After both World Wars, remains were not repatriated, or brought back to the U.S. from overseas until 1920 after WWI and 1947 after WWII. Soldiers were buried near where they fell in one of the many temporary cemeteries (if they were recovered.) Those discovered after the war ended were often temporarily buried until the government gave the family the option to choose to either repatriate the remains or leave them overseas to be buried in an American Military Cemetery. There were a few other options but those two were the primary.
Ancestry.com has a database online called the U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939. If you do a search for Michael Kokoska, you will find three entries (one is a duplicate). Michael departs from Hoboken, NJ in 1918 on ship No. 39, with the 32nd Division to head overseas. They disembarked in Brest, France.
Michael returns in 1921 on the USAT Wheaton from Cherbourg, France to Hoboken, NJ. He is listed on this passenger manifest with a name, unit, serial number, and the address of his next of kin. His father, Joseph Kokoska in Chicago.
Michael is dead. His remains which are being returned to the U.S. after the war.
Soldiers whose remains were repatriated, were listed by their name on a ship manifest to retain their dignity. The men who gave their lives were not just put on a ship unnamed with no honor or respect. Their caskets were placed in shipping cases, covered with the American flag, and carefully placed in the ship’s hold for transport from the theater of war to the U.S.
How do you know if a soldier is living or deceased?
It appears in this database that deceased soldiers are listed by name, rank, ASN, unit , cable reference number and a code after. But there is nothing that specifically says deceased soldiers from what I could see. In tiny print at the top of the manifest under #2 it talks about a code for the sick or wounded or deceased, etc. but the code is not specifically listed on each manifest page. Michael’s manifest looks different from his brother Albert’s. Keep reading to see both examples.
Hello Jennifer,
Thank you so very much for this article. My husband has been researching his great uncle who was killed in France in WWI and we have been diligently trying to find out if his body had ever been returned to the U.S. or if his grave marker in the cemetery in Nebraska, was just that – only a marker. Long story short, his great uncle was returned on the same ship as your Michael, only on a different date. When looking at the ship manifest, we discovered that at the very beginning of the manifest, there are header pages that state that the “passengers” were deceased, except for the crew. We are very interested in finding out more about how the whole process took place and will order “Stories of the Lost” for kindle.
Sincerely,
Hi Nancy,
Thank you for your comment. I sent you an email about this.
Best,
Jennifer
Another excellent book on the subject is “Bodies of War” by Lisa Budreau.
I would very much appreciate some help. Where might I find detailed information about the USAT funeral ships.
My great uncle Richard DeWees of Kentucky had been working in Hamilton, Ohio when he enlisted in 1917. He was died of wounds on September 28, 1918 in the battle of the Argonne-Meuse. He, too, returned on the Wheaton which left Cherbourg on May 1st and docked in Hoboken on May 18, 1921 after also docking in Antwerp to load additional deceased personnel. In looking at the ship’s manifest, if you go back to page 305 you will find the name of crew members assigned to the ship: 1 embalmer, 1 civilian employee, 4 checkers, and 1 conveyer. Page 306 has a hand written note “List for Deceased”. Pages 311-320 contain statistical information for those loaded at Cherbourg and Antwerp. Pages 321-453 lists the names of deceased personnel returned on the Wheaton. Richard is # 624 on page 399 of that list.
I was recently doing some research on a relative of mine by the name of Richard DeWeese that died during World War 1 as well. My family came from the Kentucky area and my grandfather, from who I obtained all this information from, grew up in Hamilton, Ohio. However, my grandpa had records that Richard DeWeese’s body was never returned to the United States but instead was buried in France. I have information on where he was exactly buried at. Is it possible it is the same DeWeese or is it just some crazy coincidence that there were two Richard DeWeeses with connections to Hamilton, Ohio and they both died in France during World War 1? Would love to chat with you more to determine if we are talking about the same relative.
Hi, I sent you a message.
Jennifer
Thank you so much for this! This helped me out tremendously with the research I am doing on Nurse Annie Williams who also came home on the Wheaton on the same trip
You’re welcome!
Would you by any chance know what the Cable Reference Number and Code Number means? I have looked it up and spent a lot of time trying to figure it out and the paragraph at the top doesn’t describe this particular passenger list (funeral/repatriation), and I noticed that some of the numbers are similar so they must mean something? I have looked in every Army Transport manual and everywhere else I could think…
I think it refers to cable numbers sent to families but I would have to check burial files to see if I can find those numbers listed on any documents.
I too would like to thank you for this post. My Grandma’s first cousin, John Charles Londraville, was killed in France, in 1918, and his body returned home in 1921. I also found a copy of the U.S.A.T. Wheaton manifest on Ancestry listing his name.
Happy it contributed to your research Tony! If you are interested in obtaining his records, burial file, and other documents and cannot go to NPRC yourself to do the research, feel free to email us to discuss a research project. info@wwiirwc.com
Jennifer
Does anyone have a photo or know where one can be found of the USAT Wheaton? Does anyone have information on the history of the ship?
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Joel Reese, Local History Librarian
Iredell County Public Library
jreese@iredell.lib.nc.us
Hi Joel,
I’m sending you an email about this.
Jennifer
Thank you for this well written article explaining the USAT Wheaton, the Army Transport Funeral Ship.
Like you, my ancestor, Walter D Stauffer’s remains were returned to the US aboard the USAT Wheaton.
This give me a better idea of the interment date for the Cemetary being 1921 when he died in 1918 in France.
Thank you again for your research. And yes the Cable number is the identification of the ‘Notice of Death’ cable/telegram sent to the surviving relatives.
Thank you for reading Lee! Have you obtained Walter’s WWI Burial File and other docs to learn more about his service? If you have sent a letter to NPRC asking for docs and they said they burned – we can actually help. We can get records NPRC won’t send you. Just email us if you would like a free phone consult to discuss options and fees.
Hi Jennifer,
Thank you for the informative article. My Great Grandmother arrived in the U.S. on such a ship. While we were researching her transportation from Germany (after marrying my great grandfather) to the states, we were baffled as to why the manifest only listed a handful of women and a few children as passengers as well as crew members. We later learned she traveled across the Atlantic with other war brides on a funeral transport ship which docked in NY.
That’s really interesting she traveled that way!
Jennifer,
My great, great uncle John Holt was killed in France in 1918, and his remains were returned on the Wheaton to Hoboken, NJ in October 1921. He was later buried in his hometown at a later date. I have received a letter from the NPRC that mentions his record may have been destroyed by fire. The departure and arrival manifests are the only official documentation I have found concerning his service.
Thanks,
Marcus
Hi Marcus,
I sent you an email about this.
Jennifer