Their Story
Alphons De Cleene was born August 4, 1886, in Ghent, Belgium, the son of Francis and Stephonie De Cleene.[1] He had three brothers and two sisters. In 1907, he immigrated to the United States, sailing from Antwerp on the S.S. Finland. He landed at Ellis Island, New York. Alfons became a U.S. citizen, being naturalized on January 8, 1918.[2] He became a cement worker for Nelson Brothers in Rock Island, Illinois.[3] Three of his siblings also came to Rock Island. One sister remained in Belgium.
Alphons enlisted in the Army March 20, 1918, and was assigned to the Coastal Artillery Corps. He was transferred to Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis, Missouri. Just two weeks after his enlistment, Private De Cleene was admitted to the Jefferson Barracks Post Hospital[4] (March 26, 1918) with pneumonia in the left lung.[5]
Alphons De Cleene died on April 1, 1918 at Jefferson Barracks Hospital.
His name is spelled wrong on his VA Headstone. They show his name as Alphonz DeClene. On his Draft Registration Card, that he filled out, he wrote his name as Alphons De Cleene. Also, on his Naturalization Card his name is listed as Alphons De Cleene.[6]
PVT Alphonz Declene (1886-1918) – Find a Grave Memorial
U.S., Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 (Indexed in World Archives Project) – Ancestry.com
Find a Grave, database, and images: PVT Alphonz Declene (1886-1918) – Find a Grave Memorial (accessed 20 October 2022), memorial page for Alphonz Declene (unknown–4 Apr 1918), Find a Grave Memorial ID 2886415, citing Rock Island National Cemetery, Rock Island, Rock Island County, Illinois, USA; Maintained by Theresa/Thunderbird584 (contributor 47100429)
Ancestry.com. U.S., Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 (Indexed in World Archives Project) [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. U.S., Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 (Indexed in World Archives Project) – Ancestry.com (Accessed 10/20/2022)
United States, Illinois, Moline, The Dispatch, 1918 Apr 04, Page 8
04 Apr 1918, 8 – The Dispatch at Newspapers.com (Accessed 10/19/2022)
PVT Alphonz Declene (1886-1918) – Find a Grave Memorial
[1] August DeClene – Ancestry.com
[2] U.S., Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 (Indexed in World Archives Project) – Ancestry.com
[3] PVT Alphonz Declene (1886-1918) – Find a Grave Memorial
[4] 04 Apr 1918, 8 – The Dispatch at Newspapers.com