Lieutenant Clarence Joseph Hemphill died of pneumonia on February 22, 1919, at Evacuation Hospital 21, near Rimaucourt, France. He served with the 1st Army within the 26th Division and was sent to France in January, 1918. Later he was with the 101st Field Artillery and saw action at Chateau Thierry and Verdun. He was gassed three times, the last attack occurring the day before the Armistice signing. “At the time of the last attack he was a liaison officer, not being in physically fit condition to assume command of his battery. While some apprehension had been felt because of his continued presence in a hospital, he had never written home of his condition, and the news of his death came with heartbreaking force.” (Seattle Daily Times, March 19, 1919, pg. 14) Clarence is buried at Meuse-Argonne Cemetery in France. (bit.ly/uw_hemphill)
Clarence was working in the Bay Area at the time he registered for the draft, having previously served in the California National Guard with General Pershing along the Mexican Border in 1916. Following his enlistment, Clarence attended the first Officers Training Camp at the Presidio. The third of William Nelson Hemphill and Harriet Elizabeth “Abbie” Brannan‘s six children, Clarence was born and raised in Auburn, Washington. He graduated from Auburn High School in 1909 and attended the University of Washington from 1912-1914 where he was a member of Acacia Fraternity.