood disease” (Leukemia? Diabetes? Some effect of poison gas?). Let’s hope the forthcoming military records have more clues. So far, from the muster records, we have mention of enteritis, bronchitis, and exhaustion. Also, Smith was older than 42 at his death, either 44 or 45, depending on which birth date is correct. One also wonders who the “several visitors” were: Larsons? Nesseths? or Marine buddies?

Here is the probate notice for Smith, which Carmen found in the archives of the same newspaper.Carmen also sent copies of three of the postcards mentioned earlier. The story is becoming clearer, but more details still promise to emerge.