American War Hero · World War I · Notice Nearby
Wikimedia Commons — File:Poet Joyce Kilmer in uniform during his service in the 165th Infantry Regiment LCCN2015645508.jpg (Public domain)
Alfred Joyce Kilmer
December 6, 1886 – July 30, 1918
Born New Brunswick, New Jersey
Died Near Seringes-et-Nesles, Aisne, France (KIA)
Sergeant, Company H / later attached to regimental HQ, 165th Infantry Regiment (69th New York), 42nd “Rainbow” Division, AEF; killed in the Second Battle of the Marne sector, July 30, 1918
Joyce Kilmer was already a working poet and critic when he enlisted in New York’s 69th — redesignated the 165th Infantry in the Rainbow Division. In France he served as a sergeant, often on hazardous observation and intelligence details for the regiment. On July 30, 1918, near the Ourcq during the Second Battle of the Marne fighting, a German sniper killed him; the AEF burial record and the regiment’s after-action reports fix the date and sector.
“Trees” and the rest of the civilian verse are another shelf. This register lists the 165th Infantry sergeant killed in the Marne fighting: unit, date, place. He is buried in the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery. The Library of Congress uniform portrait on Wikimedia Commons is public domain. Kilmer is accounted for — not missing.
- Publication
- NN-HERO-1918-008
- Content hash
- d0291419 587cee7c bd494893 2eeb7721 434b7829 4626aec6 f923346a 58b0eb47
- Base anchor
- 0x34e8de 265a5bec cec931ca 7a9b323a 139c6922 f6421a9e 4004fbb6 c81d7232 41
Base stores the content hash, publication number, memorial id, and timestamp — not the full obituary text. The complete memorial remains on Notice Nearby. This is not a legal affidavit.