We Salute Our Veterans

On this Veteran's Day, 2015, we solemnly salute all the military men and women who have served our country bravely and selflessly in the name of freedom, for there is no more precious commodity on this earth than liberty.

Today we single out for particular acknowledgement several of our forebearers who served in the United States Army during World War I, protecting us and our families and our allies from tyranny and aggression. 

The three men are Fosters of my father's generation, each of whom hailed from the tiny town of Bathgate, North Dakota, and sailed across the roiling waters of the North Atlantic to France, where they served on the blood stained battlefields on the Western Front. 

Let's start with uncle Lyndon R. Foster.

Fourth Infantry Division
Distinctive Unit Insignia

World War I was violently fought. Lyn was in the U.S. Army, Fourth Infantry Division, deployed to the western front, serving side-by-side with French and British troops. His division participated in the St. Mihiel offensive and the Muese Argonee offensives, phases 1 and 2. Elements of the division were gassed by German troops. The Fourth Division's authorized strength was 32,000. During World War I it suffered 2,611 killed in action, and 9,895 wounded. Records suggest that actual division strength was as little as 23,000 (13,000 regulars and 10,000 draftees) translating into a casualty rate of 54 percent, more than half of those who served.

Williston (N.D.) Graphic, February 15, 1917

Lyn enlisted on January 29, 1917 in Williston, North Dakota (currently the epicenter of the Bakken oil boom). He was sent to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri and served in Battery A, 16th field artillery to discharge. He was overseas from May 10, 1918 to March 24, 1919. Engagements were Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse Argonne and defensive sectors were Vesle (Champagne), Sommedieu (Lorraine). He was discharged at Camp Dodge, Iowa on April 16, 1919, as a private with a surgeon's certificate of disability, 15 percent. He was single at the time.

Lyndon's service, along with that of two of his cousins, was honored in the post-war publication "Pembina County North Dakota in the World War."  

Private Lyndon R. Foster.

4. Private LYNDEN (sic) R. FOSTER, Bathgate, son of Mr. and Mrs. I. J. Foster, born Sept. 26th 1897. Enlisted in the service Jan. 29th, 1917, and served with Battery A., 16th F. A., 4th Division, in France.

Corporal Robert S. Foster.

5. Corporal ROBERT S. FOSTER, Bathgate, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.K. Foster, born April 7th, 1895. Enlisted n the service Oct. 27th, 1917. Made Corporal Dec. 1st 1917, in Co. C., 164 Regiment, 41st Division, and served with them in France.

Corporal William C. Foster.

6. Corporal WM. C. FOSTER, Bathgate, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.K. Foster, born April 4th, 1899. Entered the service July 1st, 1915, and was made a Corporal July 10th 1917. Served in France with Co. C., 164th Infantry, 41st Division.

Lyndon was my father's brother. Robert and William were near neighbors and first cousins to dad and Lyndon (second cousins, once removed to myself). After deployment to France, their 164th Infantry Regiment (which was an activated unit of the North Dakota National Guard) was fragmented to serve up replacement personnel to other divisions, so the war record of individual soldiers in the unit is difficult to trace. 

The 164th Regiment lost 278 men in the war. One hundred seventy-six died in battle, 62 died of wounds, and the remainder succumbed to disease.

That's the simple history for the 164th. The thinly populated rural county of Pembina lost 32 men and women who served on behalf of God and country in World War I.

Uncle Lyn, cousins William and Robert, on behalf of all your descendants, thank you for your service to our country. We remember. We shall never forget.

Next year we shall honor an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War.

Following are supporting documents that surfaced in preparation of this post.

Documentation.

Pembina County North Dakota in the World War, from
North Dakota State University, Digital Horizons.

Robert Sanderson Foster's World War I Draft Registration Card.

The service records of these three young men were published in ROSTER of the Men and Women who served in the Army or Naval Service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or its Allies from the STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA in the World War, 1917-1918. Following are those entries plus the cover and the dedication page. The book was published by their uncle R. D. Hoskins, who collaborated with the author and the Bismarck Tribune, which had the state printing contract.

Roster of the Men and Women who served in the Army or Naval Service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or its Allies from the State of North Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918 Volume 2 Flagg to Lark

Name: Robert Sanderson Foster 
Army #: 85,764
Registrant: yes, Pembina county
Birth Place: Bathgate, N. Dak.
Birth Date: 07 Apr 1895
Occupation: student
Comment: enlisted in Company C, 1st Infantry, North Dakota National Guard, at Grafton, on Aug. 27, 1917; served in Company C, 1st Infantry, North Dakota National Guard (Company C, 164th Infantry), to discharge. Grade: Corporal, Dec. 1, 1917; overseas from Dec. 15, 1917, to Feb. 26, 1919. Discharged at Camp Dodge, Iowa, on March 11, 1919, as a Corporal.

Name: Lyndon R. Foster Army #: 564,651 Registrant: no, enlisted prior Birth Place: Bathgate, N. Dak. Birth Date: 26 Sep 1897 Parent's Origin: of Canadian-American parents Occupation: plumber Comment: enlisted at Williston on Jan. 29, 1917; sent to Jefferson Barracks, Mo.; served in Battery A, 16th Field Artillery, to discharge; overseas from May 10, 1918, to March 24, 1919. Engagements: Offensives: Aisne-Marne; St. Mihiel; Meuse-Argonne. Defensive Sectors: Vesle (Champagne); Sommedieu (Lorraine). Discharged at Camp Dodge, Iowa, on April 16, 1919, as a Private, Surgeon's Certificate of Disability, 15%.

Name: William Carrick Foster 
Army #: 85,751
Registrant: no, enlisted prior
Birth Place: Bathgate, N. Dak.
Birth Date: 04 Apr 1897
Parent's Origin: of American parents
Occupation: farmer
Comment: enlisted in Company C, 1st Infantry, North Dakota National Guard, at Grafton, on July 1, 1915; called into federal service on June 19, 1916, for Mexican border duty and served there until discharge; discharged from federal service at Fort Snelling, Minn., on Feb. 14, 1917, and resumed National Guard status; called into federal service, World War, on July 15, 1917; served in Company C, 1st Infantry, North Dakota National Guard (Company C, 164th Infantry), to discharge. Grade: Corporal, June 1, 1917; overseas from Dec. 15, 1917, to Feb. 26, 1919. Discharged at Camp Dodge. Iowa, on March 11, 1919, as a Corporal.

Bismarck Tribune, November 14, 1932.

Uncle Lyndon R. Foster's National Homes for Volunteer Disabled Veterans record.

Predecessor of the VA.

World War I dramatically increased the population of the National Home branches, though this new population had different needs.  The World War I veterans were primarily younger men who needed short term medical care or help with psychiatric problems. After World War I, women veterans entered the National Home branches in low numbers. 


Uncle Lyn spent two months recovering in the national home from March through May of 1922.