Spanish-American War from Apr. 25, 1898 to Dec. 10, 1898. U.S. received Philipines by Treaty from Spain. Revolutionary leaders of Philipines had Spain as a common enemy during the Sp-Am War but after didn”'t want one colonial power to replace another. Ths Philipine Insurrection began Feb. 4, 1899 lasting until July 4th, 1902 during which 125,000 troops served costing $400 M, 4,200 Americans died & 2,900 wounded. John Robischon was one of those wounded and died soon after the peace.
By Sue Hunter Weir
John A. Robischon is one of our recently discovered veterans. In April 2013, Jim and Roni Robischon contacted the cemetery because they were planning a trip to Minneapolis and wanted to visit the graves of their relatives who are buried in the cemetery. John Robischon was Jim”'s great uncle. Peter Robischon, one of John”'s children, is also buried in the cemetery close, but not next to, his father. In one of the e-mails that we exchanged, Roni mentioned that John Robischon was a veteran. His military records show that he served in what was called at the time the Philippine Insurrection.
He enlisted at Sauk Center, Minnesota on August 9, 1899, as a private in Company B of the 34th U.S. Infantry. Although he was 20 years old at the time he was considered a minor and needed his father”'s consent in order to enlist. His military papers provide a detailed physical description of him so that we know that he was 5”'6” tall and weighed 122 pounds. He had a slight astigmatism in his right eye but in his left eye his vision was 20/20. He had two noticeable scars, one on his right temple and the other on his right foot. Like so many veterans of the Philippine-American War he was sick much of the time that he was in the service. He suffered from malaria, gastritis, and from injuries due to an accident.
When he got out of the service he married Hulda Erickson. They had three children: John (1903), Lilliane (1905) and Peter Earl (1906). Peter died from iliocolitis in 1907 at the age of one year, 3 months and 10 days. A little less than two years later, on July 11, 1909, John Robischon died from stomach cancer; he was 30 years old.
After over one hundred years his grave will finally have a marker. With the permission of his family and the documentation that they provided, John Robischon has a beautiful, upright, marble marker. We hope that we will be able to get it set before Memorial Day.
