Chas. H. Whalen

(1889-1918) 

Chas. H. Whalen

Location of Plaque 2015

SS Duca d'Aosta

Gravestone Charles A. Whalen,

Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery,

Romagne, France

World War I Service Flag

Charles Arthur Whalen 

(aka Arthur Whalen) 

(plaque erroneously shows middle initial as H.)

Birth: 1/19/1889; Cleveland, OH 

Address: 2619 Orth Ave., Cleveland, OH

Demographics: age 29 at draft registration; single; Caucasian; natural born citizen; occupation Teamster (truck driver or driver of animals) employed by Garrett O'Conner (listed as a blacksmith or shoer)

Appearance: Height medium; Build medium; Eyes brown; Hair dark

Draft Registration Date/Enlistment Date/Rank: 5/6/1917; 10/5/1917; Private First Class

Service Number: 1539247

Deployment: 6/22/1918 from Newport News, Virginia aboard SS Duca d'Aosta


Action: 31 Co 8 Tng Bn to Oct 13/17; Co C 112 F Sig Bn to Feb 4/18; Hq & Sup Det F Sig Bn to death. Pvt; Pvt 1cl July 25/18; Meuse-Argonne; Defensive Sector. AEF June 22/18 to death. KIA Sept 29/18. 

Death: September 29, 1918 at age 29; Killed in Action

Burial: Buried locally in France; remains disinterred and reburied with final resting place Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne, France Row 16 Grave 1 Block D

Next of Kin: Mrs. Mary Whalen, mother, 2619 10th Ave., Cleveland, OH 

Additional Information: Private Charles Arthur Whalen was the oldest child in his family; father John William "Ike" Whalen (1862-1929), born Ohio of Irish ancestry, occupation brass molder; mother Mary O'Hara (1865-1945), born England; at least 8 siblings: James (1893-1912), Francis Elroy, Raymond (1896-1978), Harold aka Henry (1898-1917), Helen aka Nelly (1900-1980), Edward (1903-1916), Joseph (1906-2002); Marie C. (1911-1993); brother Raymond was honorably discharged from WWI with a physical disability; brother Henry died suddenly in 1917 at age 18 in Germany after falling off a ladder; in 1929 Mrs. Mary Whalen, mother, applied for the World War I Mothers' Pilgrimage to the burial place of her son to take place in 1930; the family suffered the deaths of 4 sons and the war disability of 1 son, all of them before the age of 30 between the years 1912-1918, including Private Charles Arthur Whalen; sister Marie C. Whalen McCafferty named her son, born 1923, Charles Arthur, presumably after her deceased brother Charles Arthur Whalen; many family members buried at Calvary Cemetery, 10000 Miles Ave., Cleveland, OH