In honor of Memorial Day, we remember the brave soldiers who lost their lives during World War I by taking a look at the Harry Beagles Scrapbook Collection.
Harry Beagles was born in Nevada, Missouri, on August 21, 1889. During the first World War, he served as a First Lieutenant with the 35th division of the American Expeditionary Forces in France. Following the Allied victory in 1918, Beagles and his division participated in a reunion parade in Joplin where they were met with a cheering crowd of 150,000 people. They carried their division’s service flag, embroidered with seventy-two gold stars representing each soldier from their division who died in France. One of those stars was for Lieutenant Boyce Aten of California, whose mother’s letter of gratitude to his fellow soldiers is included in Beagles’ scrapbook.
The scrapbook commemorates Beagles’ service in World War I. It contains photographs, letters, maps, field orders, and newspaper articles from 1917 to 1922, including images from the reunion parade in Joplin.
To explore this collection and more, visit the Springfield Research Center inside MSU’s Meyer Library or find us online at SHSMO.org.