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Remember...Clarence Benjamin Stockhoff
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| Clarence Benjamin Stockhoff was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 8, 1889, to John W. Stockhoff and Elizabeth Mary Stockhoff (nee Ernstes). The family moved to Mason County, West Virginia, by 1890 and resided in Henderson, West Virginia, as of 1900. By 1910, Clarence moved into Point Pleasant, and was living with his sister, Florence Burnside, at # 8 Main Street and working as a grocery salesman. In the ensuing years he worked for Campbells Creek Coal Company and became engaged to Lena "Mimi" Foglesong prior to registering for the draft on June 5, 1917. |  Lena "Mimi" Foglesong. Courtesy Christopher Dunn |
 Clarence and other members of Battery C of the 315th FA. Clarence is seated on the rock. Courtesy Christopher Dunn |
Clarence enlisted in the Army in September 1917, where he began his training at Camp Lee, near Petersburg, Virginia, until May 18, 1918, when he boarded the USS Tenadores and arrived in Basson, France. After further in-country training, the 315th Field Artillery joined the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in late September of 1918. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the bloodiest offensive of World War I, and over 26,000 Americans lost their lives during the 47 days of the offensive. He was part of the 80th Division (aka The Blue Ridge Division) and served in the 315th Field Artillery Regiment, which fired 155mm Howitzers. |  The USS Tenadores underway, 1918. U.S. Navy photo # NH 103627 |
Clarence was mortally wounded on November 5, 1918, when a high-explosive shell exploded by his FA Gun (155mm) and blew off his leg. The local newspaper states that "while supervising the firing of his gun, watch in hand, he was mortally wounded by fragments of an H.E. shell, which exploded close to his gun." He died on November 6, 1918. Five days later World War I came to an end.
| He was buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery until 1921, when his family was given the option to have his remains returned to Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia. The USAT Wheaton departed Antwerp, Belgium, on June 19, 1921, and arrived in Hoboken, New Jersey, on July 2, 1921, bearing the remains of Clarence Stockhoff and 5,000 other soldiers who died in battle. All deceased soldiers were listed as passengers on ships when they returned home, to ensure they were not nameless in their journey home. |  The USAT Wheaton made numerous trips between Antwerp, Belgium, and New York repatriating the bodies of American soldiers killed in action in France during World War I. Courtesy NavSource Online: Army Ship Photo Archive |
 Headstone for the Stockhoff family in Lone Oak/Suncrest Cemetery in Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia. Courtesy Christopher Dunn |
Lena "Mimi" Foglesong never married and placed flowers on his grave until her death in 1979. The tradition of placing flowers on his grave each Memorial Day and Veterans Day is continued by Mimi’s nieces and nephews to this day. |
Article prepared by Christopher Dunn, great-nephew of Lena "Mimi" Foglesong
June 2021
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
