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Not My Relatives, but We Still Honor and Remember Them

/ M. J. McKinley / Leave a comment

Memorial day, 2026, and I attended the small-town Memorial Day Ceremony sponsored by the local American Legion post. There were no impressive fly-overs or celebrities present. Just regular folks, some veterans, some not, all gathered at the small veterans memorial park to remember. There was the standard high school honor guard bringing in the colors, the playing of the National Anthem & the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance as well as the reading of “In Flanders Fields.” I watched as just after the 3-shot volley & during the playing of Taps by the lone trumpet a man across the street stopped his pickup and stood in reverence to the fallen.

The main speaker for the event was a General from the nearby military base. He reminded us why we were gathered & the importance of continuing to remember those who came before and gave all for the country where we live freely. He challenged us to step up to the memorial and find a name and then research the story of that person—to find out where they went to school, who they were & what happened to them & share it with someone. So I figured I would take up that challenge. I already knew the stories of two men on the wall as I had helped fill in some blanks in their stories for a church record book a few years ago. But I figured I would try to find the story of someone else. So here goes…

The wall only contains 18 names, six from WWI, six from WWII, five from Vietnam & one from the Middle East Conflict-War on Terrorism. I chose PFC Jim Kirby from the WWI list.

First, I looked at Newspapers.com. PFC Kirby’s name was included with others on November 9, 1919 as Madison County, AL prepared to honor the 1 year anniversary of Armistice Day & remember those lost during the war. His name was listed on the honor roll in the paper every couple of years in the 1920’s, with the final listing on June 1, 1931 as Memorial Day was observed. One entry in The Huntsville Times for July 14, 1928 headlined that the “Names of Madison County’s War Dead to be Included on Great Birmingham Memorial Tablet.” Jim Kirby was listed with other “Men From Madison County Who Lost Their Lives During the World War” but this time toward the bottom of the list under another heading, “Colored.” I looked at this part of the list a little closer & found that some of the other names on the local Veterans Memorial were also here, James Burks, Will Davis, and Dennis Fulks, all on the “Colored” roll. This made me curious to find out about all of them, not just Jim Kirby.

Then, of course I went to Ancestry.com and Fold3.com to see what I could find on these men. There wasn’t much to find about their lives before they were drafted into the Army. I found their Draft cards on Ancestry.com and other lists of military service as well. The big hit was the Alabama Department of Archives & History collection of WWI Service Records. So At least I think I have found some basic information about their military service. But I can’t say I am fully confident of all of it.

Private James Alexander Burks was born July 28, 1896 or 1897. His records give conflicting information. His WWI draft card lists him as working for the United States Cast Iron Pipe & Foundry Company in Chattanooga, TN.

He was inducted into Military service on August 26, 1918 and was transported to Camp Sherman in Chillicothe, OH.

His WWI Service Record indicates that he was a part of the 45th Company, 12th Training Battalion, 158th Depot Brigade. This unit was a training unit to prepare soldiers for deployment to combat units. He died of bronchial pneumonia on October 12, 1918. He was only in the service for almost 2 months.

Private First Class Will Davis was a bit more difficult to research due to the common name. I narrowed things down from the Alabama Archives records as the only “Colored” Will Davis from Madison County who had died while in the service. He was  born on October 15, 1894 and according to his draft card, was a Railroad trackman. His card indicates that he was born in Tanner, AL which is actually in Limestone county. Also of note, he submitted his draft card in West Virginia.

His WWI Service Record indicates that he was inducted on January 14, 1918 at Autauga County, AL. He was part of the Casual Company, 421st Reserve Labor Battalion. This was a commonly segregated unit that served stateside camps with loading supplies, construction and logistical support. The “Casual Company” designation means that he was not permanently assigned to a unit. Will Davis died of pneumonia on October 17, 1918. The card indicates he was a Private & not a Private First Class as listed on the Memorial. So again, I’m not really sure if I have all of the information correct on this young man.

Private Dennis Fulks was born March 6, 1893 in Madison, AL. I found him in the 1900 and 1910 US Census records living with his parents and sister, Mary. He worked on the family farm. His draft card indicates that he was married.

An Alabama Marriage record found on Ancestry.com lists Dennis “Fowlkes” as marrying Mosetta Matthews on February 10, 1913. Of note on this record is that he did not sign his name, only made “his mark” with an “X” just as he did on the draft card.

Private Fulks is listed on the “Embarkation” list from Hoboken, NY as traveling 3rd class with Company K of the 809th Pioneer Infantry. The ship is not listed. His wife, Mrs. Mose E. Fulks, is listed as the person to notify in case of emergency. Also note that his name was spelled “Dennies” on this list.

According to his WWI Service Record, Private Fulks was inducted into the Army on September 1, 1918. He was part of the 71st Company of the 163rd Depot Brigade which was his training unit in Iowa. He arrived for overseas duty on September 23, 1918 serving with Company K, 809th Pioneer Infantry. This was a segregated unit that served as combat support, construction and logistics. He died of lobar pneumonia on October 8, 1918. He only served for a little over a month. While initially buried in France, his remains were returned to his family in 1920.

So this now makes 3 young men who died of pneumonia. What is that all about? If we look at history from that time, there was an epidemic of the Spanish Influenza that spread rapidly through military units. According to a public health report entitled “The U.S. Military and the Influenza Pandemic of 1918 to 1919,” written by Carol R Byerly in 2010 for the NIH, the Spanish Influenza surged during the Fall months of 1918. She reports that 20 to 40% of the U.S. Army were affected by the flu or associated pneumonia. The close quarters and unsanitary conditions of many camps made for easy spread of the infection. These three men were victims of this epidemic.

Moving on to our final service member, and the one I originally intended to research, Private First Class Jim Kirby…He was born on August 13, 1895 in Harris Station, AL. This was also in Limestone County.

He was inducted on October 29, 1917. He is on the transport list from Hoboken, NY on the ship, Vauban on June 14, 1918 as a part of Company F, 366th Infantry, 92nd Division. His mother, Mrs. Jinnie Kirby, of  Route 1, Madison, AL is listed as his emergency contact.

His WWI Service Record confirms that he was assigned to Company F of the 366th Infantry which was part of the 92nd Division or “Buffalo” Division. The 92nd Division was a segregated unit. Company F was a frontline rifle company and was involved in combat in France. According to his service card, Private First Class Kirby was killed in action on November 11, 1918, yes, that November 11, the final day of the war, the day when peace was declared.

There is another record card for PFC Kirby. It tells of his burial and reburial.

As was common during wartime, casualties were buried in a temporary cemetery, then reburied when a Memorial Cemetery was established. The back of this card states that on August 17, 1922, he was reburied in his final resting place, Grave 16, Row 4, Block A of St. Mihiel American Cemetery, in Thiaucourt, France.

These days, Veteran’s Day is a holiday to honor those who have put on the uniform to support our country, concentrating on the living, while Memorial Day honors those we have lost. However, what we call Veteran’s Day started as Armistice Day, celebrating the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month when the “Great War” ended. It was a day to honor those lost in that war and to pray for peace—that nothing like that “world war” would happen again. So I think it is fitting to remember today these men who fell during that war.

May God bless our current veterans and active duty military.

© MJM 2026

An Unfinished Story

/ M. J. McKinley / Leave a comment

I was looking through some of my old genealogy files, trying to organize things & I opened the file of old letters. This letter seemed simple enough and I wanted to find out more about the author, and while I did find some records to fill in his story, I didn’t find enough to complete it. 

The letter: To Arza Millikan (1883-1964), my paternal Great Grandfather. From Wm. C. Millikan. It was postmarked from Newport, R.I. on Nov 20, 1909. And the first page gives more information as to the origin: Fort Adams, R.I. The salutation is “Dear Cousin.”

The transcription is:

Port Adams, R.I.; Nov. 18” 09.; Mr. Arza Millikan, Sheridan, Ind. 
Dear Cousin.
After a long silence on my part I will endeaver to write you a few lines to let you know I am still living and geting on fine, truly hoping you the same. I guess you think I am an interesting one
(2) to correspond with, don’t you?
Well I must admit I am very careless about writing sometimes I fail to write home for weeks at the time and they will wonder what has become of me, You see after a fellow has been away from home so long as I have he gets negligent and fails to write to his own people.
Well I would like to be out in the good
(3) old state of Ind. for a short time anyway and visit all of my kin people I think if nothing prevents I will take a trip out there next spring and see if I can’t find me a nice little Ind. girl. You see I can get 3 month furlough any time I want it now for I have been in the service over seven years and never had a furlough yet
(4) and I know quite a number of fellows in Ind. I have met since in the Army and of course I would go and see them while out there. I may quit Soldiering after I get this enlistment in and if I do I am coming out and settle down in old Ind. I think. So if you know of a nice little Lady friend that would like to correspond with a soldier
(5) just put me wise and I will try and interest her through the mail ha ha enough on that, well old Cus. I like R.I. fairly well and New Port certainly is one good place in the summer-time but cold and windy in winter oh my. I certainly do get good and sick of it here in winter but we don’t have much duty on the outside
(6) in winter time you see we have indoor instructions here in the cold weather we do guard duty of course but we only go on guard about once every three weeks and then only lasts 24 hrs at the time 2 hours on duty and 4 off so we certainly have an easy time and more fun in the summertime than a little.
I think there is more girls in the state of R.I.
(7) than any state I was ever in in all my life. Say Cus when are you going back to New Mexico to live and how do you like that part of the country write and tell me all about yourself and don’t forget to get me a lady friend to correspond with in Ind.
So give all my best regards and tell the Riggs family hello for me.
Your cousin Wm. C. Millikan

So, of course the question is, “Who is Wm. C. Millikan?” Clues in the letter indicate he is a “cousin” of Arza’s. He has been in the military for 7 years. He is familiar with Indiana, where Arza lives & would like to visit again. He is looking for a girl—so he is single. He mentions the Riggs family. There were Riggs who show up on the same page as Arza in the 1900 and 1910 census records for Hamilton County, Indiana. I assume this is who he mentioned in the letter.  

First, perhaps his military service records would give more information as to who he was. I was able to find through Ancestry.com some “US Army Register of Enlistment” files from 1798-1914. These files had a William C Millikan listed for several years:

In 1902 he was listed as enlisting on October 8, in Tampa Florida by Lt. Smith for 3 yrs. He was born in Randolph Co, NC; age 26 & 2 months; occupation Farmer; eyes Blue; hair light brown; complexion fair; height 6ft 1 1/2 inches. This connects w/ 7 years in the military as the postmark on the envelope was 1909. 

Looking at the clues from this register, William was born in Randolph County, NC in roughly 1876. I went back to my genealogy files for Millikan’s from Randolph County, NC—there were a lot of them. One that fit the date of birth was William C. Millikan, son of Thomas Franklin Millikan (1846-1924). This William was the grandson of John Kelly Millikan (1826-1908) who was the brother of Clark Millikan (1824-1926), the grandfather of Arza Millikan (1883-1964), to whom the letter was written. William and Arza would have been 2nd cousins. One assumption is that William may have visited Indiana to work on Clark Millikan’s farm for a season. There were other relatives who did this. 

I don’t have good sources for William C Millikan. Records from other researchers indicate he was born in 1876. He shows up as a 3-year-old in his father’s household in the 1880 US census in Randleman Township, Randolph County, NC.

The 1900 US Census has him listed with his brother, Joseph. They are still in North Carolina, Randleman town of Randleman Township, Randolph County. He is listed as a 23-year-old farmer. His birth date was listed as July 1876. So this seems to coincide with the other records regarding age.

But this is about where the family record ends. I found an obituary for Thomas Millikan,  father of William C. He died in 1924 and the obituary stated that only one of his children, Joseph, was still living. W.C. is in the list of deceased children. The obituary of another brother, Samuel Bentley, who died in 1915, also indicated that all other siblings except Joe had passed away. Other siblings of William had passed away before this letter was written. I have not been able to find an obituary for William. But right now the indication is that he died before 1915. 

So, now that I have some idea of who William might have been, I figured I would look a little more at his military records. As I mentioned, I found records of enlistment on Ancestry.com. The first record from 1902 stated that he was in the “CA” or Coast Artillery, Company 107-117. (The Coast Artillery Corps was a US Army corp established in 1901 to defend the coastlines using heavy artillery.) Continuing on with the enlistment records, William re-enlisted in 1905 and again in 1908. 

Fold3.com had additional records for William’s military service. The “US, Returns from Regular Army Coast Artillery Corps Companies, 1901-1916” records essentially gave a status report of William’s service through the years. 

The first record for Company 117, Coast Artillery for February 1903 has William joining on Feb 3, ’03. He was a private. He was a Sergeant on the report from May 1905 and on Detached service at Ft. Monroe, VA. The report from October 1905 showed that he was discharged on October 7 and reenlisted on October 8 at Fort Fremont, SC. His character was “excellent.” He transferred to the 127th Company at Ft Fremont, SC on June 8, 1907.

In 1908, William was listed as a Private again and was discharged from the 127th Company, Coast Artillery Corps at Ft. Fremont on October 7 with final statement given of his service being “honest & faithful” and his character “very good.” He reenlisted with rank of Private to the 117th Company Coast Artillery Corps at Fort Slocum, NY on October 16th. 

He was on detached service to Ft. Wetherill, RI in January 1909. Then in 1910, he is at Fort Adams, RI which is just across the harbor from Ft. Wetherill. As a side note, most of the forts mentioned are no longer military installations, but several have been preserved as state parks. 

He shows up again in the US Census in 1910 in Newport city, Newport County, RI, Ft Adams. This entry has him listed along with the other soldiers at Ft. Adams. He is reported as being 30 years old.

The last Coastal Artillery return reports that I can find reference his desertion July 8, 1910 from Ft. Adams. The next report indicates that he was “apprehended at Newport, RI and returned to Military Control at Fort Adams RI Aug 6, ’10.” The final “Return of the 117th Company of the Coast Artillery Corps, for the month of September 1910”:

William is listed as being sentenced by a General Court Martial on September 25, 1910 to be Dishonorably Discharged. His services was “not honest and faithful.” So I wonder what happened to William during his time in the Coast Artillery that he went from being a Sergeant with faithful service to a Private, dishonorably discharged for desertion and service that wasn’t honest & faithful. 

This seemed to end what I could find about William. Then I took one more look on Familysearch.org & used their “full-text” search tool. I found some general index cards for Adjutant General communications. There was an index card for his reenlistment in 1908. Then there were cards regarding his desertion July 10 and apprehension August 9, 1910. The last card was from January 24, 1911 regarding clemency. William was listed as a “Mil. Convict, Ft. Adams, R.I.” I then looked at the National Archives to see if the Adjutant General Communication files were listed there but did not find files for 1911. 

So this is the end of the trail on “cousin” William C. Millikan. I haven’t been able to locate any more records for him. My assumptions for his identity may be correct or not. Maybe someday I’ll be able to find another record that completes this unfinished story.

MJM © 2025