Featured Identified WWI Comfort Cushion

Got this last night at a club meeting, along with a box of 100 NOS GI helmet chinstraps. Another member told me it is a WWI “khaki comfort cushion” that was sold to Doughboys during WWI. There are two names on it and there must be a story there somewhere. First owner killed and second “inherited” it? No idea. There were 200 machine gun battalions in the US Army and some had books written about them, but a quick search didn’t turn any up on the 334th. Nor did either name produce many hits in my quick web search. Maybe someone here with better people-searching skills will help tell the story. Inflatable Cushion is about 12x14 inches. Name on one side is W.S. Poole. Other is T.W. Whouley. The blacked-out area contains some writing, perhaps another name and some numbers, and I’ll try putting it under alternate light frequencies to bring out the detail.

 

I found this. Not much help I'm afraid

 

Those places on the burial paper sound awfully familiar. My grandfather worked for the Erie. The Widmer name rings bells too. Carl Widmer maybe? If so she might be some kind of in-law. (or an in-law's in-law )

 

Thanks, yes that’s helpful, proves the two men were in same battalion. Now it is certain that Whouley survived the War, and the end date on the other inscription indicates Poole did as well. Good for them, bad for the now-less-dramatic story line.

 

Mrs. Widmer may very well be Mr. Whouley's next of kin - sister? I was looking at one of these applications just the other day and the applicant and person to whom shipped was the deceased's sister.

 

It doesn't say either of them survived. It says in small print "Application for the UNMARKED grave of a veteran." The cemetery would have records of unmarked graves so they'd know where to place a stone eventually. Mrs. Widmer could be a granddaughter, a niece or cousin. People who die penniless are buried in unmarked graves as well. Maybe the cemetery has more information in their archiveshttp://www.fairlawnmemorialcemetery.com/contact.php