Victor Ostrander Zimmerman, the youngest of the four children
of William Henry and Cynthia May (Ostrander)
Zimmerman, was born at Oakley, May 2, 1894.
He enlisted at Monroe, in Company H, First Infantry, Wis.,
N.G. on May 2nd, 1917, and at once began the course of
training which was given the recruits preparatory to the
Company's leaving for Camp Douglas on Sept. 27. At Camp Douglas
the Wis. N.G., was drafted into Federal service and soon was
ordered to Camp MacArthur at Waco, Texas, for the final course
of training for overseas service. Upon arrival at Camp MacArthur,
the latter part of September the troops were transferred to the
32nd Division which was being organized then and Victor became
a member of Company H, 127th U.S. Infantry.
In January the Regiment moved by rail to Camp Merritt, N.J.,
where it prepared to embark. However, a number of men
in two of the four platoons of the company came down with
scarlet fever and those two platoons went into quarantine. Victor
was one of those exposed and he was taken to the camp hospital,
a victim of scarlet fever. Upon his recovery he was assigned
to a casual company which sailed on April 14, 1918. He apparently
was sent through the classification camp at St. Aignon, and he
rejoined the company which was in the trenches at Alsace. From
here the company was moved in July to take part in what was,
perhaps, the hardest fought encounter in which American troops
took part, namely the pushing back from Chateau Thierry of the
checked German forces, who resisted desperately from strong and
skillfully arranged positions. The efforts of the 28th, 32nd
and 42nd Division forced them back before the troops and immense
trains and magazines could be withdrawn from the collapsing Marne
salient.
In this fleeing fighting, Victor gave up his life on July
31, 1918. Comrades have told conflicting stories as to how he
died,
but the trench mirror which was returned to his parents and
which they believe he carried in the left pocket of his shirt,
has five closely punch bullet holes.
The body was buried in the America Cemetery - Grave 97, Sec.
R, Plot 2, American Cemetery, 608 Seringes E. T.
Nesles, Aisne. From here it was removed and brought to this
country, the body arriving in Brodhead Friday noon, August 5,
1921, for final burial in the cemetery close to the home where
he was born and brought up."