John H. Kuypers

World War I

John Kuypers was born on September 18, 1887, in Dedham, IA to Frank and Elizabeth (LeDuc) Kuypers. Frank was an immigrant from Holland who came to the United States in 1881. He was a foreman for the Chicago Northwestern Railroad when he died in 1905. Elizabeth married Joseph Bierl in 1908 and the family moved to Templeton where Joseph was a bartender. John followed his father by working for the railroad.

John was inducted into the US Army on April 29, 1918, and assigned serial number 2856799. He was sent to Camp Dodge near Des Moines for initial training. He was part of Company L, 350th Infantry Regiment of the 88th Infantry Division. However, as was common at this time, he was re-assigned to Company D, 357th Infantry Division of the 90th Infantry Division. This included a transfer to Camp Travis near San Antonio, TX for additional training.

By early June, the 357th Infantry was ready for transit to Europe and John and his unit were transported to New York. On June 20, 1918, the 357th Infantry sailed from Brooklyn for Europe aboard the “Delta” arriving in Liverpool, England on July 1. They immediately were sent to Southhampton and then onto Aigney-le-Duc, France.

On August 24, 1918, the 357th Infantry relieved the 16th Infantry and began trench and patrol duties near St. Mihiel. On September 12, the 357th Infantry attacked German lines and encountered 2 ½ kilometers of wire entanglements and trenches suffering heavy losses. They did reach their objective and captured over 200 German machine guns. They continued to move forward until September 16 when they took up defensive positions. They stabilized this line near Puvenelle until relieved on October 10. The 357th Infantry was gassed numerous times during their advance.

On October 21, 1918, the 357th Infantry went back into the line near Farm de Madeline as a part of the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Over the next three weeks, they experienced repeated machine gun and artillery fire and endured more heavy casualties. Several counterattacks by the Germans were repulsed. By November 9, the Germans were withdrawing and the 357th Infantry pursued them across the Meuse River. On the night of November 10 (the night before the Armistice), the Germans launched a heavy poison gas concentration on the town of Mouzay affecting not only the soldiers but civilians as well. When the fighting ended, the 357th had been in combat for 68 of the previous 75 days.

Occupation duties were assigned in Mouzay and Baalon to care for refugees and returning POW’s. They marched through France and Luxembourg to Germany on November 23. They were stationed in Grevenmacher and engaged in training, interior guard and protection of transportation points. By May 26, 1919, the 357th Infantry was in St. Nazaire, France for return to the US. They boarded the “Huron” and arrived at Newport News, VA in early June. The unit was sent to Camp Stuart at Newport News for processing. John was discharged on June 16, 1919. John received a 10% disability likely due to the poison gas.

During the war, John’s family had moved to Omaha, NE and John joined them there. His step-father died in 1923. By 1930, John and his mother moved to Oklahoma City, OK to live with his older sister and her family. John never married. He was working in the supply department of Douglas Aircraft when he died of a heart attack on October 30, 1945, at age 58. He was buried in Fairlawn Cemetery in Oklahoma City, OK.