Corporal John R. Danley

Yesterday was Veterans Day, but it is observed today because it fell on a Sunday. So it’s not too late to post these front pages of the Lorain Times-Herald from July 1918.

The newspapers tell the story of John Danley, the Marine Corporal who was the first man from Lorain to lose his life in World War I.

There would be many more Lorainites who would die in the conflict, but since Corporal Danley was the first, the city took the news very hard and made plans to honor him.

The front page of the July 9, 1918 Times-Herald reports Danley's death and provides a biography of the man who was born in Cleveland but spent most of his life in Lorain.

The front page recounts his last letter to his family, written on June 11.

Danley wrote, “I have a few minutes to spare and we all have permission to write a short letter. As I write this I am well, but our regiment suffered rather heavily in the last week. I suppose you have read all about that in the papers. We saw some of the real old open warfare. I do not know as yet how the other boys fared.

“Hope all of you are well and happy. This is strenuous writing with shells bursting around here.

“Goodbye with love, Jack.”

The front page of the July 11, 1918 edition of the Times-Herald announces the memorial services for Corporal Danley.

The page also notes that Mayor A. J. Horn was forming a soldiers' and sailors’ commission to create a memorial to the Lorain men fighting in the war. Since there was already a park on the west side of Lorain (Lakeview Park) and there were some in other areas of the city, the Mayor thought that a park on the east side would be most appropriate. The Mayor hoped that a permanent memorial, such as a memorial hall or art museum, could be built.

The front page of the July 13, 1918 Times-Herald announces the creation of the east side park. It states, “The new park on the East Side which will be in the center of the tract containing 240 homes for ship workers, a project made necessary by the war for world democracy, will be named for Corporal John R. Danley, the first Lorain man to die in action during the present war.”

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I’ve written about Corporal Danley before. 

Back in 2014, I posted a small article that included a photo of his final resting place in France. And about a week after that, I wrote about Danley Park here.

Needless to say, the permanent memorial hall or art gallery were never built.