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Two days later, on 5 Nov 1917, Enright, Gresham, and Hay were buried near the battlefield where they had died. An inscription marked their graves: "Here lie the first soldiers of the illustrious
Republic of the United States who fell on French soil for justice and liberty." Their bodies were
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Hay's mother collapsed upon hearing of his death but in an interview two days later Hay's father, D. Hay, said that "I am proud of my boy if he has given up his life for his country." He was survived by a younger brother Basil, eighteen, and a fourteen-year-old sister Opel.
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281:. By November 1917, he was assigned to Company F along with Corporal James Bethel Gresham and Private Thomas Enright. They were posted in the trenches near the French village of Artois. In the early morning of 3 November 1917, the
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When the United States entered the First World War, Hay was young enough to avoid being drafted. With his father's blessing, he voluntarily enlisted on May 9, 1917. He was among eight men from
Glidden who enlisted that day.
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was renamed Merle Hay Road. A memorial boulder was placed along Merle Hay Road in 1923 and remains up today amidst the commercial development along the road.
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eventually returned to their families and reburied in the United States. Hay was then re-interred in July 1921 in West Lawn
Cemetery in his home town of
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189:(July 20, 1896 – November 3, 1917) was the first Iowa serviceman and perhaps the first American serviceman to die in
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attacked. After an hour of fighting, Hay, Corporal
Gresham, and Private Enright were the first three casualties of the
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farm to Harvey and Carrie Hay. He was the oldest of 3 children. In 1909, the family moved to another farm near
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Monument to James B. Gresham, Merle D. Hay and Thomas F. Enright, designed by
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The first
American military casualty in World War II was also an Iowa native.
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First three
American soldiers to die fighting in World War I, Merle Hay,
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Shortly after Hay's death, the highway running from the west edge of
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Strong, Jared (2006-03-24). "Veterans cast light on memorial".
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club placed a memorial plaque near the entrance to the mall's
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They were first shipped to Fort Logan, Colorado, then to
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Cartoon published in the
November 8, 1917, issue of the
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877:American military personnel killed in World War I
598:"The First American Official Killed In This War"
328:in Des Moines was also named for Hay; the local
662:"Casualty List In First Action Thrills Nation"
182:Merle Hay memorial boulder in Des Moines, Iowa
793:"Glidden Boy First American Killed in France"
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887:United States Army personnel of World War I
782:: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
729:"Proud to have given son to Nation's cause"
715:: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
470:, the last Belgian Army soldier killed, at
452:, the last British Army soldier killed, at
461:, the last French Army soldier killed, at
376:, destroyed by the Germans in October 1940
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791:The Glidden Graphic (November 8, 1917).
639:"The Next Page: Finding Private Enright"
596:Cleverley, J. Michael (December 2003).
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637:Connors, Michael (November 11, 2007).
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615:American Foreign Service Association
381:First soldiers killed in World War I
229:, he was a farm implement mechanic.
444:Last soldiers killed in World War I
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494:10:59 a.m. November 11, 1918
485:10:58 a.m. November 11, 1918
472:10:45 a.m. November 11, 1918
463:10:45 a.m. November 11, 1918
433:soldiers killed, November 3, 1917
423:soldier killed, August 21st, 1914
882:People from Carroll County, Iowa
454:9:30 a.m. November 11, 1918
413:soldier killed, August 4th, 1914
403:soldier killed, August 2nd, 1914
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547:Evening Public Ledger pg7 1917
517:Evening Public Ledger pg1 1917
393:soldier killed, August 2, 1914
389:, the first soldier and first
225:. Before his service with the
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287:American Expeditionary Force
16:American soldier (1896–1917)
892:United States Army soldiers
372:, erected November 1918 in
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725:Evening Public Ledger pg7
658:Evening Public Ledger pg1
429:, one of the first three
265:. He was assigned to the
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532:The Glidden Graphic 1917
217:Merle Hay was born on a
207:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
833:The Des Moines Register
643:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
606:Foreign Service Journal
468:Marcel Toussaint Terfve
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267:16th Infantry Regiment
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193:, along with Corporal
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149:16th Infantry Regiment
734:Evening Public Ledger
667:Evening Public Ledger
477:George Lawrence Price
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279:1st Infantry Division
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153:1st Infantry Division
126:Years of service
727:(November 5, 1917).
660:(November 5, 1917).
450:George Edwin Ellison
437:James Bethel Gresham
391:Imperial German Army
302:James Bethel Gresham
283:Imperial German Army
219:Carroll County, Iowa
195:James Bethel Gresham
79:West Lawn Cemetery,
51:Carroll County, Iowa
800:The Glidden Graphic
483:soldier killed, at
397:Jules-André Peugeot
243:Des Moines Register
233:World War I service
199:Evansville, Indiana
739:Cyrus H. K. Curtis
672:Cyrus H. K. Curtis
459:Augustin Trébuchon
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227:United States Army
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120:United States Army
741:. pp. 1–22.
674:. pp. 1–22.
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852:Find a Grave
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819:. Retrieved
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766:. Retrieved
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699:. Retrieved
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646:. Retrieved
626:. Retrieved
613:(December).
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583:, p. 68
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559:Connors 2007
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500:Bibliography
421:British Army
419:, the first
411:Belgian Army
409:, the first
399:, the first
387:Albert Mayer
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159:Battles/wars
63:(1917-11-03)
872:1917 deaths
867:1896 births
821:January 11,
768:January 11,
701:January 12,
648:January 11,
628:January 12,
570:Strong 2006
549:, p. 7
534:, p. 1
519:, p. 1
479:, the last
401:French Army
374:Bathelémont
304:1917 poster
271:St. Nazaire
191:World War I
163:World War I
147:Company F,
861:Categories
590:References
322:Camp Dodge
318:Des Moines
255:Fort Bliss
213:Early life
88:Allegiance
44:1896-07-20
848:Merle Hay
808:0746-6196
778:cite news
747:2151-3945
711:cite news
680:2151-3945
623:0146-3543
617:: 66–68.
417:John Parr
816:10164185
755:83045211
688:83045211
360:See also
106:Service/
70:, France
763:9355469
696:9355469
330:Kiwanis
259:El Paso
223:Glidden
169:†
138:Private
814:
806:
761:
753:
745:
694:
686:
678:
621:
351:Family
275:France
165:
117:
108:branch
97:
75:Buried
68:Artois
796:(PDF)
601:(PDF)
505:Notes
334:Sears
263:Texas
823:2018
812:OCLC
804:ISSN
784:link
770:2018
759:OCLC
751:LCCN
743:ISSN
717:link
703:2018
692:OCLC
684:LCCN
676:ISSN
650:2018
630:2018
619:ISSN
611:2003
300:and
201:and
144:Unit
134:Rank
129:1917
58:Died
53:, US
38:Born
850:at
320:to
257:in
205:of
197:of
863::
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776:{{
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709:{{
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632:.
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42:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
