William T. Fitzsimons

Discussion in 'Military Biographies' started by liverpool annie, Jan 10, 2009.

  1. liverpool annie

    liverpool annie New Member

    Heres a man who's close to home ... Fitzsimmons is still there !


    Lieutenant William T. Fitzsimons (1889—1917) was a United States Army officer in World War I, and is considered the first American officer killed in the war.
    Fitzsimons was killed in a German air raid on September 4, 1917 along with Pvt. Oscar Tugo, Pvt. Rudolph Rubino and Pvt. Leslie Woods, when bombs fell on Base Hospital No. 5 near Dannes-Camiers in Pas-de-Calais, France.
    In 1920, Army Hospital 21 in Aurora, Colorado was officially renamed the Fitzsimons Army Hospital in his honor.

    Edit .... I should have said .... that although it's still there - the hospital is now incorporated with another ......

    The facility was founded by the United States Army during World War I arising from the need to treat the large number of casualties from chemical weapons in Europe. Denver's reputation as a prime location for the treatment of tuberculosis led local citizens to lobby the Army on behalf of Denver as the site for the new hospital. Army Hospital 21, as it was first called, was formally dedicated in the autumn of 1918 in Aurora, which at the time had a population of less than 1,000. In July 1920, the facility was formally renamed the Fitzsimons Army Hospital after Lt. William T. Fitzsimons, the first U.S. casualty in World War I.

    http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Fitzsimons-Army-Medical-Center

    Heres a picture of how it was .....

    http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Image:Aerial-view-of-Fitzsimons-Army-Hospital,-1973.JPEG
     

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  2. liverpool annie

    liverpool annie New Member

    William T. Fitzsimons was originally from Kansas ... Lt. Fitzsimons, a Kansas Citian enlisted in the medical corps and was killed in a field hospital bombardment in France September 7 1917

    http://www.smac.edu/?StMarysandtheWar
     

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