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Remember...Howard William Southall
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| Howard William Southall was born October 17, 1892, in Gay, West Virginia, the eldest of nine children born to James Henry and Rosa Pringle Southall. |  James and Rosa Southall with children Addie, Arnal, Boyd, Holly, Rolly, and Howard William (seated at right). |
 Southall family farm
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As a youth, he lived on the 70-acre family farm where he and his siblings had many responsibilities. He was active in the Elk Fork Church and attended Rocky Knob, a one-room school, at the same time as his brothers Rolly, Boyd and Holly. |
| On May 11, 1918, Howard married Ruby Alice Kelly. |  Howard and Ruby Southall on their wedding day. |
 Howard Southall letter |
Howard left for Camp Lee, Virginia, on May 27, 1918, and after completion of training sailed for France on July 28, 1918. Howard’s brother Holly enlisted about the same time and the brothers hoped they would be assigned to the same unit. However, a case of measles prevented Holly from being shipped out. William also contracted measles, but after his arrival in France. He was taken to the base hospital on August 29, 1918, where he developed pneumonia and died on September 14, 1918. |
| At first buried in France, Howard William Southall was returned to the United States on August 18, 1919, and reburied in Holbert Cemetery in Gay. His body was transferred to Fairplane Cemetery in Jackson County on August 16, 1932. It was discovered that his military service and sacrifice made him eligible for a military marker, which was set at the foot of his grave in Fairplane Cemetery in 2010. |  Burial in France.
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West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history. For more information contact Constance Baston at (304) 558-0230.
