15 JUL 1918
For
his actions on this date, World War I Veteran and VT Alpha Brother (then) Major
Guy Ichabod Rowe, U.S. Army was
awarded the Distinguished Service Cross – second only to the Medal of Honor –
with War Department General Orders No. 99 of 1918: |
| Distinguished Service Cross |
“The
President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July
9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Major
(Infantry) Guy I. Rowe, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action
while serving with 38th Infantry Regiment, 3d Division, A.E.F., east of
Chateau-Thierry, France, 15 July 1918. For fourteen and a half hours on 15 July
1918, Major Rowe held his battalion in an advanced and exposed position on the
Marne, although violently and persistently attacked on his front and on both
flanks by greatly superior enemy forces.”
Brother Rowe went on to serve in WWII and attain the rank of Brigadier General.
16 JUL 1918
On
this date, World War I Veteran and NY Alpha Brother Lieutenant Henry Q. Griffin, U.S. Army / American
Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.) made the ultimate sacrifice during while engaging
the enemy near St. Agnan, France. Brother Griffin was posthumously awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross for his action on this date.
“The President of the United States of
America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting
the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Second Lieutenant (Infantry)
Harry Q. Griffin, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while
serving with 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Division, A.E.F., on Hill 200, near
St. Agnan, France, 16 JUL 1918. When the first attack on Hill 200 was made by
American troops on 16 JUL 1918, Second Lieutenant Griffin led his platoon to
the most advanced point reached by any detachment and was killed when within 20
yards of an enemy machine-gun emplacement.”
19 JUL 1918
 |
| IL Alpha Brother First Lieutenant Louis Irving Phillis U.S. Army |
Brother Phillis was reportedly the first secretary of IL Alpha and the first chapter brother to cross the Atlantic to “fight the Kaiser.” Unfortunately, he was also the first IL Alpha man to be killed in World War I. At the time of his death, Brother Phillis was serving in the same unit – the 95th Aero Squadron – as Quentin Roosevelt, the son of Former President Theodore Roosevelt.
Respect
can be paid to Brother Phillis at Union Cemetery, Morrisonville, New York.
21 JUL1918
MT
Alpha Brother Albert Schak was
awarded the French Croise de Guerre for his action on this date during the
final stages of the Battle of the Marne, and was subsequently with the first
unit to cross the Rhine River.
