WY - Hermann Frese, 18, Fort D.A. Russell, 19 July 1920

Kimmyk

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Ernest Carl Hermann Frese of Linn, Kansas was serving in the army at Fort D.A. Russell, Wyoming when he sent a letter to his sister dated July 19, 1920. He was never seen or heard from again.
Hermann was born in October 1902 and falsified his age to join the army during WW1. His parents included him on the 1920 census, but he had never returned home.
 
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Hermann Frese
 

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Did the sister ever share the contents of the letter? Did he write anything unusual or concerning?
 
To me it seems a bit impersonal, but to my knowledge she didn't find that concerning.
Did the sister ever share the contents of the letter? Did he write anything unusual or concerning?
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I thought I would try and transcribe the letter, just to see what we can get out of it. I am struggling on the bottom section.

"Fort (Camp is crossed out) D. A. Russell,

July 19 1920

Dear Sister,

I received your letter and was glad to hear from you.

I am well and feeling fine, and hope this letter will reach you in the same way.

The weather is fine out here.

I had my Picture taken but it did not get (?) good.

Well I have to go to (?) --(word)-- --(word)-- I will close here this time.

With Best Regards and Wishes, Herman

--(word)-- Herman Frese (?)

Troop (?) "B" (?) --(word)-- Bat (short for Battalion?)

Fort D.A. Russell --(word)--"

If anyone has any alternate ideas for the missing words, let me know.
 
A couple of things struck me that could be of use:

The letter is headed with "Knights of Columbus" . While Hermann may have just happened across this bit of paper, it might have some relevance. From a quick bit of googling, the Knights of Columbus are a Catholic Fraternal organisation named after Christopher Columbus found in the late nineteenth-century. They were a mutual benefit society to help members who fell on hard times, and sought to promote the role of Catholicism in American life, which during the late nineteenth-century had been marginalised. It was open to Catholic men aged 18 and over, and therefore Hermann would have been eligible to be a member by late-1919.

Was he a member? The Knights of Columbus were originally an Irish-American group, but by 1920 they included all Catholics generally. Was Hermann a Catholic? Kimmyck, you probably know best - did he have a German/Swiss/Austrian Catholic background? If he was Catholic, Hermann would have been eligible to become a member by October 1919, a few months before he disappeared. Alternatively, we already know he lied about his age to join the army, and so may have continued in this lie to join the Knights before October 1919. If so, could the Knights have given him some money to set himself up with a new life after the war? Did he sustain some kind of injury during the war or perhaps get Spanish flu that was rife at the time, which would have caused the Knights to give him some monetary aid?

I think if we could get access to his WW1 records, this might be of some help to get a picture of what his life was like in 1920. I am in the UK, and I know our WW1 records are now open. Is it the same in the States?
 
"Fort (Camp is crossed out) D. A. Russell,

July 19 1920

Dear Sister,

I received your letter and was glad to hear from you.

I am well and feeling fine, and hope this letter will reach you in the same way.

The weather is fine out here.

I had my Picture taken but it did not get (?) good.

Well I have to go to scool (sic) -- I will close here this time.

With Best Regards and Wishes, Herman
Corporal- Herman Frese (?)

Troop D 15th cavalry

Fort D.A. Russell --(word)--"

If anyone has any alternate ideas for the missing words, let me know.[/QUOTE]
 
Herman was a Lutheran of German heritage. But I think it's a good idea to check out knights of Columbus anyway, there could be something there! Most of military personelle records from ww1 were lost in a fire, so we are still trying to track down and recreate his military info. As far as we know he was well and uninjured when he wrote letter and that is last contact. It seems the family held out hope he was alive for years, but finally accepted it during the 1950s
 
Thanks Kimmyk for your updates to the letter.

It's interesting that he mentions school here. Was he doing a high school qualification, or some sort of training through the army? If so, there might be a clue to what he planned to do next.

As for the Knights of Columbus, doing a little more reading I have discovered that they were involved in organising recreational activities for the soldiers (of all religions) at various bases, while also working as Catholic chaplains to those who wanted them. I am not sure if the Knights operated in Fort D A Russell, but they certainly did elsewhere. They were also involved in finding work for returning veterans after the war, and if Hermann became connected to them, they might have provided this service. More info can be found here: http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/knightsc.htm

Do you have any evidence that he was discharged from the army at the end of the war? Or any evidence for his army career at all? I'm sure if he went AWOL/died during his time in the army there would be plenty of documentary evidence for that. For that reason, I just have this hunch that he lived beyond 1920 and perhaps put the wheels in motion for his new life at Fort D A Russell.
 
Do you know what date of birth he used on his draft registration card? Also, his company should have kept musker rolls. They may still be in St Louis Mo. I know there was a fire, but you can try. It won't go by his SS#, it is a different number they use and right now I can't think what it is called. I am on a sight that has draft cards and I see several Frese. Let me know if I can help. Love military history.
 
Also, can we share here comments from message boards from Ancestry.com?
 
I believe he was indeed receiving some schooling by the army. Wyoming history site has photos of classes at fort Russell. It seems very likely he may have chosen to remain in Wyoming, he did not get along with his father.

I also found old wyoming newspapers online, an article about an unidentified man killed by train in 1921 could be a possibility, but not able to find further information there.
 
Have not yet had any luck with military records. St. Louis needs his army # to gather information, but I have not been able to find it. Statement of service cards or muster-in records should be in Kansas, but the historical society and adjutant general don't seem to have them. I think he would have listed birthday as 1899 or 1900
 
Yes you can share. Stephanie is my cousin and is carrying on with the research her mother was doing for our grandmother (herman's sister).
 
Kimmyk there is a free site where you can search called FamilySearch.org.
I entered his name, changed a few years and there are several FRESE listed. There is also access to census and military draft records. If you can figure out which one he is, then you can back track and get his serial number. It would help if you knew where he enlisted. My grandfather was from Kentucky, but he enlisted in Michigan I believe. And an Uncle received his ss# from California when he enlisted there. Military records can be tricky.
 

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