Charles F. Wiseman was born in Kansas in 1893. His birth year is an estimate based off of the US 1910 census. In 1910 his residence was Ewing, Nebraska. On May 2nd, 1917 Charlie, and his brother Earl, along with Sylvester and Leo Sanders, Ira Napier, and Dewey Wright, left Ewing to join the army together. In “The Frontier” newspaper, on Thursday, July 29th, 1921, Charles F. Wiseman’s name appears as “Charlie”. On May 6th they were enlisted in Omaha and were later sworn in at Fort Logan, Colorado. Soon after they joined Co. K of the 16th Infantry in El Paso, Texas.

           

            Charlie, and the five men then boarded a train from El Paso that headed for Hoboken New Jersey on June 1st. On June 12th they left New York for France. On June 26th, they landed in St. Nazaire, France as members of the first convoy. On the 14th of July they got off a train at Gondrecourt, France. Then, they received training around the areas of Abainville and Demange Frnace.

 

            The first time the saw battle was November 11th, when they entered the trenches around Bathemont. They fought in the trenches for ten days. When completed they received another month of training out of the trenches. On January 10th, 1918 they began fighting in the trenches again. They were in the 1st American sector Northwest of Toul, France. They fought for ninety days, and on March 3rd they returned to the division area in Meuse, France to get more training. Meuse is a department in France, the equivalent of a U.S. state. When the Germans were at the apex of their offensive Charles’s division was called to fill a British and French sector at Montdidier.

 

            On April 27th, 1918, Charles F. Wiseman was killed in action near Cantigny, France. His regiment was under heavy shellfire. A barrage probably killed him, but that is not definite. Later he was cited in 1st Division General Orders #1, dated January 1st, 1920 for “Gallantry in Action>” This order qualifies him for the Silver Star award, the third highest award for valor in the U.S.

 

            Surviving Charles was three other brothers including, Earl, who survived the war. His brother Otto was in the army, and Roy, was in the navy. Charles parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wiseman, were retired farmers at the time. On May 13th, 1918 Ewing businesses closed for one hour and all flags in town were lowered to half-mast. Memorial services were held the next Sunday, May 19th, 1918 at Methodist Episcopal Church. His burial site is still unknown.

 

Source: “The Frontier” (Ewing, Ne) Nebraska, Thursday, July 28, 1921