William H. Abendroth participant of World War I
Early life
William Henry Abendroth, Jr., nicknamed Harry, was the son of a career soldier who served in the American Indian Wars and the Spanish–American War before retiring as a First Sergeant and becoming an instructor in military studies at the University of Idaho. The younger Abendroth was born in Fort Meade, South Dakota, on December 24, 1895.  He enlisted in the Idaho National Guard in 1913, and served as a member of Company H, 2nd Idaho Infantry Regiment on the Mexican border during the Pancho Villa Expedition.Abendroth served with the army in France during World War I, first in an Infantry company, and later with an Engineer unit. He achieved the rank of first sergeant by the end of the war, and was discharged in 1919.