World War I

The first call was for September, 1917, and the men were sent to Camp Lee, Virginia, and became a part of the 80th Division. Cabell was one of three counties in the state whose volunteer enlistments in the National Guard exceeded her quota of the draft and did not fur­nish any men for the first draft. Cabell furnished for the war 1,796 men in addition to the volunteer enlistment in the National Guard. Of these, ninety were killed in action or died of wounds or disease. The following officers and men from Cabell County were awarded decorations:

Colonel William H. Waldron, D.S.C., D.S.M. Citation for meri­torious service, and the French Legion of Honor.
Second Lieutenant Walter V. Dial, D.S.C.
Captain Herman L. McNulty; D.S.C, Croix De Guerre.
First Lieutenant John C. Miller, Jr., D.S.C.
Private Herbert L. Howell, Citation in Orders.
First Lieutenant Charles E. Frampton, Croix De Guerre.
First Lieutenant James E. Moore, D.S.C.
Second Lieutenant Henry Winters Davis, D.S.C.

In addition to purely military activities in the county there were many civil activities and the government had the unstinted support of Cabell citizens. There was the organization of Four-Minute Men, of which H. A. Zeller was chairman, and Robert L. Archer and John B. Stevenson, associate chairmen; the local Council of Defense; Liberty Loan drives; War Savings Stamps; food and fuel administrations; Red Cross and numbers of other activities and, last but not least, the canteen service of which Mrs. D. A. Mossman was chairman and which operated a canteen at the railroad station.   Men going and coming from the front have pleasant recollections of the help and hospitality of this canteen.

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This web site wishes to thank Ernest Midkiff for
furnishing the information used in these pages.