File contributed for use on USGenWeb/MOGenWeb Lincoln County Heritage Page by Beth Rengers Talken, 12 October 1998.  Link change or update: 12 Oct 1998

Obituary for George Riemeier Cochran (1896-1918)
No. 027 - Uncited clippings from the "Neva Murphy Hubbard Collection" of Beth Rengers Talken, 1998.

A Noble Life Ended. Mother writes how Corp. George R. Cochran fell on the field of battle.

George Riemeier COCHRAN, born July 18, 1896, near Ethylyn, Mo., was the beloved son of Charles COCHRAN and Grace SIMPSON COCHRAN of 2___ Osage St., St. Louis, Mo., dear brother of Alberta Evelyn, Charles Boyd and John Lange COCHRAN, and was 22 year old at the time he made the supreme sacrifice for his country.

He enlisted Sept. 13, 1917, in Co. L., 138th Infantry, at Nevada, Mo., and was trained at Camp Doniphan, Fort Sill, Okla.

At the time he enlisted he was bookkeeper for the Helmbacher Rolling Mills. Was a member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce and was president of the Epworth League of St. Luke's M.E. church. He was an active member and instructor in the Sunday school.

He met his death attacking a machine gun nest, a few hundred yards to the right of the village of Cheppy, France, on the morning of Sept. 26, 1918, the day Co. L. went over the top, starting the drive in the great battle for the Argonne forest. The country was very hilly and full of woods, the village of Cheppy was on a little hill and looking down from this town was a large field full of barbed wire-a regular no man's land. The Germans held the village and it was full of machine guns which they swept this field with. It was here that our bravefi noble son gave his life-going through this field. Just at the foot of the hill he started to walk across a little stream of water, when a German gunner fired a bullet through his heart, killing him instantly, and he fell over on his side like he had fallen asleep. He was buried practically in the same place he fell by the Regimental Chaplain and a detachment of comrades. Under a little tree, they made him a neat grave enclosed with wire fence and a c____ to mark it. We have received many letters from his comrades, telling us of the wonderful work of our boy of Co. L., in driving the Germans back, and one wonders how it was ever done, but the Americans did and a great many think that battle was the greatest in which the Americans took part. It took a brave boy to go across that field; quite a number of St. Louis boys fell in that battle.

George was loved in his home, the church, at his place of business, the camp . . .

[remainder of obit is missing]

Note regarding clippings from the "Neva Murphy Hubbard Collection":  Neva Murphy Hubbard (1886-1971) lived all of her life in Lincoln County, MO.  She collected a large file of clippings of Lincoln County residents. The majority of the clippings were without citation. Beth Rengers Talken, beneficiary of the collection, has transcribed them for inclusion in our Lincoln County Heritage Records. 

File contributed for use on USGenWeb/MOGenWeb Lincoln County Heritage Page by Beth Rengers Talken, 12 October 1998.  Link change or update: 12 Oct 1998

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