4/5/2009:
An alien immigrant named Louis Peter Kanell was born in 1892 in Zaimogli, Greece. In the summer of 1917, he moved from Salt Lake City to Mandan, where he was heralded as an expert candy maker at the White confectionary store on Main Street.
WWI was in progress, and a few months later, Kanell was the first man in Morton County to be called up for the draft. Being a Greek citizen, he was legally exempt, but he decided to serve anyway.
With the 139th Infantry, Kanell shipped out to France, where his unit was engaged in Alsace, in Lorraine, and in the offensive at Meuse-Argonne. Although he isn't listed as an official casualty, Kanell suffered severe chemical damage from gas warfare used by the Germans. He was discharged in June 1919 and spent the next several years in hospitals. The young Greek candy maker finally died of his war trauma on this date in 1923, at age 31. Following a solemn military funeral in Mandan, his casket was loaded onto a train bound for Minneapolis, where he was buried.
By Merry Helm
Sources:
Roster of the Men and Women who served in the Army or Naval Service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or its Allies from the State of North Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918 Volume 2 Flagg to Lark. Web. (5 Jan 2009)
The Bismarck Tribune. 23 Jun 1917; 25 Aug 1921; 5 Apr 1923; 9 Apr 1923.