To the editor,
Next month, 100 years will have passed since the remains of WWI soldier Hill Sasser were shipped to his father, John Sasser, in Jefferson.
I’m hoping the good people of Jefferson can help me, a Louisiana boy, find out where Hill is buried. Let me explain- Hill was a Texan, born in Smithland, but through a quirk, we Louisianians claimed him as one of our own.
While in his mid-20’s Hill farmed for Mr. R.J. Douglas near Gilliam, LA, so when he decided to enlist in the Army to serve in WWI, he registered in Shreveport.
That might not sound like a big deal today, but a young Black man enlisting in 1918 was unusual. He signed on to fight in the infantry and was assigned to Company F of the 816 Pioneer Infantry.
Although we don’t know every detail, we know that Hill enlisted in August of 1918 and was, as a corporal, dead by January of 1919.
His killer wasn’t a German, it was pneumonia. Like thousands of people worldwide in 1918-1919, he was a victim of the influenza pandemic and was buried in Verdun, France the day after he died.
This is where the Jefferson figures into the story. Not too many people know this, but the US Government offered to ship back the remains of American soldiers if the soldier’s family made the request. John Sasser did make that request and, as a result, he received the remains of his son on August 10, 1921.
You read that correctly, he received Hill’s remains nearly 18 months after he died. And this is where the trail goes cold. I find nothing to indicate where Hill Sasser was buried. My research shows only 309 Sasser’s are buried in Texas, and 12 of those are in Marion County.
But, not John, and not Hill. Of the 12, 9 are buried in the Douglas Cemetery, so that might be the most logical place to look. Some folks might wonder, what’s the big deal? Hill Sasser died of pneumonia, so it’s not like he’s a war hero. I beg to differ.
This young man signed up for the infantry- to fight, knowing that he might very well be killed in battle. I think he was probably overcome with sadness as he lay in that military hospital, watching his fellow soldiers dying every day from influenza related illness.
Dying on the battlefield would have been his preference, not lying on a cot waiting for the pneumonia grim reaper to take him. We, not Louisianians or Texans, but we, fellow Americans, owe it to soldiers like Hill Sasser to make damned sure he isn’t forgotten.
I sure hope you all will help out.
John Singleton
john@valveboss.com
Livingston, Louisiana