MUMMA BULLETIN #28 16 October 2005 GENERAL INFO [If you don't care to receive future Bulletins, please send me a message and I will remove you from this distribution list. These messages are distributed on a random basis when I feel there is something useful to communicate to everyone.] PREVIOUS BULLETINS & NEWSLETTERS ARE AVAILABLE If you or someone else has interest in reading some of the previous Bulletins/Newsletters, they can be viewed or download from the MUMMA archives at http://www.mumma.org/archives.html?#Bulletins This bulletin is a little unusual as it will deal with just a single subject and the usual discussion of the changes to the database and DNA testing activities will not be presented at this time. If you would prefer to view this bulletin as a formatted PDF file with pictures and an additional story, it can be viewed at: http://www.mumma.org/archives/bulletins/bulletin28.pdf POSTHUMOUS AWARD FOR LT. DANIEL CLOVIS MOOMAW You are invited and encouraged to attend a posthumous award ceremony for Daniel Clovis Moomaw to be held on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2005, at 4 PM on the campus of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. For those of you who live near Lexington, Virginia, attending this ceremony would be a most patriotic way for you to honor our military personnel, as well as a fellow relative, who have given their lives in support and defense of our great country. Over the past several years I have communicated with Cecelia and Bruce Smith who serve as the secretary and historian, respectively, of the "Descendants of 80th Division Veterans". They have been diligently working to obtain posthumous awards for Lt. Clovis Moomaw who was killed on October 5, 1918 in France during WW1. Clovis served second lieutenant in Company D of the 318th Infantry of the 80th Division. Because he was only listed as a "MIA" on official records, he never received the military awards he earned and richly deserved. In October of 2002, Cecelia and Bruce Smith wrote the following message to me: "Recommendations were made for a posthumous award of the Distinguished Service Cross for Lt. Clovis Moomaw, dated February 15, 1938, March 13, 1938, and March 22, 1938. They were submitted by Former Major Charles Sweeny, Commander of 1st Battalion 318th Infantry; by Vincent R. Smith, Former Captain of Co. D, 318th Infantry and Automatic Weapons Officer, and James S. Douglas, Jr., former Captain Co. B., 318th Infantry and second in command of 1st Battalion, 318th; and by Earl C. Shively, 1st Lt. 318th Infantry, 1st Battalion Adjutant. Did the family of Lt. Moomaw ever receive notification of these recommendations, and was there ever any response from the U.S. Army? Lt. Moomaw's actions, and resulting death, were written about in "Over the Top with the 80th" by Buck Private Rush S. Young. Young was a private from Company B of the 318th (part of 1st Battalion). This information should be of interest to you, since it is a part of your family's heritage. It is also of interest to me, since any award to Lt. Moomaw would also add one additional honor to the 80th Division A.E.F. Your veteran ancestor was also entitled to a Purple Heart, but someone from the family would have had to apply for the posthumous award after the medal was reconstituted in 1932. You may wonder why this is important to me and why I think you should be interested in your heritage. When we first began researching our genealogy, we learned that I was descended from seven Mayflower Pilgrims and from five Revolutionary War Patriots. I have applied for and been accepted into the Society of Mayflower Descendants and also into the Sons of the American Revolution. We also learned that four distant uncles and cousins served in the Civil War, two of them in the famous "Buck tail Regiment". While they had hoped to have the Distinguished Service Cross awarded to Clovis for which he had been recommended, he will at least be awarded the Victory Medal and Purple Heart at the ceremony to be held appropriately on "Veterans Day" 2005. I would personally like to thank Cecelia and Bruce Smith on behalf of the Mumma/Moomaw families for their successful efforts to honor a fellow relative, Daniel Clovis Moomaw! If you believe you can attend this ceremony, please contact Cecelia and Bruce Smith directly so that formal invitations, along with exact location and directions, can be sent to you. Their address and telephone number are shown below on the announcement letter they sent to me and is shown below. Please respond immediately if you can attend. Thank you and I hope many of you will make an effort to honor the memory of Clovis Moomaw and all other American Patriots. I also invite you to view the following web page which honors the memory of Clovis. http://law.wlu.edu/faculty/history/moomaw.asp Doug Mumma ********************************************** AWARD CEREMONY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR DANIEL CLOVIS MOOMAW Daniel Clovis Moomaw, son of Daniel Crouse Moomaw and Rebecca Ann Crumpacker, born on September 10, 1886, excelled on the football field and as a student at the University of Virginia. He was a law degree student at Washington and Lee, and later became a full law professor and assistant football coach at W & L. When war commenced in 1917, although he was a conscientious objector and could have avoided the Army, he nevertheless enlisted. He had taken unofficial officers' training at W & L, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in Company D of the 318th Infantry of the 80th Division, which trained at Camp Lee, VA.. In the early morning of October 5, 1918, then First Lt. Moomaw's unit was detached to another Brigade. Having escorted his men to the new assignment, he was dismissed; however being familiar with the assignment of the 1st Battalion that was to advance on the Bois de Faye, Moomaw decided upon a personal reconnaissance of the woods, prior to rejoining his 318th. He could have avoided the area and taken a safer return to his troops, but instead chose to penetrate the woods, all the while under enemy fire. He was able to communicate the location of the enemy which resulted in saving many other lives, but suffered mortal wounds. At first, he was listed as missing in action, but a year later, his brother, through the auspices of the Red Cross, traveled to France and identified Lt. Moomaw's remains by the watch he had been wearing. Because he was listed as MIA, paper work was never initiated to recognize his heroism. In 1938, four of his former commanding officers wrote affidavits attesting to his gallantry, and recommended that he be awarded a Distinguished Service Cross. It is not known if the affidavits were ever forwarded for action, but copies were located in the Earl Shively Collection, housed at Ohio University a few years ago. Attempts to contact Moomaw relatives when these papers were located, to ascertain if, in fact, any medals had ever been awarded, were not successful. The Descendants of 80th Division Veterans was organized in 2003, and one of the ongoing projects undertaken by the group was the pursuit of recognition for Lt. Moomaw. Early this past year, the Army rejected the request for a DSC [Distinguished Service Cross], but we are still asking for a review of the affidavits to see if he is entitled to a Silver Star. The Army did tell us that he is entitled to the Victory Medal and Purple Heart, but they would not provide the medals. The Descendants have purchased them, and have completed a shadow box to include the medals, a photo, and other memorabilia. Washington and Lee University maintains a small memorial to their alumnus. Since Lt. Moomaw had not married, and from what we understand, remaining relatives are distant cousins, it had always been our intention to present any awards that might be forthcoming to the University in his memory. So it is, that on this Veterans' Day, November 11, 2005 at four p.m., a small service and reception will be held on the campus in Lexington, Virginia. It is being hosted by the University and the Descendants organization. The shadow box, as well as framed copies of the affidavits, will be presented to the President of the University and will be displayed with his other memorabilia there. We would like to extend invitations to any and all Moomaw/Mumma family members who would like to attend this presentation. Formal invitations, along with exact location and directions will be forwarded to anyone wishing to pay tribute to this World War I hero. We hope that many of the family will join us. You may respond to the address or numbers below. Cecelia M. Smith, Secretary Bruce W. Smith, Historian Descendants of 80th Division Veterans P.O. Box 206 Fayetteville, PA 17222 E-mail: bcsmith@innernet.net Telephone: 717-352-4883 "The 80th Only Moves Forward" ************************** END ***********************