So the first Purple Hearts awarded as a result of combat during World War I were not authorized until after that date and even then it was necessary to apply for the honor, applications based upon a variety of other awards given for service after World War I commenced, including the Meritorious Service Citation Certificate, Army Wound Ribbon and wound chevrons.
Four of Lucas County's first Purple Heart recipients were Russell men, as reported under the headline "Four Local Veterans Receive Decorations" in The Russell Union-Tribune of Dec. 8, 1932, as follows:
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Four Russell World War veterans are receiving the honor of decoration by the War Department of the Order of Purple Heart, given to soldiers wounded in action and commended for valor.
Atlee Winsor received the first decoration Nov. 11th. He was wounded in action Sept. 26 in the battle of Argonne Forest in the last drive before the Armistice was signed. He was taken to base hospital at Vichy where he remained until Dec. 24, then returned to his regiment, Co. D, 132nd Infantry, then stationed in Germany in the Army of Occupation.
Warren Lodge received his decoration of the Order of Purple Heart Nov. 30th, with special commendation by the Department for bravery in the battle of the Argonne Forest. He with five men swam the Meuse river carrying a rope to fasten a pontoon bridge. They were under heay fire and Lieut. Lodge was the only one to reach the far shore alive. He secured the rope and his buddies were soon by his side driving the Germans toward the Rhine. Warren was a first lieutenant in the 199th battalion and was both wounded and gassed during the war. He was confined in a hospital in Paris with his wounds.
Guy Force and C.M. Hawk also are eligible for the decoration of Purple Heart and should receive their decorations in the near future. Guy was wounded on the front lines while acting as a signal corps dispatch operator. A German shell shattered his leg and foot, complicated with gas gangrene.
Hawk, known to his friends as "Sonny," was a private in Battery B, 149th Field Artillery. He was wounded in action in the Chateau Thierry drive by a piece of high explosive shell casing, which struck him in the side of his face and causing partial loss of hearing and sight. He was cared for at Field Hospital 13, then transferred to Base Hospital 26. Sonny still has the piece of shell casing which caused his wound, his only trophy of the war.
Russell has cause to be very proud of these lads who have served the country to the extent of sacrificing their health. they still have their lives but the great war took a toll that nothing can repay May we again add our commendation to the others they are receiving and congratulate them on the recognition which is being shown them.
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Atlee Winsor married Florence Willets during 1920 and they lived their entire married life in Russell. Their son was Wilford "Bill" Winsor. Atlee probably is best remembered as the long-time cashier of Russell's First State Bank. He died Aug. 19, 1970, at the age of 76.
Warren Lodge married Lillian Margaret Dodson at Sioux City during 1919 and they had a family of seven children while living in various places, including Russell. They settled finally at Alton, Illinois, where he died at the age of 85 on April 15, 1981.
Guy Force married Nora Ethel Hanks in 1919 and their married life was spent in Russell where they had five children. Handicapped by his wounds, he went to work as a rural mail carrier in 1920 and continued in that line of work until shortly before his death at the age of 59 on Feb. 6, 1949.
Sonny (Clell Milton) Hawk, partially disabled by his wounds, married Ruhma Ruth Russell in 1927 and farmed for much of his life, then moved with his wife into an apartment on the Chariton square. The couple had six children. He was struck and killed by a Burlington passenger train at the Braden Avenue crossing on June 11, 1960, age 65.
