Henry W. Bock

1892 - 1929

Army
WWI

Their Story

On November 18, 1892, Henry W. Bock was born in New Buffalo, Michigan, to Mary and Michael Bock. His father was born in Germany and was a farmer.[1] Henry joined the Army and served in World War I.[2] World War I was from 1914 until 1918. It started after Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria, and his wife Sophia were assassinated by a Serbian nationalist. Austria blamed Serbia for the death of the Archduke. However, Austria waited to declare war until its ally, Germany, agreed to join as well. Austria knew that Russia was allied with Serbia and was worried that if Russia joined the war then so would Russia’s allies, including France and Great Britain. That is exactly what happened. This turned into an international war. The two sides were named the Central Powers and the Allied Powers. The central Powers consisted of the countries Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. The Allied Powers consisted of the countries Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Canada, Japan, and the United States. The Allies won the war in 1918. There were a total of 16 million deaths, including soldiers and civilians, when the war was over.[3]

Henry was a private and was part of the 110th Infantry, 28th Division.[4] The 28th Division during World War I was the United States’ oldest National Guard Unit. It was originally created in 1878 in Pennsylvania composed of men who had earned battle streamers during the Civil War. The division trained at Camp Hancock from August 1917 until April 1918. The 110th infantry was able to complete small arms training against a 300-yard target for ninety percent of its soldiers. However, the 109th infantry was only able to process seventy-five percent of its soldiers within the same course.

The 28th Division arrived in France in 1918 during the spring. This division was known for accomplishing difficult tasks. From spring of 1918 until November of 1918, the 28th Division was involved in eight major operations. They were known as the “Iron Division.”[5]

After the Army, Henry worked as a farmer.[6] He passed away on November 6, 1929 at the age of thirty-six. He was laid to rest at the Rock Island Arsenal for his service during World War I.[7]

References

[1] 1900 United States Federal Census – Ancestry.com

[2] Hart, Bill. “Henry W Bock.” Find a Grave. March 3, 2000.

[3] History. “World War I.” Last updated May 26, 2022.

[4] Hart, Bill. “Henry W Bock.” Find a Grave. March 3, 2000.

[5] Bankus, Brent and James Kievit. “ Keystone Men of Iron: The 28th Infantry Division in the Great War.” Pennsylvania Heritage. 2018.

[6] Ancestry. “Henry W. Bock.” 2011.

[7] Hart, Bill. “Henry W Bock.” Find a Grave. March 3, 2000.