Clovis Jeffers
Clovis Jeffers (June 26, 1896 – Oct. 9, 1918) was a Winona man killed in World War I at the Argonne Forest in France.
See Also: Scott Countians killed in war
Biography
Born June 26, 1896, Clovis Jeffers was the son of Claborn Jeffers (1847-1927) and Melvina Phillips (1852-1927) of Winona. He had 11 siblings, including a twin brother, Cosby Duclaw Jeffers (1894-1956). Other siblings included Caldwell Jeffers (1873-1956), Pennsylvania Jeffers (1875-1931), Berlin Jeffers (1876-1920), Olive Newport (1879-1900), Elizabeth Ann Cross (1880-1951), Gorman Jeffers (1882-1964), Oscar Jeffers (1885-1960), Caldona Sexton (1887-1916), Mertie Sharp (1889-1969), and Leo Jeffers (1891-1974).
World War I
Pvt. 1CL Jeffers enlisted in the U.S. Army on Sept. 19, 1916 at the Columbus Barracks in Ohio and was assigned to Co. F, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division. He departed for the European theater of the war on June 14, 1917, and was among the first American soldiers to arrive on French soil. He appeared at the Offensive South of Soissons in July 1918, then at the Battle of Argonne Forest, or the Meuse-Argonne offensive, where he was killed on Oct. 9, 1918.
Pvt. 1CL Jeffers’ unit was operating northeast of Fléville — a small village in the Argonne Forest — when he was killed. The Battle of Argonne Forest was the deadliest battle in the history of the U.S. Army, lasting 47 days until the Armistice of Nov. 11, 1918 ended the war. It was during this battle that Cpl. (later Sgt.) Alvin C. York of Fentress County earned a Medal of Honor for capturing 132 German soldiers.
Three other Scott Countians were killed in the Argonne Forest during that same battle: William Brown of Smokey Creek on Oct. 5, Hugh Lewallen of Glenmary on Oct. 6, and William Blevins of Helenwood on Oct. 15. Lonus Reed died on Dec. 8, 1918 from wounds he suffered during the battle. It was likely at the same battle that Sherman Stanley, of Oneida, was killed on Oct. 1.
Aftermath
Pvt. 1CL Jeffers was 22 at the time of his death. He was buried at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial in Lorraine, France.
Oddly, he still appeared in his parents’ household in Scott County when the 1920 census was taken two years later.
On Aug. 1, 1937, the United States unveiled the Meuse-Argonne American Memorial near Montfaucon, France. It is the largest American war memorial in Europe. An observation platform offers a view of the battlefield at the top of 234 stairs. President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a radio address for the unveiling from Washington, D.C.
Pvt. 1CL Jeffers had a 28-year-old sister, Caldona Sexton, who died of tuberculosis in February 1916, just months before he left for war.
While Clovis Jeffers’ name appears on the Veterans Memorial Wall in Huntsville, he is not on the VFW Post 5669 Memorial Wall in Oneida.