‘Clallam County boys’ lost to WWI, remembered 100-plus years later

More than 100 years after a monument went up to honor the “Clallam County boys” lost to World War I, family and community members gathered on Saturday to rededicate a new plaque to honor their sacrifices.

Anita Reynolds, the great-niece of Clyde A. Rhodefer of Sequim, one of the 10 local men who died in the war, said after the patriotic ceremony she was “overwhelmed with pride and gratitude.”

She and her family funded a new plaque for the large stone that was originally placed and dedicated in July 1924 at the Carlsborg School, now Carlsborg Family Church, 481 Carlsborg Road, by Toussaint Benoit, a justice of the peace.

Reynolds said the monument is a “lasting testament to remember these men.”

The monument is the only known Clallam County monument for World War I, and the men were 10 of the more than 100,000 Americans who died during the war.

The updated plaque added the names of the fallen local men while stating it’s meant to honor the “memory of the Clallam County Boys who fought and died in the world war and of their heroic mothers.”

Clyde Rhodefer, a sergeant in the U.S. Army, and Jack Grennan, a private in the U.S. Marine Corps, were the two Sequim servicemen who died during the war.

Their names along with eight others are memorialized on the new plaque, including Port Angeles men Walter E. Akeley, private, U.S. Army; Donald Dorr, private, U.S. Army; William G. Grason, private, U.S. Army; Earl Jenkins, seaman, U.S. Navy; John P. Moore, private, U.S. Army, and Jacob Sunde, private, U.S. Army.

Benneville William Bertolet, private, U.S. Army, and Gudstein Borgford, private, U.S. Army, were from Clallam Bay.

The original bronze plaque is now in a military display at Sequim Museum & Arts.

Reynolds said generations of the Rhodefer family were in attendance, including descendants from both Clyde’s brother’s and sister’s side.

She said tracking down other veterans’ family members was difficult, but she believes some of the men may have only been working in the area and didn’t have local family members.

For the ceremony, the Port Angeles High School Vocal Unlimited sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful,” and Pastor Jerry Luengen led the audience in prayer and thanked family members for their relatives’ service as they “lost their lives protecting us.”

Dave Yarnchak, post commander for Carlsborg Veterans of Foreign War Post 6787, and Paul Renick, finance officer for Jack Grennan Post 62 American Legion, took turns ringing a bell after reading each name aloud.

Scout Aaron Wallen with BSA Troop 90 played “Taps.”

The American Legion sponsored a reception inside the church.

Clallam County men who died in World War I include:

• Walter E. Akeley, private, U.S. Army, 162nd Infantry, 2nd Div.; son of Stephen Virgil Akeley and Mary Margaret Franks (Port Angeles)

• Benneville William Bertolet, private, U.S. Army, 108th Field Artillery, 28th Div.; son of Maybury Bertolet and A. Katherine Hocker (Clallam Bay)

• Gudstein Borgford, private, U.S. Army, 162nd Infantry Regiment, 41st Div.; son of Tomas Jonsson Bjorgford and Secelia Bjornson (Clallam Bay)

• Donald Dorr, private, U.S. Army, 308th infantry, 77th Div.; son of William Mason Dorr and Elizabeth Ann Dayton (Port Angeles)

• William G. Grason, private, U.S. Army, Company G, 157th Infantry, 40th Div.; son of Grant Lincoln Grason and Ida May Anders (Port Angeles)

• Jack Grennan, private, U.S. Marine Corps, 6th Regiment, 2nd Infantry Div.; son of Finton Joseph Grennan and Mary Bridget Leigh (Sequim)

• Earl Jenkins, seaman, U.S. Navy, gunner on USS Georgia; son of James Horton Jenkins Jr. and Ellen Margrete “Ella” Matthews (Port Angeles)

• John P. Moore, private, U.S. Army, 127th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Div.; parents unknown (Port Angeles)

• Clyde A. Rhodefer, sergeant, U.S. Army, 346th Field Artillery, 91st Div.; son of Samuel Rhodefer and Mary Margaret Tiller (Sequim)

• Jacob Sunde, private, U.S. Army, 348th Machine Gun battalion, 91st Div.; parents unknown (Port Angeles)

Scout Aaron Wallen with BSA Troop 90 played “Taps” during a Nov. 9 ceremony honoring 10 local men who died during World War I. The ceremony rededicated a plaque that was replaced and updated to include the men’s names.

Paul Renick, finance officer for Jack Grennan Post 62 American Legion, rings a bell after Dave Yarnchak, post commander for Carlsborg Veterans of Foreign War Post 6787, reads a name of the local men lost during World War I. Anita Reynolds, on right, led the effort to replace a plaque that honors the men lost, including her great-uncle Clyde A. Rhodefer.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Dave Yarnchak, post commander for Carlsborg Veterans of Foreign War Post 6787, rings a bell after Paul Renick, finance officer for Jack Grennan Post 62 American Legion, reads a name of the local men lost during World War I.