World War I was horrific, killing more than 115,000 Americans as well as countless Europeans. The killings happened so fast, soldiers often had to be buried where they fell.
To the small Robinson Township neighborhood of Moon Run, William Schawolt was not only a familiar face; he was a son, brother and friend. The first of eight children of a local coal miner (and a miner himself), he enlisted in the Army on Oct. 6, 1917, at the age of 26.
As a member of Company B, 168th Infantry Division, he was shipped to France in March 1918. Just six months later, on Oct. 16, 1918, he was killed at the Battle of the Argonne Forest, a 47-day battle that took more than 26,000 young American lives.
Because of the staggering number of fatalities, soldiers’ remains were not brought back to the United States until 1921. Families could choose to bring the remains home or leave them in an American Military Cemetery.
Schawolt had lain in American Cemetery #1232 for more than two years, and his family decided it was time to bring him home. The trip was an egregiously long, sad process.
Like thousands of deceased American soldiers, Schawolt’s remains were brought back on a U.S. Army Transport Funeral Ship. Each casket was placed in a shipping case, covered with an American flag and solemnly stacked in the ship’s hold for transport home.
On June 23, 1921, Private Schawolt’s remains were placed on the Funeral Ship Somme in Antwerp, Belgium, and arrived in Hoboken, N.J., on July 7. All of the dead were respectfully listed on the ship’s manifest as passengers.
William’s body traveled across Pennsylvania by train. When he finally arrived in Moon Run, a funeral procession accompanied him through the narrow, hilly streets to his final resting place in Petrie Cemetery.
Like countless other World War I soldiers, Schawolt’s procession was accompanied by a vast number of friends, relatives and townsfolk, led by his parents, four brothers and three sisters. He was buried with full military honors on Aug. 8, 1921, nearly three years after his death. Ironically, the Battle of the Argonne Forest was the last battle of the war, hastening the Armistice signed on Nov. 11, 1918.
For Private Schawolt, the end of the war came just four weeks too late.
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