PVT Tommie Thompson Ward, WW I
Tommie T. Ward, record of service during WW I
Tommie Thompson Ward entered his service to the United States Army during World War I, at the rank of Private upon completion of his basic training, as a young man of the age of 22. He was inducted at his hometown of Clinton, Kentucky on 02 OCT 1917. Upon his induction he left behind his wife of three years, Martha Francis (Stephens) Ward. No written knowledge of his experiences was passed down from family members, but pictures of PVT Ward have survived over the 109 years of time. An abbreviated record of his war service was available from the War Records Archives for the state of Kentucky.
According to his Army Form 794 Discharge record, PVT Ward was assigned to Company F of the 324th Infantry Brigade until May of 1918. Assumingly, the 324th Infantry Brigade was a training Brigade among the many at Camp Zacherie Taylor, a training camp located six miles south of Louisville, Kentucky.
Camp Taylor was reported to have housed over 40,000 soldiers during the early days of the war. The camp was created specifically for the task of training and deploying soldiers to fight in the first World War. Camp Taylor encompassed over 2, 730 acres of land and remarkedly was constructed in 90 days, as were many other training camps across the country, in support of the war, to “End all Wars”. Following the end of WWI that camp was closed and all of the property sold off. Currently there is a small neighborhood park in the area where Camp Taylor once was located with a monument honoring the Camp that those who had passed through its gates.
PVT Ward’s service record indicates that he was transferred to the 159th Deployment Brigade, until 05 Aug 1918, then transferred to the 64th Deployment Brigade until 19 Nov 1918. There is no indication that PVT Ward ever departed Camp Taylor or deployed with any Army Brigades to the European Theater.
The signing of the Armistice ending WWI occurred on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 (the recognized date for Veterans Day in the US ) marking the end of WW I.
PVT Ward’s record indicates that he was then assigned to the Auxiliary RMT (Remount) DEP, which possibly could have been a unit of the Army’s Quartermasters Corp, where soldiers cared for and bred horses, donkeys, and mules, that were in high demand for transportation and pack animals to support the Army’s demand for high mobility of personnel and equipment.
The Army form 794 recorded PVT Ward to be honorable Discharged on 07 Mar 1919.
