Born in Union County, N.C., Crowell died of disease while serving as a Private in the 344th Labor Battalion in France. He was the oldest son of John Henry and Cantie (Covington) Crowell; he went by his middle name, Ward. (note that Cantie has been misspelled in Crowell's 1918 death notice) When his mother died in 1923, the Monroe Journal published her death notice on April 24 and noted within: "The death of her son in the war was a hard blow to her and her mother's heart bled for him just as the hearts of tens of thousands of...mothers bled for their lost sons." Crowell is Union County, NC's only African-American casualty (death) during WWI. (we know of one other African-American death from WWI - Roy (Leroy?) Perry, who died in 1919 from the effects of being gassed while in France).
Born in Union County, N.C., Crowell died of disease while serving as a Private in the 344th Labor Battalion in France. He was the oldest son of John Henry and Cantie (Covington) Crowell; he went by his middle name, Ward. (note that Cantie has been misspelled in Crowell's 1918 death notice) When his mother died in 1923, the Monroe Journal published her death notice on April 24 and noted within: "The death of her son in the war was a hard blow to her and her mother's heart bled for him just as the hearts of tens of thousands of...mothers bled for their lost sons." Crowell is Union County, NC's only African-American casualty (death) during WWI. (we know of one other African-American death from WWI - Roy (Leroy?) Perry, who died in 1919 from the effects of being gassed while in France).
Inscription
PVT 344 LABOR BATTN
Gravesite Details
Marble military marker on the orginal grounds of what is now known as Hillcrest City Cemetery. Birth information obtained from his WWI draft registration card.
Family Members
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