In 1917, the United States entered World War I. Men from Henderson County who were already serving in the armed forces were the first to see action.
Of the local men still residing in the county at the time the war began, the first to leave were members of the Sixth Company, Coast Artillery Corps, of the N.C. National Guard. This National Guard unit consisted of 110 men and three officers from Henderson and Transylvania counties. They departed from the train depot on Aug. 30, 1917. Hundreds of residents went to the depot to see them off. The unit was quickly de-activated and most of the men served in France in regular military units.
Other men from Henderson County also served in the war, volunteers and draftees. Estimates are that about 1,000 men from Henderson County served from April 1917 to November 1918.
At least 10 Henderson County men were killed in battle. Two died later of wounds. Four died of disease (flu). Three died of unknown causes, most likely disease. This brings the total to at least 19 Henderson County men who died as a result of World War I. The grave sites of four are at American military cemeteries in France, two at Arlington, one at an American military cemetery in England, two in South Carolina, and nine in county cemeteries. The grave site of one is not known.
One local man who was killed in action in France was Hubert M. Smith, who died Nov. 9, 1918, two days before the armistice was signed.
When the war ended at the 11th hour on the 11th day in the 11^th month (November) 1918, people in Henderson County began gathering in Hendersonville.
“The celebration was wild and hilarious and exciting,” Frank Fitzsimons wrote in the “Banks of the Oklawha.”
“The news that the war would end at 11 o’clock that November morning was received here at 5 a.m. It was a chilly dawn and pitch-black dark, but shrill whistles crashed through the early morning darkness, followed by the softer tones of the church bells throughout the town and county to herald the glad tidings… When the parade ended the crowd gathered at the bandstand near the City Hall… Mayor C.E. Brooks opened the ceremonies with a prayer. W.A. Smith and E.W. Ewbank each spoke briefly.”
At the time Smith spoke, he had not received the news that his son had died.
Hubert M. Smith American Legion Post 77 was chartered March 1, 1920. The charter members were veterans of World War I.
Some residents state that the first street dance on Main Street was held after the ceremonies.
Frank Lockwood Fitzsimons, the author of the three-volume set of books “From the Banks of the Oklawaha,” received the Navy Cross in World War I, the second highest military award for valor that may be awarded to a member of the Navy, Marines or Coast Guard for extraordinary heroism in combat.It is equivalent to the Army’s Distinguished Service Cross and the Air Force Cross. He was a Navy medic serving with a Marine Corps unit in France.
“The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class Frank L. Fitzsimmons, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty while serving as Corpsman with the Sixth Regiment (Marines), A.E.F, in action near Bayonville, 2 November 1918. After his gas mask and overcoat had been torn from him by a shell fragment, Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class Fitzsimmons continued the advance and exposed himself while dressing the wounded. He was exceptionally courageous and efficient in this work and thereby saved many lives.”
Fitzsimons was with the Marines at Soissons, Meuse-Argonne and Belleau Wood.
He was born April 17, 1897, in Grand Rapids, Mich., the son of Gaillard Stony Fitzsimmons and Susan C. Lockwood Fitzsimmons. His father was born in Charleston, S.C., and his mother in Kentucky. The family was living in Spartanburg County, S.C., prior to 1900. He and his father’s family spent summers in Henderson County in the Mills River community. He resided in Spartanburg County, S.C., when he enlisted in the Navy during World War I. He married Margarita Kershaw. Fitzsimons resided in Henderson County from about 1921 until his death in 1980. His grave site is at St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Churchyard in Flat Rock.