Sgt. Jay H. Crawford World War I Diary (SC-225)

Jay H. Crawford was born January 19, 1892, in Rush Hill, Audrain County, Missouri, though the family later moved to Camden, Ray County, Missouri. His father, Mark Crawford, was a physician, and his mother's name was Calla.

Crawford enlisted in the U.S. Army in July 1917. On May 16, 1918, Crawford departed for France aboard the U.S.S. Mt. Vernon as a member of the 108th Sanitary Train, in the 33rd Division of the United States National Guard. According to the passenger list for the Mt. Vernon, Crawford’s organization was Camp Infirmary #8. His duties in World War I included caring for the sick and dying. Crawford appears on the passenger list for the troop transport ship U.S.S. America on May 16, 1919. He was discharged June 9, 1919, with the rank of Sergeant.

After the war, Crawford married and had two daughters: Mary Virginia Crawford McCauley (1921-2003) and Catherine Anne Crawford Spruill (1927-1999). Places he lived included El Dorado, Kansas (1920 and 1925); Ardmore, Oklahoma (1930); and Coffeyville, Kansas (1942). He died September 7, 1968, in Coffeyville, and was buried in Fairview Cemetery there.

Tom McClusky, whose name appears on the diary’s last page, was a member of the Band of the 362nd Infantry. McClusky appears on the passenger list of the U.S.S. Edward Luckenback sailing from St. Nazaire, France, on April 2, 1919. His connection to Crawford is unknown.