Albert “Bert” Buchanan

The following profile was researched and compiled by Candice L. Buchanan and Glenn J. R. T. Toothman III, for publication in "The Rain Day Boys: The Greene That Lay Near Grimpettes Woods" (2017). Learn more at RainDayBoys.com.

Birth: 2 May 1892 Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania[i]

Parents: Charles Buchanan and Catherine Reese[ii]

Residence at time of enlistment: Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania[iii]

Physical description: 5 feet 6 inches tall, medium build, florid complexion (i.e. red or flushed, rosy-cheeked), light blue eyes, brown hair[iv]

Death: Killed in action 29 July 1918 Cierges, Picardie, France[v]

Age at death: 26 years old

Last resting place: 8 August 1921 Green Mount Cemetery, Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania[vi]

Military rank: Serial No. 1241424. Private First Class. Company K, 110th Infantry, 28th Division.

Witness account of death: Statement given by Sgt. Glancy W. Smith. “I was with Bert Buchanan when he was killed on July 29, 1918. We had been ordered to fall back from the hill just beyond the Ourcq River, to the river. We were lying down when the order came and one man at a time  would get up and make a run for the river. When Buchanan got up he was hit in the neck by a machine gun bullet and killed instantly.”[vii]

Additional information:

Bert was a member of the First Baptist Church of Waynesburg, from which his funeral was held 8 August  1921.[viii] A loyal employee of Charles Thompson in West Waynesburg for many years, Bert was eulogized as a "fine, industrious young man."[ix]

In 1934, Charles Buchanan, Bert’s father, was granted $10.00 a month for 20 months as part of the Pennsylvania Veteran’s Compensation Act, on behalf of his son.[x]

 

[i] "United States, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=6482 : accessed 7 August 2013), card for Albert Buchanan, serial no. 689, Local Draft Board, West Franklin, Greene County, Pennsylvania; citing National Archives microfilm publication M1509, FHL roll 1892939.

[ii] "WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60884 : accessed 9 October 2017), Charles Buchanan, father of Bert Buchanan - application no. 222686; citing World War I Veterans Service and Compensation File, 1934–1948 (RG 19, Series 19.91), Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Catherine Buchanan, death certificate no. 39419 (1931), Department of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, Columbus, Ohio.

1900 U.S. census, Morris Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, rural, enumeration district (ED) 95, page 167A (stamped)/1 (written), dwelling 7, family 8, Charley Buchanan household; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 9 October 2017); National Archives microfilm publication T623, roll 1414.

1910 U.S. census, Franklin Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, rural, enumeration district (ED) 103, page 233A (stamped)/7 (written), dwelling 126, family 131, Charles Buchanan household; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 9 October 2017); National Archives microfilm publication T624, roll 1348.

[iii] "WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, Charles Buchanan, father of Bert Buchanan - application no. 222686.

[iv] "United States, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," digital images, Ancestry.com, Albert Buchanan draft card, serial no. 689, Local Draft Board, West Franklin, Greene County, Pennsylvania.

"PA National Guard Veterans' Card File, 1867-1921," digital images, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), Pennsylvania State Archives Records Information Access System (www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/archive.asp: viewed 12 November 2017), Bert Buchanan, Private, Co K, 10th Inf., P. N. G.; citing Pennsylvania State Archives, series #19.135.

[v] Memorial Services and Dedication of Tablet, Company K, 110th (10th Pa.) Infantry: Waynesburg, Pa., Sunday, May 30, 1920 (Waynesburg, Pennsylvania: Sutton's Printing Office, 1920), page 4, Bert Buchanan entry. "WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, Charles Buchanan, father of Bert Buchanan - application no. 222686.

[vi] Green Mount Cemetery (Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania), Charles Buchanan family tombstone, section C, lot 59; personally read by Candice Buchanan, 2008.

[vii] "WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, Charles Buchanan, father of Bert Buchanan - application no. 222686.

[viii] "Funerals of Four Company K Heroes" article, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 11 August 1921.

[ix] "Our County's Honored Dead" article, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 29 August 1918.

[x] "WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, Charles Buchanan, father of Bert Buchanan - application no. 222686.