Josef Joe Bican

(1890-1918)

SS Canopic

Gravestone, Brothers Private Josef Joe Bican and James Vaclav Bican buried alongside each other, West Park Cemetery, Cleveland, OH

Photo on Gravestone, Private Josef Joe Bican, West Park Cemetery, Cleveland, OH

Photo Credit

Josef Joe Bican

*No plaque found

*The List of Liberty Row Names indicates the possible original location of the plaque.

*No soldier photograph found in the following book: Doyle, A. C., Haulsee, W. M., Howe, F. G. Soldiers of the Great War. Washington, DC: Soldiers Record Publishing Company, 1920.

Birth: 1/3/1890, Cleveland, Ohio

Address: 3457 W. 65th St., Cleveland, OH

Demographics: age 26 at draft registration; single, Caucasian; native-born Clevelander; occupation Laborer at Cleveland Union Stockyards [Cleveland Union Stockyards Co. was incorporated in 1892 and became the 7th largest meat-processing center in the country in the 1920s. It was called the "Hotel de la Hoof," as it provided shelter and food for the animals prior to their sale or demise.] https://case.edu/ech/

Appearance: Height medium, Build medium, Eyes green, Hair light

Draft Date/Enlistment Date/Rank: 6/5/1917; 5/25/1918; Private

Service Number: 2657855

Deployment: 7/21/1918 from New York aboard SS Canopic

Action:

Death: October 6, 1918 [5 weeks before the Armistice on November 11, 1918] at age 27; cause of death Killed in Action

Burial: buried locally after death at Exermont, Ardennes, France; 6/9/1919 remains disinterred and reburied at Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Meuse, France; 7/27/1921 remains disinterred and prepared for return to U.S. arriving Antwerp, Belgium 8/12/1921; 9/1/1921 remains shipped from Antwerp to Hoboken, NJ aboard SS Cantigny arriving Hoboken 9/12/1921; 9/21/1921 remains shipped from Hoboken to Cleveland, OH arriving Cleveland 9/23/1921 to the care of Joseph Bican, Sr., 3270 W. 43rd St., Cleveland, OH; 9/27/1921 final burial at West Park Cemetery, 3942 Ridge Rd., Cleveland, OH, Section 14 Lot 420 E 1/2 alongside parents and other family members

Next of Kin: Mrs. Kate Bican, mother, 3270 W. 43rd St. and 3435 W. 60th St., Cleveland, OH

Additional Information: Tragedy struck this family on 7/17/1921 while Private Joe Bican's remains were en route from France to the U.S. Private Bican's older brother James Vaclav Bican (who had also served in WWI) was shot and killed at age 32 by their father after an argument. Three months later, Private Bican was buried alongside his brother at West Park Cemetery. The brothers, who had listed the same address on their draft cards, were reunited in death. James Vaclav Bican left behind a young daughter from a previous marriage, Violet May Pearson Smith (1912-1997).

Father: Josef Vaclav Bican, Sr. (1865-1937), born Bohemia, emigrated ~1888, married 1888, occupation Day Laborer, buried West Park Cemetery, Cleveland, OH; Mother: Katherine Kate Bartik Bican (1867-1937), born Bohemia, emigrated ~1880, married 1888, buried West Park Cemetery, Cleveland, OH; Siblings: James Vaclav Bican (1889-1921); Mary Bican Kanserski (1892-1946); ?Annie (1895-?). Sibling list may be incomplete.

References