WWI Casualties William Tosh & Benjamin Byers Part of Ligonier Valley Library Collection

You never know when you are going to stumble across a piece of history or when one is going to come walking through your door.

While I was visiting the Pennsylvania Room this week, Shirley Iscrupe shared with me a recent donation of World War I memorabilia related to two soldiers with whom I am familiar.

One of the vignettes that I included in Ligonier Valley Vignettes tells the stories of these two young men who left their homes in Ligonier Valley to fight in World War I but sadly didn’t come back alive.

Private First Class Benjamin Byers and Private William Tosh were the first two soldiers from the Ligonier Valley to be killed during World War I. Byers and Tosh both served in the 110^th Pennsylvania Regiment, which was deployed to France in the spring of 1918, near the Western Front with Germany.

Both soldiers tragically died on the same day: July 30, 1918. Private Tosh, only 18 years old, was killed when German forces blew up the 110^th Regiment headquarters located in the French village of Courmont, where he was working as a telephone operator. The 29-year-old Byers was shot and killed on the battlefield during an attack against the German army at Sergy Hill.

The American Legion Byers-Tosh Post 267 was named after them when it was established in 1927.

Ligonier resident Mary Lou Mitchell, who is William Tosh’s niece, donated the following materials to the Pennsylvania Room: two memorial cards from William Tosh’s funeral; the program of the 1921 Memorial Day unveiling of the World War I Honor Roll tablet at the Westmoreland County Courthouse and admittance card; and Westmoreland County’s Casualty List for World War I, 1917-1918.

Both Byers and Tosh are listed in the honor roll program and the casualty list.

The honor roll program and card were owned by Mitchell’s mother, Bessie Hoon, who survived the horrific 1912 wreck between freight and passenger trains on a blind curve along the Mill Creek branch of the Ligonier Valley Rail Road.  She fully recovered and went on to teach in the Ligonier Valley District for many years. Hoon and Tosh were brother and sister.

Thanks to Mitchell’s donation, these historic materials are now part of the permanent collection at the Ligonier Valley Library’s Pennsylvania Room.  The Pennsylvania Room is an incredible resource for local history and contains information about the numerous veterans and casualties from the Ligonier Valley, including Privates Byers and Tosh, who participated in the wars that shaped American history.

Private William Tosh was originally buried in France, but his body was later disinterred and sent home, where a funeral service was held on July 22, 1921 before he was reburied in Ligonier Valley Cemetery.

This picture is a rarity. While doing research on Privates Benjamin Byers and William Tosh, I spoke with Roy Hutchinson, commander of the American Legion Byers-Tosh Post 267, who told me that the pictures of Byers and Tosh owned by the Legion may be the only existing pictures of the two men. Imagine my shock to see the face of this brave young Tosh staring back at me from this card!

Privates Byers and Tosh’s names both appear on the list within the program for the May 30, 1921 Memorial Day dedication of the World War I Honor Roll at the Westmoreland County Court House.

It’s very sad to see the large number of soldiers killed during “The Great War.”

This casualty list of servicemen includes the names of the dead, wounded and missing (also prisoners) as released by the United States Government official lists up to December 26, 1918. The list is very interesting because William Tosh appears under both missing and dead.

The casualty list also includes the city or town where each solider was from at the time of their service. Tosh is listed as from Ligonier, PA. However, Byers was listed as from New Derry, PA, which is where he perhaps was living while employed with the Crescent Pipe Line Company prior to his enlistment.

Advertisement