Onésime Thomas Cormier, who came to be called 'Ozime' after moving to the U.S., was born and raised in Saint-Léonard-Parent, New Brunswick — a small farming parish on the east bank of the Rivière St-Jean, just across the border from Van Buren, Maine. The son of an Acadien couple, Ozime was descended from a long line of Frenchmen who had tilled the soil for more than two centuries; but in 1906 at age sixteen, he broke with family tradition when he immigrated to the United States to work as a logger in northern Maine's heavily-wooded Aroostook County. His path in life was markedly different from that of his ancestral forefathers, as he was the first to leave Canada for the U.S., the first to serve in the military, the first to marry in a civil ceremony, the first to have had U.S.-born children, and the first to be buried in the United States.
ONÉSIME's MILITARY SERVICE:
Private · United States Army · World War I
Serial No. 1677160
28th Division · 103rd Ammunition Train · Company F · Demolition Detail 2
When the U.S. declared war on Germany in the spring of 1917, Ozime was still a bachelor — just a few weeks shy of his 28th birthday. Living in Berlin, New Hampshire as a resident-alien, he was employed as an iron worker by the Megquier & Jones Company (a structural steel fabricator based in Portland, Maine); and in accordance with the newly enacted Selective Service laws, he dutifully registered for the military draft on the fifth of June. Ten months later (on 13 April 1918) Ozime was inducted into the U.S. Army and deployed to the European Theatre within weeks, where he proudly served with the American Expeditionary Forces in France and Belgium. His division initially sailed to Liverpool, England; but by early June they were ashore in northwestern France, where they trained for nearly two months. Actively engaged in combat from August 11th to November 15th (the 'Hundred Days Offensive'), Private Cormier fought through the battles at Vesle, Oise-Aisne, and Meuse-Argonne in northeastern France, as well as Ypres-Lys in western Belgium, until the end of the war. After the signing of the Armistice (on 11 November 1918) Ozime's unit remained in Belgium for nearly two months, assisting with salvage operations; and by the end of January 1919 they had completed a westward trek back to France, where they reconnected with their company and awaited demobilization orders. Unfortunately however (due to the massive number of troops), it took more than three months before the 28th Division returned home in early May; and it was on 24 July 1919, after his return to Camp Devens, Massachusetts, when Ozime received his Honorable Discharge. Along with a separation payment of $45.45 and a Congressionally approved $60 bonus (the equivalent of about $1,500 today), he was given travel pay to Van Buren, Maine, via train; and in 1921 he was awarded a World War Victory Medal with four battle clasps for his military service to the United States. He had served in the Army for more than fifteen months, of which twelve had been overseas.
Notes:
1. In October of 1918, about three weeks before the end of the war, Ozime's company (F) was attached to the division's 53rd Field Artillery Brigade and reassigned to the First Army's 91st Division in Belgium.
2. To view images of Onésime's original (handwritten) Army Discharge and Enlistment Record — click PHOTOS at the top of this page, click on the document-photo you wish to see, and then click View Original on the right side of the screen.
After 'The Great War For Civilization', Ozime returned to Saint-Léonard-Parent — anxious, no doubt, to visit with his family; but within a matter of months, he had resettled in the States and returned to work — first as a teamster (driving horse-drawn wagons) and later as a steeplejack and iron worker. In early 1920, at about thirty years of age, Ozime began to keep company with a young French girl from Eagle Lake, Maine — Emily Pelletier, who was thirteen years his junior and a single mother with a year-old son; and by the fall of that year, the couple had married and settled in Millinocket. The Cormier family eventually grew to include two daughters and two more sons.
By all accounts, Ozime was a hard worker and a good provider; and for a time, he was locally employed at the Great Northern Paper Company — which was then the world's largest paper mill. By nature, he was an adventurous and spirited man who played as hard as he worked. He had a passion for motorcycles and proudly owned several old 'Indians', including one with a sidecar; and though it was the era of Prohibition, Ozime always enjoyed tipping a few drinks with his friends. By the turn of the decade, he had left his job at the paper mill for a better paying position in the field which he had come to know and love — heavy construction. By then, he was employed as an industrial rigger and he'd bought a house for his family on East Terrace. His line of work, however, would often require him to be away from home for short periods of time — wherever work projects were underway; and in 1930, he accepted an assignment near Orland, Maine — which would unknowingly prove to be his last.
In early January of 1931, just after the holidays, Ozime returned to work on a project in Bucksport, Maine, near the mouth of the Penobscot River. Though the National Prohibition Act was still in effect, he and his hardworking friends would still get together in their free time for some camaraderie and imbibement. By then, however, the U.S. government (in a move to deter bootlegging and to scare the general public) had enacted a law requiring industrial alcohol manufacturers to 'denature' their product with poisons; and on the fifth of January, 1931, a bad batch of bootlegged alcohol brought tragedy to the coast of Maine.
At just forty years of age, Onésime T. Cormier died in Bucksport from the consumption of 'denatured alcohol', leaving behind a twenty-seven-year-old widow and five young children ranging in age from five to eleven. His body was returned to Millinocket by train; and following a funeral service at the local church, he was laid to rest in the Millinocket Cemetery — his grave now marked with an old military headstone. At the time of his death, Ozime and Emily had been married for only ten years.
Before the end of Prohibition in 1933, it's estimated that the federal government's poisoning program had caused the deaths of at least 10,000 U.S. citizens, including Ozime; but the legacy of this devoted family man and patriotic Franco-American soldier lives on. May he rest in peace and be long remembered.
Note:
Ozime's death certificate erroneously states that he died on January '6' in 'Orland', Maine.
ONÉSIME CORMIER's FAMILY
His Wife:
Emily M. (Pelletier) Cormier 1903-1973 [age 70]
married October 2, 1920, in Millinocket, Maine
by William Marden, Justice of the Peace
Note:
In 1943, twelve years after Ozime's death, Emily remarried.
Their 5 Children:
► Eugene E. 'Geneo' [Cormier] Pelletier 1919-2001 [age 81]
— see note 1 below
► Pearl L. (Cormier) Searles 1921-1997 [age 76]
► Oneil J. 'Neil' Cormier 1922-2002 [age 79]
► Lawrence N. 'Norman' Cormier 1923-1944 [age 20]
► June A. (Cormier) DeCarlo 1925-1968 [age 43]
Notes:
1. Though Ozime never formally adopted his stepson Eugene, he raised him as one of his own (under the name 'Eugene Cormier'). When Eugene decided to enlist in the Army in 1940, he then learned that he hadn't been born a Cormier — at which time he was required to assume the name on his birth certificate, 'Eugene Pelletier' (his mother's maiden name).
2. Although his premature death denied him some of the pleasures of growing old, Ozime would surely be proud to know that his family has grown to include 16 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren, 35 great-great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-great-grandchildren.
His Parents:
Sévérin X. Cormier 1852-1930 [age 78]
and Léocadie (Martin) Cormier 1853-1947 [age 94]
His 7 Siblings:
► Flavie M. (Cormier) Soucy 1881-1901 [age 20]
► Ubalde S. Cormier 1883-1964 [age 81]
► Alfred S. 'Fred' Cormier 1885-1962 [age 76]
► Marie A. 'Annie' (Cormier) Thibodeau 1886-1907 [age 20]
► Joseph Joachim Cormier 1889-1889 [age 3 weeks]
► Alice S. (Cormier) Morin 1892-1968 [age 76]
► François-Xavier Cormier 1894-1894 [age 1 day]
Note:
Notwithstanding that two of his brothers died as infants, Ozime became an uncle to 47 nieces and nephews — and countless grandnieces and grandnephews.
His Grandparents:
► Firmin Cormier 1809-1871 [age 62]
and Céleste 'Julie' (Cyr) · Cormier 1812-1887 [age 74]
► Basile Martin, Jr. 1822-1887 [age 65]
and Anastasie (Martin) Martin 1833-1911 [age 78]
CEMETERY INFORMATION
Type of Marker: Military Headstone
ONÉSIME's MILITARY SERVICE:
Private · United States Army · World War I
Serial No. 1677160
28th Division · 103rd Ammunition Train · Company F · Demolition Detail 2
When the U.S. declared war on Germany in the spring of 1917, Ozime was still a bachelor — just a few weeks shy of his 28th birthday. Living in Berlin, New Hampshire as a resident-alien, he was employed as an iron worker by the Megquier & Jones Company (a structural steel fabricator based in Portland, Maine); and in accordance with the newly enacted Selective Service laws, he dutifully registered for the military draft on the fifth of June. Ten months later (on 13 April 1918) Ozime was inducted into the U.S. Army and deployed to the European Theatre within weeks, where he proudly served with the American Expeditionary Forces in France and Belgium. His division initially sailed to Liverpool, England; but by early June they were ashore in northwestern France, where they trained for nearly two months. Actively engaged in combat from August 11th to November 15th (the 'Hundred Days Offensive'), Private Cormier fought through the battles at Vesle, Oise-Aisne, and Meuse-Argonne in northeastern France, as well as Ypres-Lys in western Belgium, until the end of the war. After the signing of the Armistice (on 11 November 1918) Ozime's unit remained in Belgium for nearly two months, assisting with salvage operations; and by the end of January 1919 they had completed a westward trek back to France, where they reconnected with their company and awaited demobilization orders. Unfortunately however (due to the massive number of troops), it took more than three months before the 28th Division returned home in early May; and it was on 24 July 1919, after his return to Camp Devens, Massachusetts, when Ozime received his Honorable Discharge. Along with a separation payment of $45.45 and a Congressionally approved $60 bonus (the equivalent of about $1,500 today), he was given travel pay to Van Buren, Maine, via train; and in 1921 he was awarded a World War Victory Medal with four battle clasps for his military service to the United States. He had served in the Army for more than fifteen months, of which twelve had been overseas.
Notes:
1. In October of 1918, about three weeks before the end of the war, Ozime's company (F) was attached to the division's 53rd Field Artillery Brigade and reassigned to the First Army's 91st Division in Belgium.
2. To view images of Onésime's original (handwritten) Army Discharge and Enlistment Record — click PHOTOS at the top of this page, click on the document-photo you wish to see, and then click View Original on the right side of the screen.
After 'The Great War For Civilization', Ozime returned to Saint-Léonard-Parent — anxious, no doubt, to visit with his family; but within a matter of months, he had resettled in the States and returned to work — first as a teamster (driving horse-drawn wagons) and later as a steeplejack and iron worker. In early 1920, at about thirty years of age, Ozime began to keep company with a young French girl from Eagle Lake, Maine — Emily Pelletier, who was thirteen years his junior and a single mother with a year-old son; and by the fall of that year, the couple had married and settled in Millinocket. The Cormier family eventually grew to include two daughters and two more sons.
By all accounts, Ozime was a hard worker and a good provider; and for a time, he was locally employed at the Great Northern Paper Company — which was then the world's largest paper mill. By nature, he was an adventurous and spirited man who played as hard as he worked. He had a passion for motorcycles and proudly owned several old 'Indians', including one with a sidecar; and though it was the era of Prohibition, Ozime always enjoyed tipping a few drinks with his friends. By the turn of the decade, he had left his job at the paper mill for a better paying position in the field which he had come to know and love — heavy construction. By then, he was employed as an industrial rigger and he'd bought a house for his family on East Terrace. His line of work, however, would often require him to be away from home for short periods of time — wherever work projects were underway; and in 1930, he accepted an assignment near Orland, Maine — which would unknowingly prove to be his last.
In early January of 1931, just after the holidays, Ozime returned to work on a project in Bucksport, Maine, near the mouth of the Penobscot River. Though the National Prohibition Act was still in effect, he and his hardworking friends would still get together in their free time for some camaraderie and imbibement. By then, however, the U.S. government (in a move to deter bootlegging and to scare the general public) had enacted a law requiring industrial alcohol manufacturers to 'denature' their product with poisons; and on the fifth of January, 1931, a bad batch of bootlegged alcohol brought tragedy to the coast of Maine.
At just forty years of age, Onésime T. Cormier died in Bucksport from the consumption of 'denatured alcohol', leaving behind a twenty-seven-year-old widow and five young children ranging in age from five to eleven. His body was returned to Millinocket by train; and following a funeral service at the local church, he was laid to rest in the Millinocket Cemetery — his grave now marked with an old military headstone. At the time of his death, Ozime and Emily had been married for only ten years.
Before the end of Prohibition in 1933, it's estimated that the federal government's poisoning program had caused the deaths of at least 10,000 U.S. citizens, including Ozime; but the legacy of this devoted family man and patriotic Franco-American soldier lives on. May he rest in peace and be long remembered.
Note:
Ozime's death certificate erroneously states that he died on January '6' in 'Orland', Maine.
ONÉSIME CORMIER's FAMILY
His Wife:
Emily M. (Pelletier) Cormier 1903-1973 [age 70]
married October 2, 1920, in Millinocket, Maine
by William Marden, Justice of the Peace
Note:
In 1943, twelve years after Ozime's death, Emily remarried.
Their 5 Children:
► Eugene E. 'Geneo' [Cormier] Pelletier 1919-2001 [age 81]
— see note 1 below
► Pearl L. (Cormier) Searles 1921-1997 [age 76]
► Oneil J. 'Neil' Cormier 1922-2002 [age 79]
► Lawrence N. 'Norman' Cormier 1923-1944 [age 20]
► June A. (Cormier) DeCarlo 1925-1968 [age 43]
Notes:
1. Though Ozime never formally adopted his stepson Eugene, he raised him as one of his own (under the name 'Eugene Cormier'). When Eugene decided to enlist in the Army in 1940, he then learned that he hadn't been born a Cormier — at which time he was required to assume the name on his birth certificate, 'Eugene Pelletier' (his mother's maiden name).
2. Although his premature death denied him some of the pleasures of growing old, Ozime would surely be proud to know that his family has grown to include 16 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren, 35 great-great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-great-grandchildren.
His Parents:
Sévérin X. Cormier 1852-1930 [age 78]
and Léocadie (Martin) Cormier 1853-1947 [age 94]
His 7 Siblings:
► Flavie M. (Cormier) Soucy 1881-1901 [age 20]
► Ubalde S. Cormier 1883-1964 [age 81]
► Alfred S. 'Fred' Cormier 1885-1962 [age 76]
► Marie A. 'Annie' (Cormier) Thibodeau 1886-1907 [age 20]
► Joseph Joachim Cormier 1889-1889 [age 3 weeks]
► Alice S. (Cormier) Morin 1892-1968 [age 76]
► François-Xavier Cormier 1894-1894 [age 1 day]
Note:
Notwithstanding that two of his brothers died as infants, Ozime became an uncle to 47 nieces and nephews — and countless grandnieces and grandnephews.
His Grandparents:
► Firmin Cormier 1809-1871 [age 62]
and Céleste 'Julie' (Cyr) · Cormier 1812-1887 [age 74]
► Basile Martin, Jr. 1822-1887 [age 65]
and Anastasie (Martin) Martin 1833-1911 [age 78]
CEMETERY INFORMATION
Type of Marker: Military Headstone
Onésime Thomas Cormier, who came to be called 'Ozime' after moving to the U.S., was born and raised in Saint-Léonard-Parent, New Brunswick — a small farming parish on the east bank of the Rivière St-Jean, just across the border from Van Buren, Maine. The son of an Acadien couple, Ozime was descended from a long line of Frenchmen who had tilled the soil for more than two centuries; but in 1906 at age sixteen, he broke with family tradition when he immigrated to the United States to work as a logger in northern Maine's heavily-wooded Aroostook County. His path in life was markedly different from that of his ancestral forefathers, as he was the first to leave Canada for the U.S., the first to serve in the military, the first to marry in a civil ceremony, the first to have had U.S.-born children, and the first to be buried in the United States.
ONÉSIME's MILITARY SERVICE:
Private · United States Army · World War I
Serial No. 1677160
28th Division · 103rd Ammunition Train · Company F · Demolition Detail 2
When the U.S. declared war on Germany in the spring of 1917, Ozime was still a bachelor — just a few weeks shy of his 28th birthday. Living in Berlin, New Hampshire as a resident-alien, he was employed as an iron worker by the Megquier & Jones Company (a structural steel fabricator based in Portland, Maine); and in accordance with the newly enacted Selective Service laws, he dutifully registered for the military draft on the fifth of June. Ten months later (on 13 April 1918) Ozime was inducted into the U.S. Army and deployed to the European Theatre within weeks, where he proudly served with the American Expeditionary Forces in France and Belgium. His division initially sailed to Liverpool, England; but by early June they were ashore in northwestern France, where they trained for nearly two months. Actively engaged in combat from August 11th to November 15th (the 'Hundred Days Offensive'), Private Cormier fought through the battles at Vesle, Oise-Aisne, and Meuse-Argonne in northeastern France, as well as Ypres-Lys in western Belgium, until the end of the war. After the signing of the Armistice (on 11 November 1918) Ozime's unit remained in Belgium for nearly two months, assisting with salvage operations; and by the end of January 1919 they had completed a westward trek back to France, where they reconnected with their company and awaited demobilization orders. Unfortunately however (due to the massive number of troops), it took more than three months before the 28th Division returned home in early May; and it was on 24 July 1919, after his return to Camp Devens, Massachusetts, when Ozime received his Honorable Discharge. Along with a separation payment of $45.45 and a Congressionally approved $60 bonus (the equivalent of about $1,500 today), he was given travel pay to Van Buren, Maine, via train; and in 1921 he was awarded a World War Victory Medal with four battle clasps for his military service to the United States. He had served in the Army for more than fifteen months, of which twelve had been overseas.
Notes:
1. In October of 1918, about three weeks before the end of the war, Ozime's company (F) was attached to the division's 53rd Field Artillery Brigade and reassigned to the First Army's 91st Division in Belgium.
2. To view images of Onésime's original (handwritten) Army Discharge and Enlistment Record — click PHOTOS at the top of this page, click on the document-photo you wish to see, and then click View Original on the right side of the screen.
After 'The Great War For Civilization', Ozime returned to Saint-Léonard-Parent — anxious, no doubt, to visit with his family; but within a matter of months, he had resettled in the States and returned to work — first as a teamster (driving horse-drawn wagons) and later as a steeplejack and iron worker. In early 1920, at about thirty years of age, Ozime began to keep company with a young French girl from Eagle Lake, Maine — Emily Pelletier, who was thirteen years his junior and a single mother with a year-old son; and by the fall of that year, the couple had married and settled in Millinocket. The Cormier family eventually grew to include two daughters and two more sons.
By all accounts, Ozime was a hard worker and a good provider; and for a time, he was locally employed at the Great Northern Paper Company — which was then the world's largest paper mill. By nature, he was an adventurous and spirited man who played as hard as he worked. He had a passion for motorcycles and proudly owned several old 'Indians', including one with a sidecar; and though it was the era of Prohibition, Ozime always enjoyed tipping a few drinks with his friends. By the turn of the decade, he had left his job at the paper mill for a better paying position in the field which he had come to know and love — heavy construction. By then, he was employed as an industrial rigger and he'd bought a house for his family on East Terrace. His line of work, however, would often require him to be away from home for short periods of time — wherever work projects were underway; and in 1930, he accepted an assignment near Orland, Maine — which would unknowingly prove to be his last.
In early January of 1931, just after the holidays, Ozime returned to work on a project in Bucksport, Maine, near the mouth of the Penobscot River. Though the National Prohibition Act was still in effect, he and his hardworking friends would still get together in their free time for some camaraderie and imbibement. By then, however, the U.S. government (in a move to deter bootlegging and to scare the general public) had enacted a law requiring industrial alcohol manufacturers to 'denature' their product with poisons; and on the fifth of January, 1931, a bad batch of bootlegged alcohol brought tragedy to the coast of Maine.
At just forty years of age, Onésime T. Cormier died in Bucksport from the consumption of 'denatured alcohol', leaving behind a twenty-seven-year-old widow and five young children ranging in age from five to eleven. His body was returned to Millinocket by train; and following a funeral service at the local church, he was laid to rest in the Millinocket Cemetery — his grave now marked with an old military headstone. At the time of his death, Ozime and Emily had been married for only ten years.
Before the end of Prohibition in 1933, it's estimated that the federal government's poisoning program had caused the deaths of at least 10,000 U.S. citizens, including Ozime; but the legacy of this devoted family man and patriotic Franco-American soldier lives on. May he rest in peace and be long remembered.
Note:
Ozime's death certificate erroneously states that he died on January '6' in 'Orland', Maine.
ONÉSIME CORMIER's FAMILY
His Wife:
Emily M. (Pelletier) Cormier 1903-1973 [age 70]
married October 2, 1920, in Millinocket, Maine
by William Marden, Justice of the Peace
Note:
In 1943, twelve years after Ozime's death, Emily remarried.
Their 5 Children:
► Eugene E. 'Geneo' [Cormier] Pelletier 1919-2001 [age 81]
— see note 1 below
► Pearl L. (Cormier) Searles 1921-1997 [age 76]
► Oneil J. 'Neil' Cormier 1922-2002 [age 79]
► Lawrence N. 'Norman' Cormier 1923-1944 [age 20]
► June A. (Cormier) DeCarlo 1925-1968 [age 43]
Notes:
1. Though Ozime never formally adopted his stepson Eugene, he raised him as one of his own (under the name 'Eugene Cormier'). When Eugene decided to enlist in the Army in 1940, he then learned that he hadn't been born a Cormier — at which time he was required to assume the name on his birth certificate, 'Eugene Pelletier' (his mother's maiden name).
2. Although his premature death denied him some of the pleasures of growing old, Ozime would surely be proud to know that his family has grown to include 16 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren, 35 great-great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-great-grandchildren.
His Parents:
Sévérin X. Cormier 1852-1930 [age 78]
and Léocadie (Martin) Cormier 1853-1947 [age 94]
His 7 Siblings:
► Flavie M. (Cormier) Soucy 1881-1901 [age 20]
► Ubalde S. Cormier 1883-1964 [age 81]
► Alfred S. 'Fred' Cormier 1885-1962 [age 76]
► Marie A. 'Annie' (Cormier) Thibodeau 1886-1907 [age 20]
► Joseph Joachim Cormier 1889-1889 [age 3 weeks]
► Alice S. (Cormier) Morin 1892-1968 [age 76]
► François-Xavier Cormier 1894-1894 [age 1 day]
Note:
Notwithstanding that two of his brothers died as infants, Ozime became an uncle to 47 nieces and nephews — and countless grandnieces and grandnephews.
His Grandparents:
► Firmin Cormier 1809-1871 [age 62]
and Céleste 'Julie' (Cyr) · Cormier 1812-1887 [age 74]
► Basile Martin, Jr. 1822-1887 [age 65]
and Anastasie (Martin) Martin 1833-1911 [age 78]
CEMETERY INFORMATION
Type of Marker: Military Headstone
ONÉSIME's MILITARY SERVICE:
Private · United States Army · World War I
Serial No. 1677160
28th Division · 103rd Ammunition Train · Company F · Demolition Detail 2
When the U.S. declared war on Germany in the spring of 1917, Ozime was still a bachelor — just a few weeks shy of his 28th birthday. Living in Berlin, New Hampshire as a resident-alien, he was employed as an iron worker by the Megquier & Jones Company (a structural steel fabricator based in Portland, Maine); and in accordance with the newly enacted Selective Service laws, he dutifully registered for the military draft on the fifth of June. Ten months later (on 13 April 1918) Ozime was inducted into the U.S. Army and deployed to the European Theatre within weeks, where he proudly served with the American Expeditionary Forces in France and Belgium. His division initially sailed to Liverpool, England; but by early June they were ashore in northwestern France, where they trained for nearly two months. Actively engaged in combat from August 11th to November 15th (the 'Hundred Days Offensive'), Private Cormier fought through the battles at Vesle, Oise-Aisne, and Meuse-Argonne in northeastern France, as well as Ypres-Lys in western Belgium, until the end of the war. After the signing of the Armistice (on 11 November 1918) Ozime's unit remained in Belgium for nearly two months, assisting with salvage operations; and by the end of January 1919 they had completed a westward trek back to France, where they reconnected with their company and awaited demobilization orders. Unfortunately however (due to the massive number of troops), it took more than three months before the 28th Division returned home in early May; and it was on 24 July 1919, after his return to Camp Devens, Massachusetts, when Ozime received his Honorable Discharge. Along with a separation payment of $45.45 and a Congressionally approved $60 bonus (the equivalent of about $1,500 today), he was given travel pay to Van Buren, Maine, via train; and in 1921 he was awarded a World War Victory Medal with four battle clasps for his military service to the United States. He had served in the Army for more than fifteen months, of which twelve had been overseas.
Notes:
1. In October of 1918, about three weeks before the end of the war, Ozime's company (F) was attached to the division's 53rd Field Artillery Brigade and reassigned to the First Army's 91st Division in Belgium.
2. To view images of Onésime's original (handwritten) Army Discharge and Enlistment Record — click PHOTOS at the top of this page, click on the document-photo you wish to see, and then click View Original on the right side of the screen.
After 'The Great War For Civilization', Ozime returned to Saint-Léonard-Parent — anxious, no doubt, to visit with his family; but within a matter of months, he had resettled in the States and returned to work — first as a teamster (driving horse-drawn wagons) and later as a steeplejack and iron worker. In early 1920, at about thirty years of age, Ozime began to keep company with a young French girl from Eagle Lake, Maine — Emily Pelletier, who was thirteen years his junior and a single mother with a year-old son; and by the fall of that year, the couple had married and settled in Millinocket. The Cormier family eventually grew to include two daughters and two more sons.
By all accounts, Ozime was a hard worker and a good provider; and for a time, he was locally employed at the Great Northern Paper Company — which was then the world's largest paper mill. By nature, he was an adventurous and spirited man who played as hard as he worked. He had a passion for motorcycles and proudly owned several old 'Indians', including one with a sidecar; and though it was the era of Prohibition, Ozime always enjoyed tipping a few drinks with his friends. By the turn of the decade, he had left his job at the paper mill for a better paying position in the field which he had come to know and love — heavy construction. By then, he was employed as an industrial rigger and he'd bought a house for his family on East Terrace. His line of work, however, would often require him to be away from home for short periods of time — wherever work projects were underway; and in 1930, he accepted an assignment near Orland, Maine — which would unknowingly prove to be his last.
In early January of 1931, just after the holidays, Ozime returned to work on a project in Bucksport, Maine, near the mouth of the Penobscot River. Though the National Prohibition Act was still in effect, he and his hardworking friends would still get together in their free time for some camaraderie and imbibement. By then, however, the U.S. government (in a move to deter bootlegging and to scare the general public) had enacted a law requiring industrial alcohol manufacturers to 'denature' their product with poisons; and on the fifth of January, 1931, a bad batch of bootlegged alcohol brought tragedy to the coast of Maine.
At just forty years of age, Onésime T. Cormier died in Bucksport from the consumption of 'denatured alcohol', leaving behind a twenty-seven-year-old widow and five young children ranging in age from five to eleven. His body was returned to Millinocket by train; and following a funeral service at the local church, he was laid to rest in the Millinocket Cemetery — his grave now marked with an old military headstone. At the time of his death, Ozime and Emily had been married for only ten years.
Before the end of Prohibition in 1933, it's estimated that the federal government's poisoning program had caused the deaths of at least 10,000 U.S. citizens, including Ozime; but the legacy of this devoted family man and patriotic Franco-American soldier lives on. May he rest in peace and be long remembered.
Note:
Ozime's death certificate erroneously states that he died on January '6' in 'Orland', Maine.
ONÉSIME CORMIER's FAMILY
His Wife:
Emily M. (Pelletier) Cormier 1903-1973 [age 70]
married October 2, 1920, in Millinocket, Maine
by William Marden, Justice of the Peace
Note:
In 1943, twelve years after Ozime's death, Emily remarried.
Their 5 Children:
► Eugene E. 'Geneo' [Cormier] Pelletier 1919-2001 [age 81]
— see note 1 below
► Pearl L. (Cormier) Searles 1921-1997 [age 76]
► Oneil J. 'Neil' Cormier 1922-2002 [age 79]
► Lawrence N. 'Norman' Cormier 1923-1944 [age 20]
► June A. (Cormier) DeCarlo 1925-1968 [age 43]
Notes:
1. Though Ozime never formally adopted his stepson Eugene, he raised him as one of his own (under the name 'Eugene Cormier'). When Eugene decided to enlist in the Army in 1940, he then learned that he hadn't been born a Cormier — at which time he was required to assume the name on his birth certificate, 'Eugene Pelletier' (his mother's maiden name).
2. Although his premature death denied him some of the pleasures of growing old, Ozime would surely be proud to know that his family has grown to include 16 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren, 35 great-great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-great-grandchildren.
His Parents:
Sévérin X. Cormier 1852-1930 [age 78]
and Léocadie (Martin) Cormier 1853-1947 [age 94]
His 7 Siblings:
► Flavie M. (Cormier) Soucy 1881-1901 [age 20]
► Ubalde S. Cormier 1883-1964 [age 81]
► Alfred S. 'Fred' Cormier 1885-1962 [age 76]
► Marie A. 'Annie' (Cormier) Thibodeau 1886-1907 [age 20]
► Joseph Joachim Cormier 1889-1889 [age 3 weeks]
► Alice S. (Cormier) Morin 1892-1968 [age 76]
► François-Xavier Cormier 1894-1894 [age 1 day]
Note:
Notwithstanding that two of his brothers died as infants, Ozime became an uncle to 47 nieces and nephews — and countless grandnieces and grandnephews.
His Grandparents:
► Firmin Cormier 1809-1871 [age 62]
and Céleste 'Julie' (Cyr) · Cormier 1812-1887 [age 74]
► Basile Martin, Jr. 1822-1887 [age 65]
and Anastasie (Martin) Martin 1833-1911 [age 78]
CEMETERY INFORMATION
Type of Marker: Military Headstone
Inscription
OZIME CORMIER
NEW HAMPSHIRE
PVT. 103 AM. TN.
28 DIV.
JANUARY 5, 1931
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