 (http://www.americanwardead.com/detainw.asp, now defunct website) |
Remember...Otis Loyola Withrow
|
Otis Loyola Withrow was born in Putnam County, West Virginia, on March 17, 1895, to Christopher Columbus Withrow and his wife Margaret Ann Phillips. Otis grew up in Buffalo, Putnam County, where his father was a farmer and mail carrier. Christopher and Margaret's large family also included five siblings of Otis: Ella Leota, Ira Columbus, Lloyd Martin, Brooks Woodyard, and Velma Alma.
| Otis enlisted in the Army at Charleston, West Virginia, on May 25, 1917, and served with the West Virginia National Guard in Company C of the 150th Infantry Regiment. In May 1918 he was sent to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, for training and as part of the replacement draft for the American Expeditionary Force in Europe. On June 12, 1918, he departed from Hoboken, New Jersey, for Europe aboard the troop ship SS Anchises. Otis was assigned to Company C, 7th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. (Letter from Capt. William E. Miller regarding the service of Otis L. Withrow to the Adjutant General's Department, State of West Virginia, 21 February 1952.) |  Insignia of 7th Infantry Regiment. The motto "Volens et Potens" means "Ready and Willing." |
 Unit insignia for 3rd Infantry Division |
Once in France, the 7th Infantry Regiment participated in the Second Battle of the Marne (15 July-6 August 1918). This was the last major German offensive in the West during World War I. The 3rd Division played an important part in stopping the German offensive across the Marne River, which marked the beginning of the end of the war. In late July, the allied forces, including the 7th Regiment, began a counteroffensive against the German Army. (Stephen C. McGeorge and Mason W. Watson, The Marne: 15 July-6 August 1918, U.S. Army Campaigns of World War I Commemorative Series, ed. Brian F. Neumann [Washington, DC: United States Army Center of Military History, 2018], https://history.army.mil/html/books/077/77-5/cmhPub_077-5.pdf.)
 Aisne-Marne American Cemetery is located in the village of Belleau, France. Courtesy Warrick Page/American Battle Monuments Commission |
On July 22, 1918, during this offensive, Otis Withrow was reported as missing in action. His body was never identified. In recognition of his service, Otis Withrow's name is listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery at Belleau, France. Of the 270,000 American soldiers who participated in the Second Battle of the Marne, there were 39,672 casualties. |
Article prepared by Dr. Donald A. Withrow, fourth cousin, once removed, of Otis L. Withrow
April 2021
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
