Franklin “FranK” Blincoe [8125)

 1887-1920

Father Name: George Washington Blincoe [7579]^ born 13.4.1841 Harpers Ferry died 13.12.1928 Vernon Mo.

Mother Nm: Emma (Amy) Louise White [7581] 7.9.1872 Nevada MO died 12.3.1943 Vernon

Marriage Dt:

K comments: Father George Washington served with the Union Army in the American Civil War.

Five of Frank’s siblings all posted to Ancestry by Alan Carlton

		Delia M Blincoe Leist 1895-1994

Spouse Comments:

Children:

Birth 1887

19 May 1887 Vernon, Missouri

1900 Census

Vernon County Missouri

1. George Blincoe 52
2. Emma Blincoe 43
3. Edward Blincoe 25
4. John Blincoe 23
5. Wm Blincoe 22
6. Frank Blincoe 19
7. Marshall Blincoe 16
8. Lora Blincoe 13
9. Rose Blincoe 8
10. Delia Blincoe 4

1910 Census

Franklin is a boarder at 142 Elm St Cooper Twp Ward 2, Gentry, Missouri, age 19 a Drug Store clerk. This is the only time in a record we discover is likely first proper name

7th Division Arm Patch

Blincoe Frank, Private, 3510441, 56^th Infantry, 13^th Infantry Bde, 7^th Division.

We only have an application for a Veteran’s Headstone to indicate Frank’s war service, there is no enlistment date but details are given that his unit was the  Supply Company, 56th Infantry Bn. The 7th Army Division and from this, we can surmise his war experience.

Note: The units making up the 7^th Division, 13^th Infantry Brigade;

• 55^th Infantry
• 56^th Infantry
• 20^th Machine Gun Battalion

1917

• 5^th Jun. Drafted
• Jun. Mobilised and then trained with the 56^th Bn., 13^th Infantry Bde. 7^th Division before being sent overseas. The 7^th division symbol was the hourglass and their soldiers know by this nickname.
• 27^thSept. The Division (less Artillery) moved to the Toul Area.

1918

• 3^rd Aug. The 13^th Inf. Bde. sailed from the USA to Brest in France, landing in France 11^th Aug.
• 17^th Aug. 7^th Div moves to the 15th (Amy-le-Franc) Training Area.
• 23^rd Aug. Frank’s 13^th Inf Bde. sends 2000 replacements to the 4^th and 26^th Divs. Raising a question was Frank one of these men. It’s possible Frank was one of these men (he was in the Supply Coy.) and if so would have seen considerably more action in the war. (The 4^th Div. fought at Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, and Argonne-Meuse Offensives and formed part of the Army of Occupation. The 26^th Division fighting the Aisne-Marne and Argonne-Meuse offensives.)
• 10^th Oct.-11^th Nov. St Mihiel Operations. The 7^th Div. occupies the Puvenelle Sector (Lorraine).

• 10^th Oct. Div relieves the 90^th Div on the front, Sabliere, Vandieres (incl), Cote 327, north edge of Bois des Rappes, la Souleuvre Fme.
• 11th Oct. A month before the Armistice, the 7^th Div. was shelled for the first time. Later it encountered gas attacks in the Saint-Mihiel woods.
• Mid-Oct. “A strong raiding party made up of Hourglass soldiers sliced into enemy positions and came back with 69 German prisoners.” ²
• 1^st Nov. The 7^th Div attacks and establishes outposts in the Bois du Trou-de-la-Haie and Bois de Grand-Fontaine.
• 9-11^th Nov. The 7^th executed local attacks.
  • 9^th Nov. Temporary occupation of a hill west of Preny and on the 10^th the Hill 323 and on Nov 11, a line in the Bois de Grand-Fontaine, the quarry west of Rembercourt, and the small woods south of Mon Plaisir Fme.

Note: During the Meuse-Argonne campaign it was on the left bank of the Moselle, the nearest American organization to Metz, and was preparing to attack Metz when the armistice was signed. The Division launched a reconnaissance in force on the Voëvre Plain, but before it could shift into high gear the Armistice was signed and the war in Europe was over. After 33 days in the line, the 7^th Division had spent 31 days in quiet sectors and 2 days in the active sectors and suffered casualties of 296 killed and 1,397 wounded.

1919

• 12^th Nov-9^th May. The 7^th Div. remained in the vicinity of the Puvenelle Sector.
• April 1919. A Battalion of the 56^th entered Metz as an honour guard for the Commanding General of the American Expeditionary Force. The field of the shield is white and black, the same as the arms of Metz, The parent organization is shown on the canton. The crest is a Napoleonic eagle on a mural crown. It differs from that used in the arms of Metz in that the crown is proper instead of gold.
• 14^th May. The 7^th Division moved to the Conlie Area, American Embarkation Center, Le Mans.
• 3^rd Jun. The leading contingents of the Division moved from LeMans to Brest.
• 9^th Jun. The first units sailed from Brest on SS Imperator.

  

• 30^th Jun. The last element of Division arrived at Newport. During June and July, the emergency personnel was demobilized and the Division moved to Camp Funston, Kansas. For its actions during World War I, the regiment was awarded the campaign streamer ‘Lorraine 1918’. The 7^th Division was gradually demobilized until 1921 when it was inactivated. Note The regiment was inactivated on 21st Sept. 1921 at Camp Meade, Maryland. Disbanded 31^st July 1922.

Frank died on the 6^th of November 1919 at age 37, it seems most likely that this could have been linked to wartime injury (note some of his division gassed in Oct. 1918) or exposure to Influenza etc.

• 12 July. Discharged fron Kennison, Oklahoma

Sources

1. Order of battle of the United States land forces in the World War American Expeditionary Forces divisions Vol. 2 Center Of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 1988.
2. History of the 7^th Infantry Division.
3. Maurice de Castelbled: History of the AEF.

Medals

Frank was entitled to the American Victory medal with the Meuse-Argonne and Defensive Sector clasps. The French Government issued a medal for those who served in the Meuse Argonne battle, the Verdun medal ribbon and US ribbon are shown. Frank was also likely recognized by his home state before the war ie Missouri.

 

After the War

Sick 1920

Probably unwell since his arrival back in the United States, Frank  too sick to work and suffering from respiratory illness is taken to New Mexico to the army’s first TB Sanitarium at Fort Bayard

Died 3 November 1920 age 33 years

Frank was at the Military Hospital Fort Bayard a TB Sanitarium, Grant, New Mexico being treated for respiratory illness when he died.

Age: 33, Birth Date: 19 May 1887 Birthplace: Missouri, Marital Status: Single

Father’s Name: George Blinco, Father’s Birthplace: Indiana, Mother’s Name: Amy White, Mother’s Birthplace: Iowa

Occupation: Farmer, Address: Residence Place: Kinnion, Oklahoma.

The death certificate attributes Frank’s TB contracted in France during WW1

Burial

Cemetery: Burial Place: Worsley, Bronaugh, Oklahoma, GS Film number: 2032881 Reference ID: Item 3.

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