Victor J. Schwaller

World War I

Victor J. Schwaller was born in Templeton on March 5, 1891, to Victor C. and Susan (Halter) Schwaller. His parents were both born in eastern Iowa. When registering for the military draft during June, 1917, Victor indicated he was employed in a restaurant.

Victor was inducted into the US Army on March 4, 1918 and assigned serial number 881188. He enlisted into the 318th Engineers and left that day for Vancouver Barracks, WA. He was assigned to Company A. Training included the typical infantry drill and rifle proficiency. In addition, these troops were trained as sappers. Sapper was an encompassing term that included breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge building and laying and clearing minefields.

On April 22, 1918, the 318th Engineers traveled six days by train to Camp Merritt, NJ to prepare for transit to Europe. Victor and his unit (he was now in Company C) boarded the “America” on May 8, 1918, in Hoboken, NJ. Their voyage took them to Brest, France where they built warehouses, barracks, water supply systems and laid railroad tracks. On June 1, 1918, Victor was designated a Cook which was a rank during World War I.

Elements of the 6th Infantry Division, which the 318th Engineers were a part of, were fully assembled in France during August, 1918, and were sent for additional training near Chateauvillain in east central France. In September, Victor and his unit were stationed at Camp Nicholas in the Vosges region where they were engaged in digging trenches and stringing barbed wire near enemy lines. It is unknown how close to the German lines Victor would have been conducting his activities as a cook. The 318th Engineers were moved during October near Les Islettes and participated in the Meuse-Argonne offensive which led to the end of the war on November 11, 1918.

After the Armistice was declared, the 318th Engineers moved to an area northeast of Verdun to salvage equipment and ammunition from French trenches and dugouts. On March 15, 1919, Victor’s rank was returned to Private. The unit continued their combat engineer activities in France, Luxembourg and Germany until preparing to return to the US. On June 3, 1919, Company C boarded the “Orizaba” in Brest, France and sailed for home. They arrived in Newport News, VA in mid-June. Victor was discharged on June 21, 1919, and he returned to Templeton on June 29, 1919.

By 1924, Victor was living in Des Moines. On September 5, 1927, he married Helen Byrnes at St. John’s Church in Des Moines. He was employed as a clerk for the Des Moines Union Railway, a local commuter railroad that existed at that time. In October, 1960, Victor and his wife travelled to California. While going through Phoenix, AZ, he suffered a heart attack. He died in the VA Hospital in Phoenix on October 10, 1960, at age 69. He was buried in Glendale Cemetery in Des Moines.