EARLY YEARS: William Raymond was born March 12, 1889 in the far east Texas town of Timpson located in Shelby County. His parents Ollie Smith and John Ebenezer Mills were married October 7, 1883 in Panola County and later moved to Timpson where they raised four other children, Rupert Clyde, Lois, Homer Samuel and Milryn. During his childhood his father provided for the family as a salesman in an unspecified industry. William was a hard working and industrious young man by all accounts as he was a partner in a lumber mill by the time he was twenty-one years old in 1910 and employed his father there. At that time he and his siblings along with their maternal grandfather still lived with their parents on Archie Street in Timpson. Doing well, the family also included two hired servants and provided a room for a boarder that was common at that time.
MILITARY SERVICE: On May 10, 1916 at the age of 27 William enlisted in Company B, Third Infantry of the Texas National Guard at his hometown of Timpson. He may have wanted to be ready to serve before the United States entered the World War on April 6, 1917. Twenty-three days later he was promoted to First Sergeant of his unit. With World War I in full swing his National Guard unit was federalized and he was assigned to Company F, 143 Infanty Regiment, 72 Infantry Brigade, 36 Division at Camp Bowie, Texas. The division was composed of National Guard troops from the stats of Texas and Oklahoma. Two months later on December 3 First Sergeant Mills was honorably discharged from the enlisted ranks and commissioned a Second Lieutenant the following day. He remained with the 143 Regiment but now served with the machine gun company.
OVER THERE: The Division moved to Camp Stuart Virginia where they prepared for deployment. On July 18, 1918 at high noon, Lieutenant Mills was part of the 60 officers and 2,259 enlisted men of the division to depart the Port of New Port News, Virginia aboard the troopship SS Dante Alighieri bound for the war in France. He had named his father John of Timpson as the next of kin. Upon arrival some eleven days later they were sent to the Thirteenth Training Area in the in the vicinity of Bar-sur-Aube, a commune in the Aube department. They then participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive beginning on October 7, 1918 until the Armistice November 11. The division spent 23 days in active sectors and none in quite ones capturing 549 prisoners and suffering 2,528 casualties.
HOMECOMING: Following the end of the World War the division took up occupation duty until the summer of 1919. Now a First Lieutenant, William departed Bordeaux, France aboard the troopship USS Scranton with Depot Service Company 13, Army Service Corps on June 7 aboard the troopship USS Scranton. Arriving at the Port of New York, they were transported to Camp Upton for physicals, pay and discharge processing. Lieutenant William Mills was released from active duty on July 11, 1919 after thirty-seven months of military service. For his service he was awarded the World War I Victory Medal that would be available in 1920.
POST WAR: Returning to Shelby County, William lived with his parents on Marcus Street in Timpson where he became what was described as "a dealer in oil leases". On October 29, 1919 he was one of twenty-one World War I Veterans who met in Timpson for the purpose of establishing an American Legion Post. The Charter was approved November 6, 1919 and William was elected the first Post 90 Commander. He then moved to Dallas, Texas where he worked as an auditor for an oil company. There he met Miss Edna Rankin of Arlington and they were married at the home of her parents on December 22, 1925 with the Rev. S. M. Bennett, Pastor of the Arlington Presbyterian Church officiating. Following a wedding trip to Shreveport they resided at 937 Sunset Street, Dallas. On Valentine's Day, February 14, 1930 they were blessed with a baby boy they named William Raymond, Jr. In 1936 the family moved to 500 Abram Street in Arlington where William was an accountant for Sinclair oil and the Credit Union of Arco Oil.
FINAL YEARS: On April 27, 1942, four months after the United States entered World War II, he registered for the military draft and while not called to serve at age 53 he saw the beginning and end of another world war in his lifetime. William Raymond lived a long life passing at the age of 92 on November 12, 1981 at his home, 1522 Larkspur, Arlington. Survived by son William, Jr, two granddaughters and a grandson, he was buried in the Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Arlington, Tarrant County, Texas with wife Edna who preceded him in 1970. Day is done, God is nigh.
Bio by Larry E. Hume, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8904, Center, Texas.©
MILITARY SERVICE: On May 10, 1916 at the age of 27 William enlisted in Company B, Third Infantry of the Texas National Guard at his hometown of Timpson. He may have wanted to be ready to serve before the United States entered the World War on April 6, 1917. Twenty-three days later he was promoted to First Sergeant of his unit. With World War I in full swing his National Guard unit was federalized and he was assigned to Company F, 143 Infanty Regiment, 72 Infantry Brigade, 36 Division at Camp Bowie, Texas. The division was composed of National Guard troops from the stats of Texas and Oklahoma. Two months later on December 3 First Sergeant Mills was honorably discharged from the enlisted ranks and commissioned a Second Lieutenant the following day. He remained with the 143 Regiment but now served with the machine gun company.
OVER THERE: The Division moved to Camp Stuart Virginia where they prepared for deployment. On July 18, 1918 at high noon, Lieutenant Mills was part of the 60 officers and 2,259 enlisted men of the division to depart the Port of New Port News, Virginia aboard the troopship SS Dante Alighieri bound for the war in France. He had named his father John of Timpson as the next of kin. Upon arrival some eleven days later they were sent to the Thirteenth Training Area in the in the vicinity of Bar-sur-Aube, a commune in the Aube department. They then participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive beginning on October 7, 1918 until the Armistice November 11. The division spent 23 days in active sectors and none in quite ones capturing 549 prisoners and suffering 2,528 casualties.
HOMECOMING: Following the end of the World War the division took up occupation duty until the summer of 1919. Now a First Lieutenant, William departed Bordeaux, France aboard the troopship USS Scranton with Depot Service Company 13, Army Service Corps on June 7 aboard the troopship USS Scranton. Arriving at the Port of New York, they were transported to Camp Upton for physicals, pay and discharge processing. Lieutenant William Mills was released from active duty on July 11, 1919 after thirty-seven months of military service. For his service he was awarded the World War I Victory Medal that would be available in 1920.
POST WAR: Returning to Shelby County, William lived with his parents on Marcus Street in Timpson where he became what was described as "a dealer in oil leases". On October 29, 1919 he was one of twenty-one World War I Veterans who met in Timpson for the purpose of establishing an American Legion Post. The Charter was approved November 6, 1919 and William was elected the first Post 90 Commander. He then moved to Dallas, Texas where he worked as an auditor for an oil company. There he met Miss Edna Rankin of Arlington and they were married at the home of her parents on December 22, 1925 with the Rev. S. M. Bennett, Pastor of the Arlington Presbyterian Church officiating. Following a wedding trip to Shreveport they resided at 937 Sunset Street, Dallas. On Valentine's Day, February 14, 1930 they were blessed with a baby boy they named William Raymond, Jr. In 1936 the family moved to 500 Abram Street in Arlington where William was an accountant for Sinclair oil and the Credit Union of Arco Oil.
FINAL YEARS: On April 27, 1942, four months after the United States entered World War II, he registered for the military draft and while not called to serve at age 53 he saw the beginning and end of another world war in his lifetime. William Raymond lived a long life passing at the age of 92 on November 12, 1981 at his home, 1522 Larkspur, Arlington. Survived by son William, Jr, two granddaughters and a grandson, he was buried in the Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Arlington, Tarrant County, Texas with wife Edna who preceded him in 1970. Day is done, God is nigh.
Bio by Larry E. Hume, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8904, Center, Texas.©
EARLY YEARS: William Raymond was born March 12, 1889 in the far east Texas town of Timpson located in Shelby County. His parents Ollie Smith and John Ebenezer Mills were married October 7, 1883 in Panola County and later moved to Timpson where they raised four other children, Rupert Clyde, Lois, Homer Samuel and Milryn. During his childhood his father provided for the family as a salesman in an unspecified industry. William was a hard working and industrious young man by all accounts as he was a partner in a lumber mill by the time he was twenty-one years old in 1910 and employed his father there. At that time he and his siblings along with their maternal grandfather still lived with their parents on Archie Street in Timpson. Doing well, the family also included two hired servants and provided a room for a boarder that was common at that time.
MILITARY SERVICE: On May 10, 1916 at the age of 27 William enlisted in Company B, Third Infantry of the Texas National Guard at his hometown of Timpson. He may have wanted to be ready to serve before the United States entered the World War on April 6, 1917. Twenty-three days later he was promoted to First Sergeant of his unit. With World War I in full swing his National Guard unit was federalized and he was assigned to Company F, 143 Infanty Regiment, 72 Infantry Brigade, 36 Division at Camp Bowie, Texas. The division was composed of National Guard troops from the stats of Texas and Oklahoma. Two months later on December 3 First Sergeant Mills was honorably discharged from the enlisted ranks and commissioned a Second Lieutenant the following day. He remained with the 143 Regiment but now served with the machine gun company.
OVER THERE: The Division moved to Camp Stuart Virginia where they prepared for deployment. On July 18, 1918 at high noon, Lieutenant Mills was part of the 60 officers and 2,259 enlisted men of the division to depart the Port of New Port News, Virginia aboard the troopship SS Dante Alighieri bound for the war in France. He had named his father John of Timpson as the next of kin. Upon arrival some eleven days later they were sent to the Thirteenth Training Area in the in the vicinity of Bar-sur-Aube, a commune in the Aube department. They then participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive beginning on October 7, 1918 until the Armistice November 11. The division spent 23 days in active sectors and none in quite ones capturing 549 prisoners and suffering 2,528 casualties.
HOMECOMING: Following the end of the World War the division took up occupation duty until the summer of 1919. Now a First Lieutenant, William departed Bordeaux, France aboard the troopship USS Scranton with Depot Service Company 13, Army Service Corps on June 7 aboard the troopship USS Scranton. Arriving at the Port of New York, they were transported to Camp Upton for physicals, pay and discharge processing. Lieutenant William Mills was released from active duty on July 11, 1919 after thirty-seven months of military service. For his service he was awarded the World War I Victory Medal that would be available in 1920.
POST WAR: Returning to Shelby County, William lived with his parents on Marcus Street in Timpson where he became what was described as "a dealer in oil leases". On October 29, 1919 he was one of twenty-one World War I Veterans who met in Timpson for the purpose of establishing an American Legion Post. The Charter was approved November 6, 1919 and William was elected the first Post 90 Commander. He then moved to Dallas, Texas where he worked as an auditor for an oil company. There he met Miss Edna Rankin of Arlington and they were married at the home of her parents on December 22, 1925 with the Rev. S. M. Bennett, Pastor of the Arlington Presbyterian Church officiating. Following a wedding trip to Shreveport they resided at 937 Sunset Street, Dallas. On Valentine's Day, February 14, 1930 they were blessed with a baby boy they named William Raymond, Jr. In 1936 the family moved to 500 Abram Street in Arlington where William was an accountant for Sinclair oil and the Credit Union of Arco Oil.
FINAL YEARS: On April 27, 1942, four months after the United States entered World War II, he registered for the military draft and while not called to serve at age 53 he saw the beginning and end of another world war in his lifetime. William Raymond lived a long life passing at the age of 92 on November 12, 1981 at his home, 1522 Larkspur, Arlington. Survived by son William, Jr, two granddaughters and a grandson, he was buried in the Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Arlington, Tarrant County, Texas with wife Edna who preceded him in 1970. Day is done, God is nigh.
Bio by Larry E. Hume, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8904, Center, Texas.©
MILITARY SERVICE: On May 10, 1916 at the age of 27 William enlisted in Company B, Third Infantry of the Texas National Guard at his hometown of Timpson. He may have wanted to be ready to serve before the United States entered the World War on April 6, 1917. Twenty-three days later he was promoted to First Sergeant of his unit. With World War I in full swing his National Guard unit was federalized and he was assigned to Company F, 143 Infanty Regiment, 72 Infantry Brigade, 36 Division at Camp Bowie, Texas. The division was composed of National Guard troops from the stats of Texas and Oklahoma. Two months later on December 3 First Sergeant Mills was honorably discharged from the enlisted ranks and commissioned a Second Lieutenant the following day. He remained with the 143 Regiment but now served with the machine gun company.
OVER THERE: The Division moved to Camp Stuart Virginia where they prepared for deployment. On July 18, 1918 at high noon, Lieutenant Mills was part of the 60 officers and 2,259 enlisted men of the division to depart the Port of New Port News, Virginia aboard the troopship SS Dante Alighieri bound for the war in France. He had named his father John of Timpson as the next of kin. Upon arrival some eleven days later they were sent to the Thirteenth Training Area in the in the vicinity of Bar-sur-Aube, a commune in the Aube department. They then participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive beginning on October 7, 1918 until the Armistice November 11. The division spent 23 days in active sectors and none in quite ones capturing 549 prisoners and suffering 2,528 casualties.
HOMECOMING: Following the end of the World War the division took up occupation duty until the summer of 1919. Now a First Lieutenant, William departed Bordeaux, France aboard the troopship USS Scranton with Depot Service Company 13, Army Service Corps on June 7 aboard the troopship USS Scranton. Arriving at the Port of New York, they were transported to Camp Upton for physicals, pay and discharge processing. Lieutenant William Mills was released from active duty on July 11, 1919 after thirty-seven months of military service. For his service he was awarded the World War I Victory Medal that would be available in 1920.
POST WAR: Returning to Shelby County, William lived with his parents on Marcus Street in Timpson where he became what was described as "a dealer in oil leases". On October 29, 1919 he was one of twenty-one World War I Veterans who met in Timpson for the purpose of establishing an American Legion Post. The Charter was approved November 6, 1919 and William was elected the first Post 90 Commander. He then moved to Dallas, Texas where he worked as an auditor for an oil company. There he met Miss Edna Rankin of Arlington and they were married at the home of her parents on December 22, 1925 with the Rev. S. M. Bennett, Pastor of the Arlington Presbyterian Church officiating. Following a wedding trip to Shreveport they resided at 937 Sunset Street, Dallas. On Valentine's Day, February 14, 1930 they were blessed with a baby boy they named William Raymond, Jr. In 1936 the family moved to 500 Abram Street in Arlington where William was an accountant for Sinclair oil and the Credit Union of Arco Oil.
FINAL YEARS: On April 27, 1942, four months after the United States entered World War II, he registered for the military draft and while not called to serve at age 53 he saw the beginning and end of another world war in his lifetime. William Raymond lived a long life passing at the age of 92 on November 12, 1981 at his home, 1522 Larkspur, Arlington. Survived by son William, Jr, two granddaughters and a grandson, he was buried in the Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Arlington, Tarrant County, Texas with wife Edna who preceded him in 1970. Day is done, God is nigh.
Bio by Larry E. Hume, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8904, Center, Texas.©
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