Whitney Bowles - Springfield, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 06.205 W 072° 34.486
18T E 700532 N 4664105
The grave of Sergeant Whitney Bowles, who was killed in the battle to breach the Le Catalet defensive line on the western front in France during WWI, is located in Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, MA.
Waymark Code: WMWG2C
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 08/31/2017
Views: 0
The grave of Whitney Bowles is marked by a 15' high granite obelisk in the Bowles family plot. It is decorate it what appears to be inverted torches on each corner and inscribed with the name BOWLES. at the base. On east face of the obelisk is a bronze plaque which is inscribed:
WHITNEY BOWLES
BORN JULY 20, 1893-KILLED AT LECATELET-FRANCE
ON THE HINDENBURG LINE-SEPTEMBER 29, 1918
AWARDED THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
FOR EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM
The battle at the Le Catalet line took place on September 29 - 30, 1918. Le Catalet was a defensive position about a kilometer west of the Hindenburg Line. His Distinguished Service Cross citation reads:
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Whitney Bowles, Sergeant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company L, 107th Infantry Regiment, 27th Division, A.E.F., near Le Catelet, France, September 29, 1918. After the advance had ceased Sergeant Bowles exposed himself to intense machine-gun fire in order to place the remains of his platoon in shell holes, and organize his platoon for defense. Later learning that an officer of another company lay severely wounded a short distance in front of our lines, Sergeant Bowles unhesitatingly advanced into heavy machine-gun fire toward the officer to rescue him. He was killed while attempting the rescue.
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