Sylvester Kasperbauer

World War I

Sylvester Kasperbauer was born on a farm near Templeton on December 31, 1894 to Frank X. and Franziska Kasperbauer, both German immigrants. The family arrived in Templeton just a few years prior to Sylvester’s birth as some of his older siblings were born in Germany.

When the US joined the fighting in World War 1 in 1917, Sylvester was unmarried and he was designated as a group A inductee. He enlisted in the US Army in Carroll on July 26, 1918. He, along with other Carroll County boys, were transported through Camp Dodge near Des Moines to Camp Gordon near Atlanta, Georgia. He was assigned serial number 4006603.

After receiving limited basic training, Sylvester was assigned to the “September Automatic Replacement Draft #6” along with at least two other Templeton boys. These troops were to be transferred to other units already in Europe to replace killed or wounded soldiers. Sylvester’s unit was then transported to Camp Merritt, New Jersey to prepare for their voyage to Europe. Groups of one to two thousand troops would be marched for an hour from Camp Merritt to the ferry to Hoboken where the ships would be boarded.

Based on a review of ship’s logs, Sylvester and his unit boarded the USS Mercury for their transit across the Atlantic Ocean. This ship was a passenger liner that had previously been owned by a German company and called the “Barbarossa.” It was seized by the US government when war was declared. It needed several repairs to fix damage done by its German crew before the seizure. It was refitted as a troop ship and all enlisted men were berthed in third class accommodations.

The ship left Hoboken, NJ on September 9, 1918 in a convoy with destroyer escort. Course changes and evasive maneuvers were made as a result of numerous U-boat sightings. During this time, the Spanish flu pandemic was beginning and it affected many troops that fought in World War 1. The virus found the packed troop ships to be a very fertile environment. Sylvester contracted the virus during this voyage. The ship docked at Brest, France on September 21, 1918. Sylvester was hospitalized but died of lobar pneumonia on October 5, 1918 at age 23.

Sylvester was buried October 8, 1918 in the American cemetery at Lambezellec, France near Brest. His body was disinterred and was put aboard the same ship, USS Mercury, at Brest on June 6, 1920. The ship arrived back at Hoboken, New Jersey on June 29, 1920. He then made his last trip to Templeton for burial on July 20, 1920 in Sacred Heart Cemetery.