Remembering A Son Who Served #armyhistory #memorialday #worldwari #france #cemetery #berkeleysprings

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:05]Just a few miles outside the small town of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, is a church cemetery with a prominent Doughboy Memorial overlooking the cemetery and rolling hills. Kenna McCarta Weber was born in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia in 1889 [music] to Lewis and Ella Weber.

[00:00:21]In September 1917, he was drafted along with 274 others in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was living at the time.

[00:00:29]He served with the 3rd Division during the Second Battle of the Marne, where the division earned its nickname, The Rock of the Marne, for continuing to hold the line and launch a counterattack against the advancing German forces.

[00:00:42]A few months after the battle, Weber contracted and died of pneumonia, which combined with the flu, accounted for more than half of the non-combat deaths during World War I.

[00:00:54]Weber died September 8th, 1918, and was buried in a communal cemetery located in Loir-et-Cher in France.

[00:01:03]But his family was one of the many who expressed a desire for their relatives remains to be returned home.

[00:01:10]His remains were disinterred in September 1920 and received by his father in February 1921, who had this memorial built in honor of his son.

[00:01:21]His memory is further honored by a memorial that was erected by the Shepherd College Senior Class of 1918, where Weber was a student.

[00:01:30]While we do not know the details of his personal experiences during World War I, we know when and where he served, thanks to multiple records including [music and singing] his draft registration card and paperwork filled out by his parents for his return to [singing] the United States for burial, a victory [music] medal application, and an application for compensation that was awarded to his mother in 1934 >> [music] >> for a total of $200.

[00:01:56]We remember and thank him for [music] his service and remember his family sacrifice.

[00:02:01]For more Army history, please visit our website at www.armyhistory.org.