June 26, 1891 - July 28, 1918 (Age: 27 at death).
Carl Thatcher was the first cousin of Hazel Thatcher #6. Carl's father, Alonzo, and Hazel's father, John #11, were brothers. Below is the Chillicothe paper dated September 16, 1918 that announced Carl had died in battle with the Germans. Below that is his obituary. Transcripts by Susan Leach Snyder follow each article.
"....OTHE [Chillocothe], OHIO MONDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 1918
LAY DOWN
THEIR LIVES
FOR FREEDOM
____________
Homes Boys Who Have Made the Supreme Sacrifice For the Country
_________HOW CARL THATCHER DIED LIKE A HERO
_________
Fighting His Gun Far To the Front When the End Came
____________
KILLED.
Lieutenant Willliam J Eyler.
Carl Thatcher.
Charles Heibel.
David Wagner.
MAIMED.
Joseph Sewards.
Thomas Ware, lost a leg.
__________________This is the toll paid by men of Company II and the machinegun company of the 166th Ind[f]antry according to the report brought home by Corporal Ray Ellington, Company H. whose home is in Waverly. Many others of the company were wounded, most of them slightly, there being only 52 of them unwounded at the time Corporal Ellington left, under orders to return to this country as an instructor at Camp Lewis, Washington.
Official confirmation was received Sunday by Mrs. Thatcher of the death of her husband. J. R. Ross, Pauling Ohio, also received official word of the death of Lt. Eyler, his son-in-law. Lt. Eyler was instantly killed August 2 while leading Company G, 166th, the Greenfield company, in the advance between Seringes and Fismes, in the Marne salient. Charles Heibel is reported as killed in the Campagne fighting. There is no official confirmation as yet of his death or that of David Wagner.
Carl Thatcher was killed on July 28, while fighting [?] about a mile northwest of Chateau Thierry. The machinegun of which he was in charge had been playing havoc with the Germans and a German battery had been trying to get it. At last they got the range and a 6-inch shell exploded close to the gun in the shell crater where it was located. Carl Thatcher was struck in the chest by a large fragment of the shell; another one of the squad was killed and a third severely wounded.
The Chillicothe boy lived about 45 minutes after being hit. He was buried by his comrades, with full military honors, and the head of his grave on the field of battle was planted a wooden cross on which a comrade, Raymond Griesheimer, another home boy, carved his name.
Carl Thatcher had made a splendid soldier. He did not know what fear was and was always ready for the most dangerous service. He was always cheerful, in spite of any hardships, and did much to maintain the morale both of his own gun company and that of Company H by his unfailing good spirits and his jokes. A few days before the fight he had been detailed to take a detachment of German prisoners to Brest, a French seaport, and returned to the front just the day before he met a glorious death, fighting for his country and for the cause of right and true freedom. What makes his fate seem the harder is the fact that he had been detailed to return to this country as an expert instructor in machinegun work, and would have left France on August 13 for home."
"OBITUARY
CARL THATCHERCarl Thatcher is dead. He lay down his life upon the field of battle, fighting bravely for his country and for the peace and safety of the world. Enlisting in Company H, 166th Infantry he had been in France more than a year. He had fought on all fronts, with the machinegun company, always in the forefront of battle and in the post of danger. With the British on the northern front, in Lorraine, i[n] the fighting in the Champagne and in the fierce battles of the Marne salient, he was always ready and eager for duty. Always cheerful he was a favorite with his comrades and a power in keeping up their spirits.
Carl Thatcher was born in this city June 26, 1891, the son of Alonzo and Laura Thatcher. He attended the public schools here and grew up in this city. On February 14, 1915 he Married Ella Egan, of Buffalo N. Y., who with his parents sister and three brothers, survives him. The sister [a]nd brothers are Margaret, Pearl William nad [and] Walter.
Letters from his comrades told of his death but it was not confirmed officially and his family and friends clung to the hope that the report might be a mistake but finally authentic word came, confirming the sad news. The only consolation now is sthat [that] he died like a brave man and a patriot. "
Contact person for this website is Susan Snyder: susanleachsnyder@gmail.com
