Tri-Counties Genealogy & History by Joyce M. Tice Orson Wilcox - WW1 Casualty Bradford County PA Chemung County NY Tioga County PA

Tri-County Genealogy & History Sites Home Page How to Use This Site Warning & Disclaimer No Unauthorized Commercial Use Tri-County World War One Page Wellsboro Page Contact Joyce Articles from Mansfield World War One Scrapbook Photo from Chester P. Bailey Collection

Joyce's Search Tip - January 2008 Do You Know that you can search just the 700 pages of Military Records on the site by using the Military button in the Partitioned search engine at the bottom of the Current What's New Page?

Orson Wilcox, of Wellsboro, Given French Was Cross of Conspicuous Bravery

 Orson Wilcox, son of Arch Wilcox, of Wellsboro, is the first Tioga county boy to receive a medal for bravery.  He was recently awarded the French War Cross for conspicuous bravery while working with a hospital unit in France.
 He was a former student of Mansfield Normal, and was prominent in athletic circles at the Normal.  After leaving the normal he went to the University of Pittsburgh with Leon Kelly, son of “Jack” Kelley, also a former Normal student, and well known in Mansfield, where he resided for some time.   Early in the war they enlisted with the Hospital Unit of the University of Pittsburgh.  They spent some time in England and then went to France, where they have since been stationed.

W. S. S.

Set Upon By Apaches, He Is Stabbed In the Neck Several Times and Dies Almost Instantly.

Orson W. Wilcox, son of Mr. and Mrs. Arch Wilcox, of Wellsboro, a well known in Mansfield, where he attended the Normal and was prominent in athletics, was killed by thugs in the old French town of Angers a week ago last Saturday. In company with Sergeant Elmer O. Rawdon, of Akron, Ohio, Sergeant Wilcox, was walking through the town whey they were accosted by some young toughs, or Apaches, as they are called in France. One of the men begged tobacco from Orson and upon being refused drew a knife and stabbed him several times, severing one of the carotid arteries, one of the main arteries of the neck, causing almost instant death. He then turned to Rawdon and stabbed him several times, so that he is not expected to live. A post mortem showed that Orson Wilcox had been stabbed six times.

The assailants were caught by the police of France, and gave their names as follows: Marcel and Maurice Choisy, aged 16 and 18 respectively, and Francois Evano, 16 years old. Marcel Choisy is said to have confessed that he stabbed Wilcox when the latter refused to give him tobacco.

Sergeant Wilcox was buried with military honors, with French civil and military authorities attending the funeral. He had only recently won the French Cross of War for conspicuour bravery. As noted in the Advertiser at that time he was attached to a base hospital, having gone with the university of Pittsburgh unit with Leon Kelly.

Bradford County PA Chemung County NY Tioga County PA

Published On Tri-Counties Site On 11/11/2003 By Joyce M. Tice Email: JoyceTice@aol.com You are the  visitor since the counter was installed on 11 NOV 2003