His Findagrave page (see below) says it quickly: "First Denton County boy to die in WWI." An article in the October 7, 2018 Denton
Record-Chronicle noted the observation of the hundredth anniversary of his passing, and it elaborates (slight edits):
"By Dalton LaFerney Staff Writer dalton.laferney (at) dentonrc (dot/com)
Oct 7, 2018
Rain is in the forecast Monday, but members of American Legion Post 71 in Denton will be out in the elements for a memorial ceremony in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery. Monday will mark 100 years since the first soldier from Denton County died in World War I.
Records show Arthur O. McNitzky was killed in action on Oct. 8, 1918, on a battlefield in France. After his death, Post 71 was formed and named in his honor. Long gone are the surviving veterans from the first world war, but the story of McNitzky offers a historical lesson for present-day America.
The family's history, shared by Post 71, indicates McNitzky’s father left Germany for North America in 1874. The elder McNitzky lived in Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Mexico, Galveston, Dallas and finally Denton, in 1878.
The McNitzky story — of the son of a German immigrant growing up in Denton to one day lay down his life for the U.S. military — resounds with Army veteran Forrest Beadle, the Denton County prosecutor and commander of Post 71.
Talking Tuesday in the Denton County Courthouse on the Square, Beadle said McNitzky's story, despite its end 100 years ago, adds some perspective to the current tide of anti-immigrant attitudes from many Americans toward people from South America, particularly Mexico.
During the war, German immigrants in the United States faced intimidation from Americans. An account from the McNitzky family history shows that people in Denton harassed them and threw things at their family home on Elm Street because they were of German descent.
'When his obituary hit [the newspaper], all that stopped,' Beadle said.
It has been 100 years since the end of World War I. Ray Stephens, a former Denton mayor, veteran and University of North Texas history professor of many years, said the war helped the United States rise to prominence in the Western world while people back home in the states were locked in an identity struggle.
Today, as President Donald Trump has withdrawn the country from multiple international agreements, many Americans are again working through an identity crisis, Stephens said. He said the legacy of McNitzky provides some clarity for this national struggle.
'Immigration is the oldest and most persistent thing in American history,' Stephens said.
Beadle nearly came to tears Tuesday when he talked about how McNitzky’s mother and sister traveled to France after the war to retrieve his remains. He is buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery in the family's lot.
Asked why the veterans at Post 71 are working so hard to keep McNitzky's story alive, Beadle gave a simple answer: 'Nobody ever heard his voice.'
Beadle said if the skies Monday produce rains too heavy for the ceremony to go on, or if there is lightning in the area, they may have to reschedule, but for now, the veterans at Post 71 have it scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the cemetery."
They did indeed hold the ceremony, under cloudy skies. There is video available on YouTube here.