Charles Roscoe PACK b. 18 Mar 1900 McDowell Co. WV d. 15 Oct 1918 Battle of Meuse-Argonne, Meuse, Lorraine, France: Appalachian Aristocracy

1900 - 1918 (18 years)

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Name	Charles Roscoe PACK
Born	18 Mar 1900	McDowell Co. WV [1]
Gender	Male
_UID	FAA3AE51BCB0477CBD37874BE20FB572A9EB
Died	15 Oct 1918	Battle of Meuse-Argonne, Meuse, Lorraine, France
Buried	Pack Family Cemetery, Cedar Bluff, Tazewell Co. VA
Notes	CENSUS RECORDS: 1900 United States Federal Census Name: Charles S Pack Age: 2 months Birth Date: Mar 1900 Birthplace: West Virginia Home in 1900: Big Creek, McDowell, West Virginia Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Son Marital Status: Single Father's Name: John Pack Father's Birthplace: Virginia Mother's name: Rosa Pack Mother's Birthplace: West Virginia 1910 United States Federal Census Name: Charles R Pack [Carles] Age in 1910: 10 Birth Year: 1900 Birthplace: Virginia Home in 1910: Maiden Spring, Tazewell, Virginia Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Son Marital Status: Single Father's Name: John R Pack Father's Birthplace: Virginia Mother's name: Mollie R Pack Mother's Birthplace: Virginia Roscoe was killed in World War I and his body was brought back several years later in the 1920's. The wake was held in parlor at the Pack home place. According to Helen Pack McCann the family diverted the attention of the military escort so they could identify the remains, which they did by Roscoe's teeth. NEWSPAPER ARTICLES Clinch Valley News; 29 June 1917 THE HONOR ROLL List of Those in Maiden Spring District Who Registered for Service in the. Army includes Charles Pack. ---------------- Clinch Valley News; 22 Nov. 1918 Somewhere in France, Oct. 15, 1918 [ He wrote this letter on the day he was killed in action at the Argonne Forest] Dear Mother: As I have a little rest I will write you a few lines. This leaves me well and truely [sic] hope it will find you and all the same. Why in the world don't you ever write me? I have written you every week, but have not had a word from home yet, so you see I'm getting real anxious to hear from home again. What is father doing? Is he farming very much. Has Bob ever come across yet? I would be so glad to meet up with him. Well, mother, I have been on the front line twice and stayed ten days at a time. I don't think the Kaiser is going to last much longer, and I don't want you to be uneasy about me. What is Newt doing now, and where is Brooks? Does he still live at Hartwell? What is Helen, brother and Rosemary doing? Guess they are some chaps by now. I would love to see them so well. Tell Thelma I will write her when I get time. I haven't seen Crockett Lowe since I came over here. I would give most anything to see him. What became of Tom Vandyke. I was real sorry he couldn't come with us. The French people are awfully good to us and I get plenty of tobacco. Well, will close. Love to all. Your loving son, Roscoe. From Chas. R. Pack, Co. I, 116th Infantry, A. E. F. to his mother, Mrs. Rosa Pack, Cedar Bluff. ------------- Clinch Valley News October 28, 1921 CEDAR BLUFF Last Saturday the remains of Roscoe PACK, who was killed in France, arrived here from Hoboken, N.J. accompanied by a sergeant from Fort Washington, D.C. Mr. PACK was a son of Mr. and Mrs. John R. PACK, and was one of Tazewell County's soldiers being only seventeen years old when he enlisted, and was one of the Cedar Bluff boys who enlisted in the historic 2nd, Virginia Regiment while two companies or the regiment were stationed here on guard duty in 1917, at Camp McClellan, Alabama, he was transferred to Co. I, 116th Regiment, and was a private in that company overseas where he was killed while going "over the top" in the Argonne Forest offensive on October 15, 1918. Funeral services were conducted at the home of the Rev. J.E. LINKOUS. Interment was in charge of the Richlands Post of the American Legion. MILITARY RECORDS Library of VA: Pack, Roscoe C WW1 M White Cedar Bluff Army Private Killed in Action 10/15/1918 Sources: A, C, F, G, H, UU, XX, b A. Virginia. Adjutant General's Office. Report of the Adjutant-General of the State of Virginia for the Year 1920. Richmond, Va.: Davis Bottom, Superintendent of Public Printing, 1920. UA43 V8 C. Virginia's Roll of Honor. Richmond, Va.: National Pub. Co., 19??. D609 U7 V8 N3 F. "Roll of Honor, Virginians Who Have Died in the War for Freedom." Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 27 (1919): 1-32, 101-139, 205-259. F221 V9 G. Nuckols, Ashley Kay. Deaths, American Expeditionary Force, W.W.I, 1917,1918, Virginia. Greenville, NC: A.K. Nuckols, 1995. D609 U6 N883 1995 H. Haulsee, W. M., F. G. Howe and A. C. Doyle, comp. Soldiers of the Great War. Washington, DC: Soldiers Record Publishing Association, 1920. D609 U6 S6 UU. Schildt, John W. The Long Line of Splendor, 1742-1992. Chewsville, Md.: Antietam Publications, 1993. D540.33 116th S35 1993 XX. Seal, Henry F., Jr. "Ever forward," World War I, 1917-1919. History of the 116th U. S. Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, Organized from the 1st, 2nd and 4th Infantry Regiments, Virginia National Guard, at Camp McClellan, Anniston, Alabama, 4 October 1917. Richmond, Va.: Virginia Dept. of Military Affairs, 1953. D570.33 116th S4 MILITARY ACTION Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/116th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States) The 116th Infantry Regiment is an Infantry regiment in the Virginia Army National Guard. It was formed under the designation of the 116th during World War I, when previously existing Virginia National Guard units were consolidated in federal service. The regiment fought in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive with the 29th Infantry Division and returned to the United States in 1919, where it was demobilized. On 25 March 1917, the regiment was called up just before the United States entered World War I, which it did so the following month. The regiment was mustered in between 25 March and 3 April. The regiment guarded bridges and railroads in Virginia. The regiment was drafted on 5 August and a month later departed by train for Camp McClellan, Alabama, arriving there on the evening of 6 September. On 4 October, the 2nd Virginia consolidated with the 1st and 4th Virginia Infantry Regiments. The new regiment became the 116th Infantry, part of the 29th Infantry Division, then at Camp McClellan, Alabama. It served as part of the division's 58th Infantry Brigade alongside the 112th Machine-Gun Battalion and the 115th Infantry Regiment. Colonel Robert F. Leedy of the 2nd Virginia became commander of the new regiment, which included 105 officers and 3,686 enlisted men. Colonel Hansford L. Threlkeld took command on 1 January. He was replaced by Colonel William J. Perry of the 1st Virginia on 1 May. On 5 June, Lieutenant Colonel Hobart M. Brown took command. Brown led the regiment until it reached France. The regiment conducted training in shooting, gas warfare, and using the bayonet for the next months until 11 June 1918, when it began movement to Hoboken. On 15 June the regiment embarked for France on the USS Finland from there. On 27 June the regiment disembarked at Saint-Nazaire, where it stayed for three days in a former British camp. It moved to Argillières, where additional training was planned. However, due to German pressure on the Allied front, the regiment was moved in early July to Auxelles-Bas. Threlkeld took command of the regiment around this time. In August, it transferred to La Chapelle, Bréchaumont, and Reppe. The regiment occupied trenches in the Haute-Marne sector of Alsace. On 21 August, Colonel A.J. Harris replaced Threlkeld. On 26 August, the 2nd Battalion was attacked by German troops supported by a heavy artillery barrage at 0430. The German troops were repulsed after two hours of fighting, most of which was conducted by Company F. In early September, the regiment moved to Offemont, near Belfort, and then to Hargeville and Souhesmele-Grande. Around 1 October, it camped in the Bois Bouchet as a part of the First Army's reserve. The regiment fought in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive with the 29th Division. The regiment was attached to the French 18th Infantry Division. The 3rd Battalion was positioned on the southern slope of the ridge southeast of Côte des Roches, and the 1st Battalion was along the Canal de l'Est, south of the Samogneux?Brabant road. The regiment's 2nd Battalion was in reserve 1,500 meters northeast of Neuville. During the night of 7 to 8 October, the regiment's battalions moved into the starting positions. The attack began at 0500 on 8 October, with the 3rd Battalion advancing with its right on Ravin d'Haumont. After encountering scant resistance, it reached the immediate objective in four and a half hours. The 1st Battalion then attempted to move through the 3rd, but was checked by machine-gun fire from the Bois de Brabant-sur-Meuse. At 1400 the 1st was able to advance through the 3rd and both battalions continued into the forest. Advancing against machine guns, high-caliber artillery, anti-tank guns, and gas, they reached the normal objective at 1540 and stopped at the Ravin de Molleville (at the southern edge of Molleville Farm) on the right and the ridge in Boissois Bois on the left, but withdrew to the ridge in the Bois de Brabant-sur-Meuse, overlooking the Ravin de Bourvaux. The two battalions had contact with the French on the right, but none with the 115th Regiment to the left. Headquarters Company Sergeant Earle Gregory received the Medal of Honor for his actions in singlehandedly capturing 19 German soldiers on 8 October. At 0500 on 9 October, German troops counterattacked the 116th and the 115th's extreme right, but were repulsed. The 1st Battalion renewed the attack and advanced a kilometer into the Molleville Forest by 1130. On 10 October, parts of 1st Battalion were relieved by the 113th Infantry Regiment's 2nd Battalion. 1st Battalion then extended its line to link up with the 115th Regiment. During the night division commander Charles G. Morton relieved Harris of command and replaced him with division machine gun officer Lieutenant Colonel Reginald H. Kelley. The next day the regiment resumed the attack, with 1st Battalion being checked while moving towards Molleville Farm. The battalion was unable to cross a clearing and made two further attempts, which were also repulsed with heavy losses. On 15 October the 3rd Battalion attacked again, advancing in the lead of the regiment. By 1600 they reached the southern edge of the Bois de la Grande Montagne after taking Molleville Farm. The 2nd Battalion reinforced the 3rd there, and established a line near the Étraye?Consenvoye road. [NOTE: It was in this action that CHARLES ROSCOE PACK was killed.] 1st Battalion attacked in the lead on 16 October, and along with the 115th's 2nd Battalion had formed a line from the reverse slope of Hill 370 to the road junction area near Molleville Farm in the Bois de la Grande Montagne by 1630. The division had reached its objectives and formed defensive positions along the line. From 8 to 22 October, the regiment suffered casualties of 838 wounded, 44 died of wounds, and 152 killed. The 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 116th then moved into the line. On the night of 28 to 29 October, the regiment was relieved by the 79th Infantry Division's 316th Infantry Regiment. From 23 October, the regiment had suffered casualties of 161 wounded, 15 died of wounds, and 46 killed. Total casualties of the regiment in the offensive were thus 1,005 wounded, 59 died of wounds, and 198 killed. During the offensive, the regiment captured 2,000 German prisoners, 250 machine guns, and 29 high-caliber guns. The war ended on 11 November, and the regiment and the division moved to the 11th (Bourbonne-les-Bains) Training Area. For the next several months the regiment conducted training. The regiment was reviewed as part of a ceremony where American personnel were decorated by Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), on 4 April 1919 at Chaumont. On 11 April the regiment moved with the division to the Ballon area of the Le Mans American Embarkation Center. Ten days later, it was transferred to Saint-Nazaire. On 10 May, the regiment embarked for the United States on the USS Matsonia. After returning to Newport News on 21 May, the regiment was demobilized on 30 May 1919 at Camp Lee. [2]
Person ID	I2832	Master File
Last Modified	28 Apr 2017

Father	John Riley PACK, b. 5 Apr 1869, Indian Creek, Tazewell Co. VA , d. 7 Jul 1944, Cedar Bluff Tazewell Co. VA (Age 75 years)
Mother	Mollie Rosa BEAVERS, b. 24 Aug 1877, Berwind, McDowell Co. WV , d. 31 Jan 1923, Richlands, Tazewell Co. VA (Age 45 years)
Married	3 Jul 1890	McDowell Co. WV [3]
	McDowell Co. WV Vital Records http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11391388&Type=Marriage
Family ID	F1962	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

[S2] Pack Family Bible, Possession of Ella Mae Pack Whitaker.
[S3] Nancy Whitaker Tate Interview, Cheryl Tate Duke, (11/26/00-current).
[S35] Marriage Book 1, McDowell Co WV, 1865-1886, p. 121.