251st from Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery…
Historians are fond of saying that they “fell down a
rabbit hole” when they start out researching one topic and
wind up somewhere unexpected. This is one of those
stories. There is a small connection to the cemetery but a
larger story about a man who lived in what was to become
the Phillips neighborhood.. In fact, he lived three doors
down from my house.
Company B 353 rd U.S. Infantry
Born in Minneapolis on March 29, 1890
Died on November 9, 1918, from wounds received at the Battle of Meuse-Argonne.
William Anthony Hazelquist was a homebody. He was
28 years old but had never spent more than a few days
away from home. He was inducted in the U.S. Army on
June 22, 1918, and after completing his training, he was
shipped out to France. He died there on November 9,
1918.
William was born in Minneapolis on March 29, 1890,
the fifth youngest of Swedish immigrants, John and
Sophia Johnson’s six children. His father emigrated in
1880 and his mother in 1882. They married in Minneapolis
on January 24, 1885, and became naturalized citizens in
- John Hazelquist worked as a tailor.
According to his brother Arthur, William only had a
grade school education, but he was good with his hands
and had an aptitude for mechanical work. He worked as a
painter in an auto shop. He did some light blacksmithing
and mechanical work. He was an “industrious” and
“conscientious” worker, and hoped, once the war was
over, to start his own business. He loved sports and was
a faithful member of the Swedish Tabernacle Church.
William was wounded on November 5, 1918, during
one of the largest and bloodiest battles of World War I, the
offensive at Meuse Argonne in northwestern France.
Between September 26, 1918, and November 11, 1918,
26,277 American soldiers lost their lives of 100,000 to
120,000 total casualties; about 35,000 French deaths,
about 28,000 German deaths. The 47 day battle was
complicated by inexperienced troops, extremes of terrain,
fierce German resistance, and impact of flu.
On November 6, 1918, Dr. Alexander Lambert,
director of civilian relief for the American Red Cross, wrote
to William’s mother Sophie: ”Your son was wounded by a
piece of shrapnel last night, but I can assure you that his
condition is not serious, he will write you a letter soon.” By
the time the letter reached her, her son had died.
Two days after William died, the
Armistice that marked the end of
hostilities between Allied and German
forces was signed.
Once they received confirmation of his death,
William’s parents wrote to Dr. Lambert asking for more
information. Their letter is not in their son’s Gold Star File
at the Minnesota Historical Society but must have been
written shortly after his parents learned that he had died.
Lambert responded on February 18, 1919, and apologized
for having been so slow to respond.
But, he had little more to offer William’s parents. He
wrote: “As I now remember your son was with some 25 or
30 wounded on that date [and] was passed through the
dressing station in an old church at Beauclair. As I wrote
letters for many that date. I cannot recall specifically your
son’s condition but from what you write me I am of the
opinion that loss of blood from the wound and exposure
carrying him back to base hospital caused his death by
pneumonia. It was quite cold that night and he had been
carried back from the front to us at least a mile…”
He offered them some comforting words:: “I gave him
hot chocolate, and he complained but little of any of his
wounds and [was] brave as he left in [an] ambulance for
the [American Expeditionary Force] Hospital.”
Two days after William died, the Armistice that
marked the end of hostilities between Allied and German
forces was signed.
William was initially buried in a military cemetery in
France, but the U.S. government gave families a choice
about whether to leave their loved ones in France or to
have them sent home. More than 40,000 soldiers were
repatriated. William’s family chose to have his remains
returned to be buried near his mother who had died in
- William was buried in Lakewood Cemetery on
August 13, 1921. Two years later, Ernest
Hazelquist,William’s brother, who had died from measles
in 1888 at the age of one year and four months, was
disinterred from Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers
Memorial Cemetery and reburied with his mother, brother and several other family members.
