Military Memorial
World War I
“With four million of their kind they doffed civilian clothes and put on the brown uniform of soldiers of the republic and crusaders in the world’s redemption. … With cheerfulness, high courage, and a lofty idealism they went forth to pay the supreme sacrifice for a safer, a juster, a more humane way of living.”
“They as well as we knew what they were fighting for. … In the terror and horror and death of the battle flame they saw justice, righteousness, peace and the brotherhood that does not exploit the weak but serves them.”
“Their Alma Mater records their names immortally in her Book of Golden Deeds, and proudly pledges herself to keep them in perpetual remembrance.”
—Excerpted from Wofford President Henry Nelson Snyder’s memorial address on June 1, 1919
FRANK L. CHENNAULT
Class of 1917
Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army
Date of death: January 25, 1919
Died of flu.
EARL A. DAVIDSON
Class of 1914
Private, U.S. Army
Date of birth: October 24, 1890
Date of death: October 24, 1918
Died of pneumonia.
In 1918, Davidson went to France as a private in the sanitary squad of the 13th Division. On his 28th birthday, Davidson passed away from pneumonia in London, England, and is buried there.
ROBERT T. FLETCHER
Class of 1916
Private, U.S. Army
Date of birth: October 31, 1892
Date of death: October 7, 1918
Killed in action in France.
Fletcher was killed in action by a mustard gas attack while fighting in France.
CHARLES D. GRAHAM
Wofford Fitting School
Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps
Date of birth: December 13, 1898
Date of death: March 17, 1918
Killed in an automobile accident while serving on active duty.
The Wofford College bulletin says that he was “killed accidentally by his own side.”
THOMAS C. HERBERT
Class of 1914
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Date of birth: March 17, 1892
Date of death: February 20, 1919
Died of pneumonia following a bout of influenza.
Herbert was born in Laurens, South Carolina. He taught school near Irmo and Hartsville after graduating from Wofford. Herbert then enrolled in the University of South Carolina’s School of Law in 1916. In 1917, he attended First Officer’s Training Camp at Fort Oglethorpe and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He was sent to Langres, France, in early December 1918, where he oversaw the Advance Motor Truck Supply Depot for nine months. While he was gathering evidence for court, Herbert fell ill and died.
WILLIAM A. HUDGENS
Class of 1897
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Date of birth: September 26, 1878
Date of death: October 8, 1918
Killed in action.
Hudgens was born in Honea Path, South Carolina. He enlisted as a soldier in the Spanish-American War and was elected the captain of Company H of the South Carolina regiment. When the United States entered WWI, he once again entered the service. He was stationed for several months at Camp Jackson and Camp Sevier. At Camp Sevier, he was promoted to battalion adjutant. He was sent to an area near Montbrehain, France, with the 13th Division in May of 1918.
THOMAS D. LAKE JR.
Class of 1914
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Date of birth: January 19, 1895
Date of death: September 30, 1918
Killed in action.
From Laurens County, Lake went into the cotton business with his father after graduating from Wofford. In May 1917, he committed to service and went to the First Officer’s Training Camp at Fort Oglethorpe. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant three months later and was assigned to Company B, 371st Infantry at Camp Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. The unit was sent to France, arriving in April 1918. Lake completed special training at Châtillon. His commanding officer recognized Lake for remarkable bravery in the Champagne offensive on September 28, 1918. He was killed two days later by a “bursting shell.” Lake is buried in the village of Ardeine in the Champagne district of France. He was described as a model officer and “dependable in every sense of the word,” according to the Wofford College Bulletin Vol. IV, July 1919, No. 3, Memorial Issue.
JOSEPH MARION LANHAM JR.
Class of 1915
Private, U.S. Army
Date of birth: December 24, 1894
Date of death: October 7, 1918
Died of flu.
From Spartanburg, South Carolina, Lanham died of the flu while he was a medical student in Philadelphia.
CLARENCE A. LEWIS
Class of 1916
Private, U.S. Army
Date of death: September 30, 1918
ERNEST F. MCWHIRTER
Class of 1904
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Date of birth: January 15, 1883
Date of death: February 1, 1918
Died in an accident.
Born in Jonesville, South Carolina, McWhirter was a business leader in the Upstate. His military career began on April 8, 1916, with his election into the service as a first lieutenant of the Jonesville Company of the Coast Artillery. In July of 1918, he was called to federal service, traveling in August to Fort Moultrie. He died from the accidental discharge of a pistol.
JOHN T. MONROE
Class of 1913
Yeoman Second Class, U.S. Navy
Date of birth: April 17, 1890
Date of death: October 10, 1918
Died of flu.
FRANK G. MONTGOMERY
Class of 1914
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Date of birth: December 24, 1893
Date of death: March 6, 1918
Killed in combat.
Born in Spartanburg, Montgomery studied at Yale University after graduating from Wofford. At Yale, he earned a second bachelor’s degree of philosophy with high honors in the engineering department. He was recognized as an exceptional serviceman, selected among a group of 12 peers to complete further training in Hythe, England. Montgomery was honored with a Brevet Pin by the French. On March 6, 1918, Montgomery and the pilot of the plane he was in lost control of the aircraft during combat. The plane crashed, and both died on impact.
WILLIAM M. NICHOLLS
Class of 1911
Second Lieutenant, Royal Artillery
Date of birth: December 1, 1891
Date of death: September 26, 1915
Killed in action.
Nicholls spent 1907-08 as a freshman at Wofford. He then attended The Citadel for two years, before being appointed to cadetship in the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Before graduation in June 1914, he resigned from the academy to study law; he then left law school to join the British army. Nicholls was killed in action in Flanders Fields.
MELVIN C. ROGERS
Wofford Fitting School
Private, U.S. Army
Date of birth: December 7, 1887
Date of death: October 10, 1918
Died of wounds.
HUBERT M. SMITH
Class of 1915
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Date of birth: October 8, 1894
Date of death: November 9, 1918
Killed in action.
Smith was from Hendersonville, North Carolina. He attended Wofford for two years before transferring to the University of North Carolina, where he finished general studies and took classes in the law. He was sent to the First Officers’ Training Camp at Fort Oglethorpe and was assigned to Company K, 324th Regiment, 81st Division. Later, at Camp Jackson, he was promoted to first lieutenant before being sent to France. Two days before the armistice, Smith was killed while leading his platoon. Just before his death, Smith sent a letter home writing that fighting in the war is fighting a battle of the ages for the noblest causes. He said that he was willing to sacrifice his life.
THOMAS R. SUMMERS
Class of 1917
Sergeant, U.S. Army
Date of birth: January 24, 1897
Date of death: August 7, 1918
Died of wounds.
JOHN M. THOMAS
Class of 1920
Private, South Carolina Army
Date of death: February 1, 1919
Died of flu.
ARTHUR WELLING
Wofford Fitting School
Date of birth: May 11, 1893
Date of death: January 21, 1918
Killed in a railroad accident.