Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-11-05

1918, another of Wausau's brave SOL
dier boys gave up his life on the bat
tletield of France. The sorrowful It'd
ings received of the death of this
young man spread throughout the city
with wonderful rapidity and was an
inexpressible shock to all, and there
were utterances of the most profound
grief on every hand.
The dispatch from the War Depart
ment to his father, James Montgom-
cry, was as follows:
"Deeply regret to inform you
that it is officially reported that
Lieutenant Frank Talbot Mont
gomery, infantry, died Oct. Sd,
from wounds received in action.
.(Signed) HARRIS,
Adj General"
No further particulars have been
received by his parents, but 1T was
known that he had been in the
trenches for the past three months,
enduring all the hardships imaginable,
incident to soldiers life under such
conditions in the present modern war
fare, bravely, cheerfully and philo-
Sophically, which was so Characters
tic of him in all his walks of life.
Cut off from this life just as he was
entering upon the threshold of a
bright, useful and vigorous manhood,
his tragic ending falls with terrible
force upon his parents, relatives and
friends
Lieutenant Montgomery enlisted in
Milwaukee and went to the Officers
Training Camp at Fort Sheridan in
May, 1917, together with Lieutenants
Carl Schmidt, Newman Bells, Donald
Gooding, L. A. Pradt, Jr., Laurence A.
Johnson and others from this city. At
the close of the three months train
ing, he was commissioned Second
Lieutenant. He came home for
brief stay and was sent to Camp Gus
ter at Battle Creek, Mich After
stay of two months at Camp Custer,
he was selected with 200 other Lieu
tenants and transferred to Charlotte,
North Carolina. Two months later
he was attached TO the Rainbow Di-
vision and transferred to Camp Mills,
Long Island, n. Y. During his stay
there he had charge of the cleaning
up of the vice and immortality in the
towns surrounding that camp. From
there he was transferred to Camp
Upton, where he was placed in the
machine gun school and given course
in that departmer of the service. He
was then assigned to the Machine Gun
Co. of the 305th infantry and remained
at Camp Upton until April 18th, leav-
ing on that date for France. He
landed at Liverpool, England, and
went by rail to Dover and from there
was sent over to France, his first stop
being at St. Omer He was sent to
Paris and east to Charmes, on the AL
SAGE and Lorraine border, and from
there to the Luneville Baccaret sector
and from there, early in July, moved
back to Chateau Thierry, then went
north to Fismes, and later, east to St.
Mihiel, and then into the Argonne
Forest, making a continuous drive
from early in July until October
While no particulars have been re-
ceiyed it see IS that the 77th Division
in which he belonged was in the
thickest of the fight.
On Sept Sd, he was ordered to the
regimental headquarters with his
baggage for proposed transfer to the
United States, to drill and take over
machine gun company, which meant
promotion in rank, but the order was
cancelled, presumably on the near APP
proach of peace This was great
Disappointment to his friends and rela-
lives at home.
The last letter received from him
by his parents was dated Sept. 18th.
To give an id "a of some of the hard
ships which he, with others, passed
through, he said that they had not
been able to make change of under
clothing for over a month and four
nights in succession he had gone with
out sleep.
Lieut.. Frank Talbot Montgomery
was born in Wausau on the Sd day OF
Sept 1883, and was therefore % years
of age. He grew to manhood here
and was graduated from the Wausau
High school, class of 1918, of which
class he was president. He attended
Carroll college and was president of
his college class as we'll as president
of the Beta Pi Epilop. of which he
was valued member He was also
manager of the college paper while at
Carol. The memory of this young
life spent among US since child
hood is cherished, not only by his i'm
mediate family but by a very wide
circle of friends who have grown
closer from year to year. He was en-
dowed with rare natural gifts and
ever devoted his energies to those
things which were right and tended
TO the uplift of humanity. This he
did without fear or favor. He has
left an endearing monument in the
hearts of all of his acquaintance.
He is survived by his parents Mr..
and Mrs. James Montgomery, two
brothers, d. S. Montgomery of Mil
waukee, and j. Mac Montgomery of
Sand Point, Idaho, and one. sister,
Mrs. NJ. NJ Secor of this city.