John Lamar Matthews - Wills Point, TX - Graves Mentioning a Cause of Death on Waymarking.com

Mr. Matthews's gray, granite headstone features a flag of the United States (which is missing just a few stars, as there were 48 and not 25 states in the Union in 1919) which drapes over its own staff, with this inscription:

John Lamar
Matthews

148th Aero Squadron

Born July 30, 1890
Killed in France, Oct. 16, 1918

He gave his today
for our tomorrow.

A special edition of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas's (today's Texas A & M University) "The Alumni Quarterly" provides some background:

John Lamar Matthews
Mechanic Air Service
Wills Point, Texas.

Born July 30, 1890, at Wills
Point, Texas. Received his early
schooling in the Wills Point, Tex-
as, public schools. Attended A.
and M. from September, 1907, to
June, 1908. Enlisted in the Air
Service in April, 1917, and as-
signed to the 17th Aero Squadron
at Kelly Field, San Antonio, Tex-
as, as a mechanic. During the
summer of 1917, was sent to Can-
ada for training and later trans-
ferred to Barron Field, Ft. Worth,
Texas. Was transferred to the
148th Aero Squadron and sailed
for France in February, 1918. In-
stantly killed in an automobile
accident in Essequenoy, Oise,
France, October 16, 1918. Sister:
Mrs. Louis W. Voiers, Kaufman,
Texas.

Type of Death Listed: Killed by something Website (if available): [Web Link] Cause of death inscription on headstone: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
When posting a visit to an unusual grave, please include the minimum of one picture of your visit as proof that you were there in the flesh.

Although not required, please include your personal experience of this location.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.