World War I Soldiers Remembered: Norman Ira Johnson

Norman Ira Johnson was born February 6, 1890 in Goochland. His father was George Henry Johnson and his mother was Virginia Lee Fitzgerald. He was a 27-year-old box maker with Alleghany Box Factory when he was drafted on May 27, 1918. According to his Registration Card, we know he was single, tall and had brown eyes and black hair.

He was inducted into service on June 12, 1918 at Camp Lee, Virginia. He left Newport News, Virginia and arrived at Brest France on August 12, 1918. Shortly after he arrived in France, he was sent to the front where he served for the duration of the war. He first went into battle in September of 1918 and was in place for the Battle of Argonne Forest (Meuse-Argonne Offensive). He got sick while in France and spent most of October and November in different hospitals. About the effects upon himself of overseas experience, he wrote “was made sick and kept sick”.

He arrived back in the United States aboard the Saxonia when it docked on February 7, 1919 in New York. He was discharged from service at Camp Lee on March 12, 1919. He wrote in his war record “wasn’t exactly scared but had a very disagreeable feeling, and was glad when I got out…I don’t regret going but would rather not go back, but would go, if necessary”.

He returned to carpentry after the war. He married a girl named Blanche Lavelon Dupuy and had 2 children. He passed away on June 9, 1939 and is buried in Oakwood cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.

If you have any photographs of World War I service men and women from Goochland, please contact the Goochland County Historical Society. We would love to scan your photographs and add them to the World War I Commemorative Collection. Contact us at 804-556-3966 or at goochlandhistory@comcast.net.

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World War I Soldiers Remembered: Forrest Harwood Johnson

Forrest Harwood Johnson was born March 19, 1897 in Hylas. His father was Charles Evander Johnson and his mother was Lelia Satterwhite. He was a 21-year-old farmer when he was drafted on September 28, 1918. According to his Registration Card, we know he was single and had blue eyes and light hair.

He was inducted into service on September 5, 1918 at Goochland Courthouse and sent to Camp Lee, Virginia. According to his war record, he stayed at Camp Lee training center and never went to Europe. He stated that he “wanted to do my duty” and that camp life was “beneficial” to his mental and physical well being.

On December 29, 1930, he married Isabella Barron Franklin. He passed away on June 4, 1992.

If you have any photographs of World War I service men and women from Goochland, please contact the Goochland County Historical Society. We would love to scan your photographs and add them to the World War I Commemorative Collection. Contact us at 804-556-3966 or at goochlandhistory@comcast.net.

World War I Soldiers Remembered: William Bryan Holland

William Bryan Holland. Photograph courtesy of Sharon Kelley.

William Bryan Holland was born April 1, 1896 in Goochland. He was a 21 year-old saw mill hand when he was drafted on May 27, 1918. His father was William Newton Holland and his mother was Florence Gay Childress. According to his Registration Card, we know he was single, tall and had blue eyes and light brown hair.

He was inducted into service on June 12, 1918 and sent to Camp Lee, Virginia. Like many soldiers after the war, he did not fill out a War Record. According to his granddaughter, he was stationed stateside, building ships for the war effort.

After the war, he married Lena Rivers Siddons and started a family. He passed away on March 15, 1990 and is buried in the Ragland Memorial Baptist Church cemetery in Sandy Hook.

If you have any photographs of World War I service men and women from Goochland, please contact the Goochland County Historical Society. We would love to scan your photographs and add them to the World War I Commemorative Collection. Contact us at 804-556-3966 or at goochlandhistory@comcast.net.

World War I Soldiers Remembered: Arthur Houston Holland

Arthur Houston Holland was born May 22, 1891 in Fluvanna County. His parents were Bruce Albert Holland and Mollie Cleveland. He was a 26-year-old Pemberton farmer when he was drafted on September 19, 1917. According to his Registration Card, we know he was single, of medium build, and had gray eyes and brown hair.

He was inducted into service on September 21, 1918 at Camp Lee, Virginia, assigned to Co. C, 317^th Regiment, 80^th Division. He left Newport News, Virginia on May 23, 1918 aboard the “Mongolia” and arrived in Brest, France on June 8, 1918. He first went into action on July 24, 1918 during the battle of the Somme. He also participated in the St. Mihiel Offensive, Verdun and the Battle of the Argonne Forest. He was wounded by shrapnel on October 4, 1918 during the Argonne Forest battle and was hospitalized until December of that year. This left him with a permanently weak left arm.

He arrived back in the United States in New York City aboard the “Goentoer” on January 25, 1919 and was officially discharged on February 16 of the same year from the rank of bugler. About his service, he wrote “it was a nerve wracking experience that I would not be without.”

He returned to farming in Pemberton and wrote on his War Record “my plan is to go to school this fall and by spring my arm will be strong enough to back to work.” He later married a girl named Emily and moved to West Virginia where he taught high school. He passed away on August 21, 1978.

If you have any photographs of World War I service men and women from Goochland, please contact the Goochland County Historical Society. We would love to scan your photographs and add them to the World War I Commemorative Collection. Contact us at 804-556-3966 or at goochlandhistory@comcast.net.

World War I Soldiers Remembered: James Winfrey Hodges

James Winfrey Hodges was born November 1, 1894 in Culpeper, Virginia. James’ father was Thomas Herbert Hodges and his mother was Ann Wolling James. James was a 22 year old farmer in the Irwin area of Goochland when he was drafted on September 19, 1917 and sent to Camp Lee. According to his Registration Card, we know he was single, tall and had brown eyes and dark hair.

He was inducted into service on September 21, 1917 and assigned to Co. C, 317^th regiment, 80^th division. He left Newport News, Virginia aboard the U.S.S. Mongolia on May 26, 1918 and arrived at Brest, France on July 8, 1918. Hodges fought in many of the major battles of 1918 including St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne. Hodges admitted to being “slightly” gassed on October 4, 1918 during the Meuse-Argonne battle. He was under medical care for three days and according to family papers, he was given papers to be picked up but instead, he went back to fighting.

U.S.S. Nansemond

At the end of the war, Hodges travelled back to Newport News aboard the U.S.S. Nansemond on June 1, 1919 and was officially discharged as a corporal on June 12^th of the same year. About his service, he wrote that his experiences during the war were “very good”.

Hodges returned to Goochland and farming. On October 22, 1924, he married Margaret Winston Perkins together they had several children. On January 19, 1964, James passed away at the age of 69 and is buried in the Perkins Baptist Church cemetery in Goochland.

If you have any photographs of World War I service men and women from Goochland, please contact the Goochland County Historical Society. We would love to scan your photographs and add them to the World War I Commemorative Collection. Contact us at 804-556-3966 or at goochlandhistory@comcast.net.

World War I Soldiers Remembered: Bland Selden Hobson Goddin

Not all who served in World War I were soldier or male. Once such Goochland who served her country in a different way was Bland Selden Hobson Goddin.

Bland Selden Hobson was born December 9, 1893 to John Cannon Hobson and Annie Camp of Howards Neck in Pemberton, Virginia. Bland was a stenographer at Gibson, Moore & Sutton in Richmond, Virginia. As the war clouds began to appear, Bland enlisted with a hospital unit in Richmond. This unit would eventually be turned over to the War Department under the command of Dr. Stuart McGuire and became Base Hospital 45.

On August 24, 1918, Bland boarded the “Adriatic” in New York City, bound for Liverpool, England, where she arrived on September 3, 1918. The next day, she boarded the ship “Gloucester Castle” in Southampton, England and sailed for Le Havre, France. From Le Havre she traveled to Paris and then finally to the site of the Base Hospital #45 in Toul, France. The Base Hospital that Bland was assigned to as a stenographer was very close to the front. According to Bland’s war record, she “was stationed in a hospital eight miles back from the firing line”. Base Hospital 45 was located in the advance zone and was rarely empty. The St. Mihiel offensive which happened shortly after the camp was opened would see 8,000 wounded go through the camp in four days. In October of the 1918, influenza brought in another 4,000 patients. About her experience overseas, she wrote “I saw only the result upon the wounded boys brought in for attention and they were always cheerful and plucky except in cases of shell shock which were pitiful in the depressive effect upon the minds of the boys” and “It has made me see the blessings of American citizenship.”

The Armistice was signed in November of 1918 but Bland was not among the group that left early. She stayed with the hospital and is listed among some of the last to leave, arriving back aboard the “Agamemnon” at Hoboken, New Jersey on March 11, 1919.

Bland married shortly after arriving back in the U.S. On November 25, 1919, she married her pre-war sweetheart, Alfred Parker Goddin. Bland passed away on July 26, 1950 at the age of 56 and is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.

If you have any photographs of World War I service men and women from Goochland, please contact the Goochland County Historical Society. We would love to scan your photographs and add them to the World War I Commemorative Collection. Contact us at 804-556-3966 or at goochlandhistory@comcast.net.

To read more about U.S. Army Base Hospital 45, visit the VCU Libraries Gallery: U.S. Army Base Hospital No. 45 in the Great War

To read more about Bland Selden Hobson Goddin, read Goochland County Historical Society Magazine Vol. 21 “A World War I Memoir” by Bland Hobson Goddin and Vol. 48 “Home Front, Overseas Letters” (3 letters).  Available for purchase at the Historical Center and online: Vol. 21, Vol. 48.

World War I Soldiers Remembered: Sidney Dillard Hensley

Sidney Dillard Hensley was born July 28, 1893 in Bedford County, Virginia. Sidney’s father was Joseph W. Henley and his mother was Martha Gillispie. According to his Registration Card, we know he was single, tall and had grey eyes and black hair.

We don’t know much about Hensley’s service record since it seems as if he never filled out a Military Service Record questionnaire after the war. He did tell family members that he was in the Battle of the Argonne Forest (Meuse-Argonne Offensive). We do from his grave marker that he was a corporal in Company B, 61^st Infantry.

After the war, Hensley returned to Richmond and he worked on the railroad. He later met a Goochland girl, Isabelle Layne, and they married, had a daughter and moved to Goochland. He worked as a guard at the State Farm (James River Correctional Center) until his death. He passed away on April 11, 1958 at the age of 64 and is buried in the Greenwood Memorial cemetery in Goochland.

If you have any photographs of World War I service men and women from Goochland, please contact the Goochland County Historical Society. We would love to scan your photographs and add them to the World War I Commemorative Collection. Contact us at 804-556-3966 or at goochlandhistory@comcast.net.