Project staff recently visited the Bates County Historical Society and Museum, located in Butler, Missouri, for digitization of their World War I Collection. Built in 1915, as the County Poor Farm, the Museum houses main exhibits that cover a range of topics from science-fiction author, Robert Heinlein to the Osage Indians, the Battle of Island Mound, Order #11, and the wars of the twentieth century. The Museum holds a handful of records and photographs focusing on County residents who served in World War I. Included are James P. Arnold and John Jurgen Dykman.
James P. Arnold was the son of Henry B. Arnold and Lola Maude Edwards. He was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 3, 1896.
Arnold was reared by his maternal grandparents, residents of Butler, Missouri, after his mother lost her life in the cyclone that devastated Snyder, Oklahoma, on May 10, 1905.
After completing of his secondary education in Butler, Arnold joined the militia under Captain Ed Clark where he reached the rank of Second Lieutenant. Arnold attended Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri, from 1912 to 1915. After his three years at the Kemper Military School, Arnold continued his education at Swarthmore College, west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
With the United States new involvement in the First World War, Arnold was sent to Fort Niagara Training Camp in New York, where he was promoted to First Lieutenant. Arnold was one of the first two men sent as officers of the Reserve Corps of the Army of the United States. He was inducted on August 15, 1917.
Arnold served in France with the 18th Infantry from September 7, 1917. While in the trenches, Arnold received a promotion to Captain. He preferred being with his men rather than training in the rear of the lines. While at the front lines, Arnold was wounded in the chest at Beauvais Oise, France, May 28, 1918.
Arnold died of his injuries June 4, 1918, and was cited for “Gallantry in Action”. After the war, Arnold’s body was repatriated and buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, east of Butler, Missouri.
Arnold has not been forgotten in Bates County. The James P. Arnold American Legion Post in Butler was named in his honor. Additionally, Arnold’s portrait can be seen on display at the Bates County Museum.
John J. Dykman
John Jurgen Dykman was born to Henry Klaus Dykman and Helena M. Bohlken Dykman on March 16, 1895, in Weyerts, Nebraska. In October of that year, Dykman and his twin brother, Reikus, accompanied their extended family to Missouri in a covered wagon where they settled in Bates County.
In a diary housed at the Bates County Museum, Dykman wrote his final entry on March 2, 1918. The entry stated, “... in the spring of 1917, I had to register the 5 day of May and my order no was 193 this putting me in the first draft. The first boys leaving in the fall but I got off with February 4 1918 when I have to report for duty at Butler, MO at 3 O clock PM”.
Dykman was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas, as part of the Medical Officers Training Camp. Shortly after his arrival, Dykman contracted the Spanish influenza and died of Lobar Pneumonia on March 26, 1918.
Dykman is buried in Mulberry Cemetery south of Amsterdam, Missouri.
For more information about the Bates County Historical Society and Museum and their collections, please visit their website.
Bibliography
World War I Collection. Bates County Historical Society and Museum, Butler, MO.
