William Henry Somers - A Young WWI Soldier's Story

William Henry Somers

My grandfather entered the Army at the young age of 23 years. He had been born in Tuckerman, Arkansas in 1894 and spent his childhood on the family farm in Stringtown, Butler County, Missouri.

He was the oldest child of Henry Francis and Cotna Lisbeth (Cole) Somers.

World War I Montage from Wikipedia

One can only imagine the feelings of excitement mixed with loneliness for family and loved ones he felt as he left his small hometown for military service in Europe. But Grandfather was already a man, one who had matured at a young age when his father was killed in a work accident. He knew how to shoot, hunt for food and possessed a good amount of common sense. He was used to rough conditions and hard work from the years spent on the family farm. Little did he know when he joined the Army and was sent to the frontline of the conflict in Europe that those skills would prove to be valuable and help save his life.

After being deployed to France with the US Armed Forces and engaging in heavy fighting, William became separated from his platoon and was listed as MIA. It was presumed he had been killed and his body unidentified; but the Hand of Providence preserved my grandfather's life. William found himself behind enemy lines and took refuge in a barn. He was eventually discovered by a farmer and while grandfather must have thought he would be turned over to the Germans as a prisoner of war, the farmer instead put William in the safe care of the French Resistance. He was eventually reunited with the American Forces, but not until after his mother had suffered much grief thinking her son had more than likely been killed in action.

William received an Honorable Discharge at the end of the war, returned to Butler County, Missouri and began his civilian life with marriage to my grandmother, Lillian Mae Weaver; together they had 12 children.