James Laverne Bahl, Jr.

Death: 10/27/1918 [2 weeks before the Armistice on November 11, 1918] at age 23 at Vittorio Veneto, Treviso, Veneto, Italy; cause of death Killed in Action

Burial: buried locally after death at Revine, Vittorio Veneto, Treviso, Italy; remains later disinterred and returned to U.S. for final burial on 7/3/1921 at Wooster Cemetery, 983 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH, Lot 582 Block 13 Grave 3

Next of Kin: James Laverne Bahl, father, 454 W. Larwill St., Wooster, OH  

Additional Information:  

A 12/12/2019 Facebook posting from Aviano Air Base in northern Italy tells the heroic story of U.S. Army Air Service co-pilot First Lieutenant James Laverne Bahl, Jr. and the four-person crew: "On October 27, 1918, Coleman and Bahl, together with their Italian observer, Lieutenant Cutello, and gunner Sergeant Cantarutti, flew a bombing mission in their Caproni against Austro-Hungarian troops near Vittorio Veneto. After dropping their bombs, the Caproni was attacked by at least five enemy fighters. The crew downed two of the fighters, but the Caproni was eventually shot down and the entire crew was killed. For their actions Coleman was awarded the Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare, equivalent to the US Medal of Honor, and Bahl was awarded the Medaglia d'Argento al Valor Militare (Silver Medal for Military Valor), the second highest award. Both were also awarded the Italian Croce al Merito de Guerra (War Merit Cross) for valor."  

A historynet.com article entitled "Italy's American Ace," dated 6/28/2019, by Jon Guttman continues the story of pilot 1st Lt. De Witt B. Coleman, Jr., his co-pilot First Lieutenant James Laverne Bahl, Jr., and two Italian crew in the ill-fated Caproni trimotor heavy bomber at Vittorio Veneto, Italy. Pilots Coleman and Bahl had trained on Italian aircraft at Foggia, Italy under the command of Major Fiorello H. La Guardia, the future mayor of New York city. A citation describing the soldiers' bravery reads in part, "...the crew continued to fight, even in flames, until hard-pressed and overwhelmed by the strong group of enemies, it fell, and the whole crew paid for its audacity with death." The remains of the four Caproni crewmen were recovered by townspeople and buried in the town cemetery at Revine.

A 2018 Wooster, Ohio newspaper article details further the circumstances of the downing of the aircraft, subsequent retrieval of the bodies of the airmen, and the lengths to which the Italian government honored their sacrifice then and to the present day: https://www.the-daily-record.com/story/news/2018/11/09/wooster-wwi-veteran-honored-at/8465062007/

There are four places in Italy that commemorate the 81 U.S. Army Air Service pilots, known as the "Foggiani" or those who were trained at Foggia, Italy. First Lieutenant James Laverne Bahl, Jr. is one of those commemorated. The four memorial sites are the American Aviator Airfield Monument at Foggia, the American Aviator Memorial Plaque at the cathedral in Foggia, the Museum of the Battle at Vittorio Veneto, and three street signs at the Aviano Air Base in northern Italy.

https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/search_database.php

Father: James Laverne Bahl (1864-1951), born Ohio with ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War and were settlers of Lehigh County, PA as early as the 1700's, occupation Carpet Weaver, remarried 1904 after death of first wife, buried Wooster Cemetery, Wooster, OH alongside first wife and son First Lieutenant James Laverne Bahl, Jr.; Mother: Mary Evelyn Rearick Bahl (1869-1902), born Ohio of ancestors who had lived in the state for several generations, had at least 6 children, buried Wooster Cemetery, Wooster, OH alongside husband and son First Lieutenant James Laverne Bahl, Jr. Siblings: See image below.