Louis Werger, Jr.
(1895-1918)
Louis Werger, Jr.
Location of Plaque 2015
The USS Ticonderoga was sunk by a German submarine during the last months of World War I. Ironically the ship started as the German vessel and was seized by the U.S. government in 1917. (U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command photo)
Louis S. Werger, Jr.
Birth: 3/6/1895; Cleveland, OH
Address: 16306 Arcade Ave., Cleveland, OH
Demographics: age 22 at draft registration; single; listed race as "American;" native born citizen; occupation Die Sinker (a person who engraves dies for stamping coins, medals, etc.) at Cleveland Hardware Co., E. 45th St., Cleveland, OH
Appearance: Height medium; Build medium; Eyes blue; Hair brown
Draft Registration Date/Enlistment Date/Rank: 6/5/1917; 7/22/1918; Private
Service Number: 4125496
Deployment: September 1918 from Newport News/Norfolk, VA aboard SS Ticonderoga
Action: Co M 2 Prov Regt 156 Dep Brig to --; Btry 4 FA Cp Jackson SC Sept Repl Draft to death. Pvt. AEF Sept 19/18 to death. KIA Sept 30/18 in sinking of Ticonderoga.
Death: September 30, 1918 at age 23; Lost at Sea aboard the USS Ticonderoga (Missing in Action/Killed in Action/Buried at Sea)
Burial: Name inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing Memorial, Suresnes American Cemetery, Suresnes, France
Next of Kin: Mrs. Augusta M. Werger, mother, 9002 Parmelee Ave., Cleveland, OH
Additional Information: father Louis Werger (1867-1940), born Germany, immigrated mid-1880's, occupation Blacksmith; mother Augusta Melzer Werger (1871-1940), born Germany, immigrated mid-1880's; siblings Richard A. Werger (1892-1957); Helen Werger (1897-1959); Ethel Werger Dickason (?1901-1949); Arthur Werger (1906-1997); Irma Werger Lotz (1908-1968); Harold Werger ((1910-1999); several family members buried at Crown Hill Cemetery and Mausoleum, 8592 Darrow Rd., Twinsburg, OH, Section 23
Son recalls father's gripping escape 100 years after U.S. Navy's worst World War I loss (this is an article from the perspective of a survivor, unrelated to Private Louis Werger, Jr., who lost his life in the sinking of the USS Ticonderoga.)
Louis Werger's brother's high school graduation picture