The "Lancastrians Who Fought For The USA In WWI: Part III" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story, or perhaps I should say a first-hand account via a diary, written by Dr. Charles P. Stahr who was a Captain in the United States Army during WWI.  I was able to access files which contained personal diaries of several Lancastrians who fought in several wars for the United States.  

This is Lancaster's Armory which eventually became known as
Stahr Armory on North Queen Street in the city of Lancaster, PA

These files are part of transcriptions made by Franklin & Marshall College students in Lancaster, Pennsylvania that can be found in the F&M archives and website.  Charles P. Stahr's diary begins on April 17, 1917 and tells of the brutal war that affected the entire globe.  It also affected alumni, students, professors and staff of F&M who all wanted to do their part during WWI by enlisting in the military.  One of those students was Pvt. J. Reah Hollinger who I wrote about yesterday and who was part of the 111th Ambulance Company.  The 111th Ambulance Company was captained by Charles P. Stahr, a Lancaster educator as well as a medical doctor.  Dr. Charles P. Stahr's father, The Rev. Dr. John Summers Stahr, served as President of Franklin & Marshall College where he had taught since his graduation from the college.  After college Dr. John Stahr became a professor of history and German and after receiving his Master's Degree studied theology and became pastor of St. Paul's Reformed Church in Lancaster.  

This monument can be found in Lancaster's
Buchanan Park.  It honors Lancastrians who
served in the 111th Ambulance Company.

Charles P. Stahr was the oldest son in the family who chose to attend F&M and then Medical School at the University of Pennsylvania.  He returned to Lancaster to install and run the first diagnostic laboratory at Lancaster General Hospital.  He opened his own practice on Walnut Street in downtown Lancaster and when the war broke out in Europe in 1914 and then in 1916 along the US border with Mexico, he decided to use his medical skills to help his country.  He enlisted in the army in 1916 and achieved the rank of 1st Lt. of the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry.  He was soon assigned to the Mexican border campaign against Francisco (Pancho) Villa.  After returning to Lancaster he served with the 3rd Ambulance Co. of the National Guard.  He then was asked to begin an ambulance company which he did at the Lancaster Armory by recruiting 90 men from F&M, Millersville State Normal School and Lancaster city.  He readied them for combat and by August 5th of 1917 they traveled to Georgia for deployment to England and then on to France where his ambulance company was one of four belonging to the 103rd Sanitary Train which served in conjunction with a field hospital unit of the same number.  His group was stationed as close to the trenches as possible serving as the first stop in the process of treatment.  

On the plaque you can see the wording used to honor the
111th Co.  Directly under it is listed Charles P. Stahr's
name.  Click on photo to enlarge it.

Troops would arrive, receive immediate care and be quickly moved to the ambulances for transport to the field hospital which was a few miles behind the battlefront.  But, at times battlefield conditions didn't allow the ambulances to depart and the members of the company had to treat everything from broken hands to chest and head wounds, way beyond the scope of their training.  All relied on Stahr's ability as a captain and a doctor.  During his service, Stahr's company only suffered one casualty.  When the war ended, Captain Charles Stahr received an honorable discharge, only to resume his military service in Europe during WWII as a surgeon in the Army's Infantry Unit.  He remained in service to his country for 26 years and earned the rank of Brigadier General in the Medical Corp of the Pennsylvania National Guard.  If you are old enough to remember the TV series "Mash", you can probably relate to what Stahr and his group must have gone through.  Upon his retirement in 1956, a bronze plaque was dedicated in his honor on behalf of the remaining members of the 111th at the Lancaster Armory.  He also received the General's three stars he had earned.  He died at the age of 85 of a cerebral hemorrhage.  He is remembered in Lancaster as being deputy coroner for Lancaster County, the framing of Lancaster's first pure milk ordinance as well as beginning the first immunization program for the city's public schools.  A true Lancaster hero!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.