Due to the passage of time, there are probably few people living today who knew or even spoke to any of the Bayonne servicemen who died in World War I. Eighty-seven names are listed in the state archives, but the actual number is higher. For most, the 100th anniversary of their deaths will occur during the coming year, and it’s fitting that we remember them because they were and remain a part of Bayonne.
Then, as now, Bayonne had many immigrants, and many gave their all for their adopted country. Sixteen men, including Stanley Grzybowski of 51st Street, are listed as being born in Russia, Poland, and Austria-Hungary. Though many were Polish, Poland was not an independent country at the time. Eight of the dead were born in Ireland, including Frank Freeman of Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, and 19th Street in Bayonne. The remaining six immigrants listed were from Italy, including Joseph Mongialomini of Sicily and Avenue C. In all, about one third of the young men were born overseas.
They had familiar Bayonne names like Cornelius Lefante of 19th Street, John Harz of Avenue C, and Patrick Fitzpatrick of West 30th. Their family names are still in the Bayonne phonebook, but their families know them only as faded, sepia photographs.
Sharing the Sorrow
No part of the city was spared from grieving for so many young men. From the Tisco family on East 7th Street and the Wades of Evergreen Street to the Ulozas on Prospect Avenue and the Suydams on West 43rd, everyone knew a family who had lost a son, brother, father, uncle, or cousin.
One reason for the high death toll was the influenza epidemic of 1918. So many men in close quarters allowed the disease to run rampant. At least 35 Bayonne soldiers in their 20s died due to disease, primarily influenza. This scourge continued throughout the war and into the months following. It was as deadly as the bullets and bombs. A young man like John Russell of East 25th Street could survive the battles of Verdun, Chateau-Thierry, Saint Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne, only to succumb to influenza in February 1919.
The First Shots
The war began in 1914. There were three years of trench warfare and stalemate until the United States entered in 1917. We began to send men overseas in late 1917. Among the first casualties was Harold Andrews, who was killed in action at Gouzeacourt, France, in November of that year. The death toll climbed significantly with the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne campaigns in September and October 1918. Twelve Bayonne men died in September 1918, including Felix Ramatowski of Broadway, Martin Stanton of 11th Street, and Tony Kamalski of 17th Street, who were all killed in action on Sept. 28.
The worst month, though, was October when at least 33 Bayonne men died. The 312th Calvary Regiment of the famed 78th Infantry Lightning Division was the “point of the wedge” during these campaigns. Six Bayonne members of the regiment died during October: William Lauenstein of 14th Street, John Chula of 22nd Street, John Harchar of 23rd Street, Michael Sullivan of Avenue E, John Szalyko of 19th Street, and Wasil Ucinowicz of Avenue C.
The Last Shots
When the Armistice was signed in November 1918, the U.S. government faced the question of what to do with the roughly 80,000 men who were buried in temporary graves in France and Belgium. Eventually, a compromise was reached, when the government agreed to pay to repatriate the remains of any American killed during the war. However, General John Pershing was among those proposing that the families let their sons lie where they were buried with their units in special cemeteries in France and Belgium. About 40 percent of the families agreed. These soldiers remain buried in American cemeteries, mostly in rural France.
General Pershing had strong views about these cemeteries. He wanted to avoid the hodgepodge of Gettysburg with divisions and units building their own monuments and taking undue credit for certain victories or actions. As head of the American Battle Monuments Commission, he insisted that the government approve every monument and memorial erected overseas.
Cemeteries in France
Due to Pershing, we have the serene American cemeteries with rows and rows of crosses on manicured lawns with an occasional Star of David like the one above the grave of Jacob Mannis of Avenue C in the Oise-Aisne Cemetery, Fere-En-Tardenois, France.
Six Bayonne men are buried at the peaceful St. Mihiel Cemetery outside of Thiaucourt, France. Patrick Kane of West 30th Street was once a neighbor of Harold Connelly of the Boulevard. They are neighbors again in Plot A, rows 18 and 19 at St. Mihiel. There is a special plaque at the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery in Romagne for Michael Holmes, an Irish immigrant who lived on Silver Street and is missing in action. You can also visit the graves of 19 other Bayonne men who are buried there, including John Esker, formerly of 293 Broadway now in Plot D, row 39, grave 40.
If you do visit any of the World War I cemeteries in Europe, you’ll be moved by the astonishing number of young men who died for our country—believing that it was the war to end all wars. Adding to our sense of collective loss is the grim reality that it was not.—BLP.
