Lewis County Genealogical Society president Margaret Iverson looks through a local book from 1918 listing information on World War I veterans at the Lewis County Historical Museum. Iverson is spearheading a project to find and recognize families with ties to veterans of WWI.
Lewis County Genealogical Society president Margaret Iverson looks at artifacts on display in a special World War I exhibit at the Lewis County Historical Museum. The exhibit is part of the local effort to mark the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day in 1918.
Lewis County Genealogical Society president Margaret Iverson and Lewis County Historical Museum director Jason Mattson pause in front of the historical museum's World War I exhibit on a recent morning. Both the historical museum and the Veterans Memorial Museum are assisting the genealogical society in a project to record families who have ties to World War I veterans as part of the 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day, which today is celebrated as Veterans Day.
Before Nov. 11 was Veterans Day, it was Armistice Day, the date marking the official end of World War I, which happened at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
This Veterans Day marks the 100th anniversary of that agreement, and local organizations are recognizing this milestone by doubling their efforts to preserve the legacy of WWI veterans.
Now through Oct. 31, the Lewis County Genealogical Society is taking applications from descendants of WWI veterans. Applications are available at the Lewis County Historical Museum as well as at the Veterans Memorial Museum. Anyone with an ancestor who fought in WWI can fill out a simple form and will receive a certificate honoring that person’s service. Though the project is through the Lewis County Genealogical Society, neither the applicant nor their ancestor needs to be from Lewis County. Genealogical Society president Margaret Iverson explained that applicants need not supply official service records if they do not have them but merely need to know the person’s name and which branch of service they were in.
Any official documentation that can be added to the historical record is welcome but not required.
“Our purpose is to honor the veteran, not provide a legal document,” she explained.
Information will eventually become part of a planned index that will be on the genealogical society’s website to assist families in genealogy research. Applications are available at the Lewis County Historical Museum as well as at the Veterans Memorial Museum. Veterans Memorial Museum director Chip Duncan estimated that well over 1,000 Lewis County residents may have served in WWI, and that number could be higher counting local women who may have as Yeomen. Duncan said it is important for families to participate in this project because many of the WWI service records were damaged or lost during a fire at the National Personnel File Records depository in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1973. That means that much of what we know about who served in that war has come from information volunteered by families of those veterans.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have any WWI veterans. They’re all gone and their stories are gone with them and anything we can do to preserve them is important,” Duncan said. “We need to make sure we tell those stories as best we can.”
Besides participating in the research project, the historical museum has also put together an exhibit of WWI era items donated by local families. The exhibit, which will show through at least midNovember, comprises everything from hats and helmets to letters home and tools used on the front lines of the war. One of the more unique items are locally published books from 1918 that list those who served in WWI. Museum Director Jason Mattson said he likes the ancestry project because it is another way that history can come alive for people.
“I think it draws people into these stories to realize they’re closer than they think if they can find a family member they didn’t know they had and realize it’s significant to their lives,” Mattson said.
Applications for certificates must reach the Lewis County Genealogical Society by Oct. 31. The certificates are planned to be completed and available at both museums by Veterans Day. Those who apply for the certificates will also be invited to be part of the Veterans Memorial Museum float in the Nov. 11 Veterans Day parade in downtown Chehalis.
Iverson, who is also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, said she will be applying for a certificate to recognize her great-uncle Elbert Royse who served in the U.S. Army Expeditionary Forces and was killed in battle in 1918. Iverson has a copy of the last letter Royse sent home as well as the chaplain’s letter informing the family of his death. For Iverson, these are not mere documents but are a living link to her ancestry.
“We share their genes and we share their DNA and I think it’s important to recognize the people who did what they did so we can live the life we have now,” Iverson said. “What if we had lost World War I? What if we had lost World War II? We need to pay homage to those people and not forget.”
Not forgetting it is exactly what is spurring genealogical society member Joann Hulse of Chehalis to also fill out a form for her uncle, who served in WWI. She said the project is meaningful not only for her, but for the generations of her family that will come after her.
“I think it’s just carrying on the lineage,” Hulse said. “A lot of our young kids don’t know what happened years ago in our families so we need to write it down so that someday they can read it. If that’s not done, when we die it will be gone.”
