Merle Hay
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
serviceman to die in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, along with Corporal James Bethel Gresham of Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
and Thomas Enright
Thomas Enright
Thomas Francis Enright was one of the first three American soldiers killed in action during World War I.Enright was born May 8, 1887 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish immigrants. He enlisted in the U.S...
of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
All three men were a part of Company F, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
U.S. 1st Infantry Division
The 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army is the oldest division in the United States Army. It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917...
(aka "The Big Red One") and in the trenches near Bathelémont-lès-Bauzemont
Bathelémont-lès-Bauzemont
Bathelémont-lès-Bauzemont is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.Near Bathelémont is a memorial to the first three U.S. soldiers killed in action in France in World War I. The three men, James Gresham, Thomas Enright, and Merle Hay, of the 16th Infantry, 1st...
in Lorraine
Lorraine (province)
The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....
(east of Nancy, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
).
On the night of November 2–3, Germans
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
trench raided
Trench raiding
Trench raiding was a feature of trench warfare which developed during World War I. It was the practice of making small scale surprise attacks on enemy position. Raids were made by both sides in the conflict and always took place at night for reasons of stealth...
their trench where all three were killed (possibly with Hay & Gresham initially and Enright when he resisted capture).
The outnumbered Americans were caught by surprise as they emerged from their wood and earth shelters to engage the enemy in hand-to-hand combat amid darkness and confusion. After 15 minutes the Germans withdrew and the barrage ended. Reinforcements reached the beleaguered Americans soon after to discover five wounded, twelve captured, and three killed.
Private Hoyt Decker saw Merle Hay battling two German soldiers with a bayonet in the dim, twinkling light of flares during the battle. Private Merle Hay was found face down in the mud after the attack with a .45 caliber pistol in his hand. The cause of death was a single 9 millimeter bullet wound beneath his right eye. His throat was also deeply cut. The watch his mother had given him had stopped at 2:40 a.m.
Hay, Gresham, and Enright were buried on the spot with a monument built which was later destroyed by Germans in 1940. Hay was then re-interred in July 1921 in West Lawn Cemetery in his home town of Glidden, Iowa
Glidden, Iowa
Glidden is a town in Carroll County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,253 at the 2000 census.The town is named in honor of Joseph Farwell Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois, who invented barbed wire in 1873.-Geography:...
. The West Lawn Cemetery was later renamed the Merle Hay Memorial Cemetery. An 8-foot monument commissioned by the Iowa Legislature marks his gravesite.
Shortly after Hay's death, the highway running from the west edge of Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
to Camp Dodge
Camp Dodge
Camp Dodge is a military installation in the city of Johnston, Iowa. Centrally located near the capitol of Iowa, it currently serves as the headquarters of the Iowa National Guard. Original construction of the post began in 1907, to provide a place for the National Guard units to train...
was renamed Merle Hay Road. A memorial boulder was placed along Merle Hay Road in 1923 and remains up today amidst the commercial development along the road. Merle Hay Mall
Merle Hay Mall
Merle Hay Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall in Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. Opened in 1959, it is the oldest regional shopping center in Iowa, and was the largest mall in Iowa in terms of gross leasable area before the 2004 opening of Jordan Creek Town Center in...
in Des Moines was also named for Hay; the local Kiwanis
Kiwanis
Kiwanis International is an international, coeducational service club founded in 1915. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Current membership is 240,000 members in 7,700 clubs in 80 nations...
club placed a memorial plaque near the entrance to the mall's Sears
Sears Holdings Corporation
Sears Holdings Corporation is a retail conglomerate formed in 2005 by the merger of Sears, Roebuck and Co., of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, with Kmart Holdings Corporation, of Troy, Michigan...
store in 1979.
The first American military casualty in World War II was also an Iowa native. Andrew, Iowa
Andrew, Iowa
Andrew is a city in Jackson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 460 at the 2000 census.-History:Andrew, located in Jackson County, was named for Andrew Jackson....
, native Robert M. Losey
Robert M. Losey
Captain Robert M. Losey , an aeronautical meteorologist, is considered to be the first American military casualty in World War II. While serving as a military attaché prior to America's entry into the war, Losey was killed on April 21, 1940 during a German bombardment in Norway...
, a military attache, was killed on April 21, 1940 during a German bombardment of Dombås, Norway. Captain Losey had been attempting to complete the evacuation of the American diplomatic legation from Norway to Sweden in the wake of the German invasion.