Above: The only surviving picture of Clarence B. Perkins from the August 29, 1918 issue of the Alma Record. Also, Perkins’ marker in Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France.

It was the late summer of 1918 before most people in Gratiot County knew of the loss of Clarence Perkins. It turned out in the end that there were reasons for this.

Clarence B. Perkins was said to be from North Star, however, he really was not. Perkins’ story is one that was sometimes repeated throughout the Great War when a county (or even more than one) claimed a fallen soldier as one of their own. Originally, Perkins was from Coleman in Isabella County from which he listed as his home when he joined the Army in 1909.

Perkins was one of seven children born to Joseph and Fannie Perkins. He was born April 11, 1886, in Rowland Township in Isabella County.  Clarence lost his father when he was ten years old. Fannie remained a widow for thirteen years until she married Peter Zimmerman and moved to North Star in Gratiot County.

Perkins’ military service had been a fairly long one before the Great War started. About the time his mother remarried in 1909, Clarence joined the Army in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  From there Clarence went to the Soo for two years, then to the Philippines for four years, and then he spent one year in Alaska. From Alaska, he went to training camp at Plattsburg, New York and then to Camp Green in North Carolina. In April 1918, Perkins left Camp Green for France.

On April 6, 1918, Clarence B. Perkins was killed in action, less than one week into what was called the Battle of Belleau Wood. He had served as a First Sergeant in the 30^th Infantry, 3^rd Division and he was buried in the Aisne-Marne Cemetery in Belleau, France, near where he fell. On his marker, he is listed as having come from California. How this relates to Perkins’ story is unclear. Possibly his service in the Philippines had some connection to once being stationed in California?

Since Perkins was not actually from Gratiot County, and because he had been in the Army in different locations for periods of time, both could be reasons why his death was not reported in Gratiot County until almost two months after he died. Possibly the Army also had a problem trying to find Perkins’ family. Because he had one surviving parent who resided in Gratiot County after his death, she later saw that his name was given to the American Legion for recognition as one of Gratiot’s men who died during the war.

Regardless, Clarence B. Perkins was recognized as the first man from Gratiot County to die in combat in France during the Great War. Clarence B. Perkins, who had served his country in several different places prior to going off to  war, was 32 years of age.

Copyright 2018 James M. Goodspeed

Above: The USS Cyclops. Below: Family plot of Alburtus Cohoon in Alma’s Riverside Cemetery.

    In the early spring of 1918, a Gratiot County father learned that his son had disappeared, along with all of his son’s fellow crewmen.  County newspapers failed to carry the story even though Alburtus Cohoon,  the son of an Alma farmer, was involved in what is termed the single largest loss of life in United States naval history in which there was no direct involvement in combat.

        Alburtus Cohoon, who was born October 7, 1896, grew up as the youngest of five children. His mother passed away when he was only three years old and he was fifteen when his father remarried. In 1910, his father was living and farming in Pine River Township.

     From there, Cohoon’s story about his service in World War I ultimately ended in his death.  When he enlisted in the United States Navy in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 17, 1917, his records stated that he was five feet, seven inches tall. He weighed 132 pounds, had blue eyes, brown hair, and a ruddy complexion. He listed his trade as having been a pipe fitter.

     He was then sent to the USS Cyclops, where he eventually became a Fireman, 2^nd Class. The Cyclops was one of four Proteus-class collier ships that the United States had in service. Colliers transported heavy loads, in this case, it was manganese ore. The Cyclops left Rio de Janeiro on February 16, 1918, with a full load, then stopped two days later in Salvador and headed for Baltimore, Maryland as its final destination. When the Cyclops stopped in Barbados it was noted that the ship had over 11,000 tons of manganese ore on board and that the ship sat below its waterline, indicating that it was overloaded. After it left Barbados the ship was never heard from again. On board was a crew of 306 men, including Alburtus Cohoon.

     After two days without any contact, the Navy became concerned. Another ship thought it saw the Cyclops off the East Coast of the United States, but in the end, it was determined that this was not true. Where was the ship? After three months, on June 1, 1918, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that the ship was lost at sea, along with its crew.  On county records, the date of Cohoon’s death was declared to be March 4, 1918. To this day no one knows for sure what happened to the ship and its crew. Some have conjectured that the ship sank due to structural failure because it was overloaded. Others have noted that it was another ship lost in the infamous “Bermuda Triangle.”

      Little is left behind to tell about Alburtus Cohoon after his death. In April, his brother in Owosso received a letter  on April 19, 1918, telling him that the ship was overdue and that “Her disappearance cannot be logically accounted for in any way as no bad weather conditions or activities of enemy raiders have been reported in her vicinity of her route.” Fred Cohoon also received his brother’s insurance policy from the War Risk Insurance Bureau. In 1930, Alburtus Cohoon’s stepmother was asked by the government if she wanted to travel to Europe as a Gold Star Mother to visit her son’s grave. However, there was no grave to go to and apparently the government did not understand that.  It appears that Mrs. Cohoon never replied. Today, a family burial plot for the Cohoon family exists in Alma’s Riverside Cemetery, but without any indication of the fate of the young man who was a part of the largest loss of life in naval history during World War I and its largest unsolved mystery.

      All that exists today is a name on the Gratiot County All Wars Memorial in Ithaca, about the young man who lost his life March 1918. Alburtus S. Cohoon was only 21 years old.

Copyright 2018 James M Goodspeed

Above: Advertisements from the Alma Record and Gratiot County Herald during June 1918.

     On the eve that many Gratiot County men went into combat in France life at home centered around showing how patriotic people were.

     During early June 1918 twenty-five boys weeded beets on the farm of Arthur Gibbs, just east of Ithaca. Any farmer who wanted help on his farm only needed to contact L.A. Murdick, who was the county’s YMCA secretary. Murdick helped any farmers to locate young people as workers. The Crandall and Scott business in downtown Alma displayed a new show rug in its window. This “liberty rug” had images woven into it from all of the Allied Powers at war, as well as the Statue of Liberty, the Capitol, and Independence Hall. The rug was admired by many viewers. Miss Lou Florence Olp, a former Alma resident and one of Saginaw’s finest piano players, was headed to France to serve as a volunteer for the YMCA. A new call went out from the government warning “alien women enemies,” German women who were not legally citizens, to register at the Ithaca post office. This applied to women from the age of fourteen and older who were born in Germany had unnaturalized German parents, or who were  Americans and had married an unnaturalized German. Two weeks after the announcement not one single person had registered – and there was no evidence that anyone in Gratiot County did in June. The Alma Red Cross had six sewing machines in operation but it needed more help to keep them going all of the time. Local post offices informed people who were sending weekly and monthly magazines to soldiers needed to only send current issues. Too many people were leaving old periodicals there that were of little value to soldiers. The Gratiot County Herald had service buttons for people in Ithaca who were family members of men in the service.

     During June, the government urged everyone to buy War Savings Stamps. Everywhere in the county people were encouraged to “Paste the Kaiser with WSS (War Savings Stamps).” A new WSS saying could be heard: “Every quarter that you get, buy a stamp and make it wet, Stick it to a little card, it will hit the Kaiser hard.” Down at Middleton, Principal Miss Bertha Hoxie told the Gratiot County Herald that the school had students in Mrs. McCarthy’s room raised $190.00 in stamps and bonds. Miss Vera Martin’s class gave $750.00. Two other teachers and other students of the Middleton schools raised $1,475.00  for the war effort. President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that June 28 would be National War Savings Day and that Michigan needed to raise its full quota of $70,000,000. Gratiot County’s new goal was to raise $497,200. Area ministers were asked to read a message from the President to their congregation explaining the need to support “The Big Drive.” Patriotic citizens needed to support the government by purchasing War Savings Stamps and Liberty Bonds by that date. Citizens also were urged to practice economy and thrift and not to spend their money thoughtlessly or needlessly, so that they could buy stamps and bonds.  Advertisements in the newspapers reminded that all of those who purchased $4.17 worth of stamps each month could be redeem them for $5.00 on January 1, 1923. People were asked to “Prove Your Patriotism” and be a “True Blue Patriot” on June 28 and to step up and buy the stamps.

     The fight over wasting and conserving food continued. Eating places like hotels and restaurants could not serve beef more than twice a week, one time each for beefsteak and roast beef. More pork could be available to supplement the meals, as well as beans, bacon, ham, and sausage. Michigan Governor Albert Sleeper endorsed the use of potato bread in place of wheat bread. Using Michigan potatoes demonstrated patriotism and support for the war, and Michigan still had much left over from its 1917 harvest. The use of “combination substitutes” was also promoted for different recipes for muffins which included either buckwheat, barley, or rolled oats. Women were told in advertisements that “Wheat Will Halt the German Drive” in June and everyone needed to pitch in. There was also a movement for “The War Garden Army” which hoped to enlist five million boys and girls and forty thousand teachers to help turn any vacant garden or back lot into a “War Garden” to produce more food that summer. By late June, at least 16 groups had formed in Gratiot County. People were also urged to raise chickens for food. Two to three hens for each person in a household would produce enough eggs for the family. Those who sold eggs at retail had to make sure that the eggs had been candled and boxes had to have candling certificates to prevent the selling of eggs that were unfit for consumption. Sugar was expected to be available to people for the next two to three months. However, the government planned that each person would consume no more than three-fourths of a pound per week. Those families who lived in town could obtain two pounds per week; those in the country were sold five pounds.

     Increasing pressure was being placed on people throughout Gratiot County to demonstrate how patriotic they really were – even beyond buying bonds, donating money and conserving food. At the Ithaca Methodist Church, a crowd of 500 people came to hear about the atrocities committed by the Germans against Serbians and Belgians. Over $250.00 in donations and pledges were made to the American French-Serbian Field Hospital. Both Ithaca and Alma held a community “Patriotic Celebration” on the Fourth of July. At Ithaca’s Woodland Park, Ladies of the Eastern Star and the Gratiot County Guard Troop had an encampment which recreated a mock battle, held a marksmanship contest, played a baseball game, offered a band concert, and held a parade of patriotic floats. The public was asked to come and bring a picnic lunch (with enough food to also feed one soldier). Free ice cream and coffee was provided. Other things were also asked of Gratiot’s Citizens pertaining to their patriotism. On July 8, all school districts in the county would have a “Patriotic Meeting” at its schoolhouse. Schools and teachers were responsible to provide “a stirring patriotic rally” by opening with a prayer and singing “America” as part of its program. It was important to feature a local speaker, review why America was fighting the war, and tell why support for the war needed to continue until it was won.  July 8 was chosen because it was the date of the annual school meeting in each school across the county. Finally, patriotism for the first time in Gratiot County was being measured by what people should not do. Rumors, false reports, and criticism of the government of any kind were discouraged. In a column in the Gratiot County Herald, the government even went so far as to state that “Any word which tends to create a doubt or a question in the mind of an American citizen as to the purity of purpose of the government is an act of treason.”

     More and more men were being called into the service. At least 250 men in Gratiot County had turned 21 in the last year and were, therefore, eligible to be drafted. As the War Department made it a goal of having 3,000,000 men in the service by August 1, Michigan’s quota for the draft was 8,900 men. Draft boards now had a new pool of draftees: those who were in non-productive employment. Professional baseball players, sales clerks, clerical workers, traveling salesmen, public and private, cooks, managers, elevator operators, managers  – all were now open to the draft. While a headline read that “Married Men are Exempt,” there were narrower definitions of who qualified for an exemption , based on when they married and when they had children (generally within the previous year and when a prior draft call had been announced). It seemed that each week the name of one man who entered the service was featured in the news. Vernon Pino of Ithaca received a send-off from the Home Guards, after having a farewell banquet and gift of a wristwatch.   Reverend George Brown of the Breckenridge Congregational Church enlisted in the YMCA and was on his way to New York City. Brown expected to leave soon for France.  L.T. Chapin, a businessman of the Fleming Clothing Company in Ithaca, left for the United States Merchant Marines Alma, it was noted that Nick Bardville, a recent manager at the European Café, was being a good example for service by his training at Waco, Texas. Bardville was not yet an American citizen, but he was eager to fight the Hun.   Some Gratiot County men at Camp Custer were told that they may be sent to Italy.

     Letters from men gave people different viewpoints about the war. Private Claude Eastman described to his mother some of his experiences as a sub chaser on the Delaware River in New Jersey. While he was not on board when any of the German U-boats were hit, he noted that Sub Chaser S-646 got one of them. Lester W. Pressley wrote somewhere in France about the value of the YMCA as a place to find reading materials and with help writing letters.  The entertainment at the YMCA was also very good. Although he had to shop at different places in town, he was able to eventually find enough ingredients for French fried omelets, completed with fried potatoes and vegetables. His company was also in charge of maintaining its own garden. Pressley’s village was free of mud, but woe to those soldiers who marched in the valleys. Lyle Smith from Perrinton also wrote home to a family from his location in  France. He wrote that he was recuperating from several days in a hospital due to a terrible episode of mumps. He was amazed that French farmers only used one horse at a time to work in the fields. There were a lot of goats and he even saw one woman with a small pig in a baby carriage. Smith’s letter seemed to describe the lighter side of military service “Over There.” However, before the end of summer, he would among the county’s first fatalities in France.

      And Gratiot County continued on in the Great War in the summer of 1918.

Copyright 2018 James M Goodspeed