Fayette County Leader
Thursday,
August 4, 1921
page 4
WAUCOMA
(From the Sentinel)
LeVerne A. Belding was born in Waucoma,
Iowa, December 21, 1898, and died of wounds received in battle, in
France, October 21, 1918, aged 19 years, 10 months.
LeVerne was admired by his boy friends
and schoolmates for his happy disposition and sunny outlook on life. He
went through his school life, when the days were all too short for the
fun he put into them. He was a member of the class of 1917, and was
awarded his diploma at the time of his enlistment, April 30, 1917. He
spent six weeks training at Ft. Des Moines, then was transferred to
Camp Dodge, where he remained until September 28, when he was sent to
Camp Cody at Deming, New Mexico. Here he remained until June 15, 1918,
when the Sand Storm Division of which he was a member, went east, and
embarked for service overseas.
Upon arrival in France he was placed in a
radio school; when his work there was finished he was transferred to
the 26th Division, and was upon the firing line for several weeks. Upon
that fateful day when his company consisting of 128 men, went over the
top at 5 o'clock in the morning, only 25 of them were alive at the
close of the battle at 3 p.m. Only 3 returned without scars of
conflict, the others, dead or wounded, lay upon the field of battle. To
the ambulance carriers who were gathering the wounded for the hospital
he said, "Never mind me, go on, attend to the others who have to finish
the work so many other lives are depending upon."
Attendance at the funeral Sunday is
estimated at from 1,200 or 1,500 to as high as 3,000.
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