 Eugene
Kohler, aged 23 years, son of Mr. And Mrs.
William Kohler, 417 Plum Street and member of
Company F, 333rd U.S. Infantry, died in the base
hospital at Camp Zachary Taylor, Louisville,
Kentucky New Years Day. Word of the death was
brought to the family here by telegram from
Colonel Nishen, received late today. Young Kohler was a victim
of overzeal at military drill. On November 7,
while the troopers of this company were engaged
in setting up tents, a prize having been offered
to the soldier making the quickest record at the
job, the youth, not overly strong yet determined
not to be outdone, exerted himself too great an
effort and contracted a severe cold that rapidly
developed into lung fever and he was sent to the
base hospital. By Thanksgiving day he had partly
recovered but suffered a relapse and soon was in
more severe condition than ever. His heart became
weakened and while his lungs gained strength he
was not able to pull through.
Kohler continued
to maintain strength enough to write a letters to
the end. His last letter written on Saturday was
received this morning by his mother on Monday,
only a day before the news of his death.
Though Kohler
wrote frequently, always expressing more anxiety
for the folks than for himself, the letters they
wrote in return were delayed in the delivery, so
that during his last illness there was a period
of fortnight when no letter came to him. This in
itself was a discouragement to a boy in his
condition. It was only after his father wrote to
the camp postmaster that the letters were
delivered promptly.
Young Kohler was
the eldest son of Mr. And Mrs. Wm. Kohler. He was
born April 24, 1895, near Troy in Jarvis
Township, while the family was living there.
About 17 years ago they moved to Collinsville,
where Eugene was given the education of the
public schools. For the last six years he has
worked alternately for the Brooks Tomato Catsup
Company and the Hydraulic Brick Company, summer
and winter. He was highly regarded by both
concerns. With the Brooks Company he was the
chief in the cooking department and Supt.
Borovicka said he was worth a half a dozen
ordinary men in the place.
Former
superintendent W.H. Thompson of the brick company
wept when he learned of the boy’s death.
Kohler, though of
German descent, comes of thoroughly American
military stock. His grandfather Kohler, born in
Germany, enlisted in the regular U.S. Army some
time before the Mexican war broke out and saw
eight years of service, serving through the
Mexican encounter without receiving a scratch.
After that war he was disabled by a kick of a
mule and was given a tract of land in Minnesota,
which he traded for another tract two miles east
of Maryville.
Friends here say
that Kohler never qualified for military service,
and believe that if an effort had been made in
time he could either have been exempted or
discharged for physical disability. Everett
Brooks of Brooks Company said Wednesday that
several times during the past summer he took the
young man home in his auto because he was tired
out by his work. Three days before Kohler’s
squad left for Camp Brooks initiated an effort to
have him exempted on industrial grounds but was
told it was too late. The boy’s parents
think also that if proper tests of his lungs had
been made in his examination at Madison they
would have found him too weak for strain of
military service.
Kohler bore his
illness bravely as have his family.
Kohler is survived
by his parents, two sisters, Mrs. Frank Wood and
Mrs. Frank Kerwin, and two brothers, Wilbur and
Arthur at home.
The body was
shipped from camp Taylor so as to arrive on the
noon Vandalia train Thursday, but the train was
several hours late and did not reach here until
night.
The funeral
services will be held Sunday afternoon at 2
o’clock at the Methodist church, being in
charge of the Rev. Theodore Cates, pastor. Other
ministers will assist. The advisory committee
engaged in the work of assisting registrants in
filing out questionnaires will attend and the
city will be officially represented. The funeral
will undoubtedly be one of the largest ever held
here.
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