French and Charlie Ball

French and Charlie Ball before enlistment

Project staff recently had the opportunity to meet descendants and examine materials from two Missourians who fought in the Great War, Palmer and Charlie Ball. The Ball brothers were from Mountain Grove, Missouri, and both fought in the 354th Infantry Regiment, 89th Division. Charlie Ball was killed in action on October 27, 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Palmer, also known as French, was killed in action a few days later on November 1, 1918, in the same offensive.

Soldiers in the 89th Division trained at Camp Funston, Kansas before embarking to Europe in May 1918. After the division reached France, they participated in several major operations of the war including the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

It was during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive that both brothers were killed in action, likely from shell fire. Tragically, they died within two weeks of the armistice signing. Before their deaths, both Charlie and French sent several letters home. A portion of their correspondence can be viewed below.

The brothers' names are among the 17 inscribed on a monument in the Mountain Grove, Missouri town square. The monument includes a white marble statue of an American soldier standing at parade rest. At the base of the monument is a plaque with the inscription “The World War, 1917-1918 Those Who Died That We May Live.”  The plaque honors and names the fallen soldiers from the surrounding area who died in the war.

Sources:

All photos and letters are courtesy of Imogene and Herb Woods.

History of Company F, 354th Infantry, 89th Division. Trier, Germany : Printed by J. Lintz, 1919. Can be viewed online here.