Namesakes of Perryville American Legion still honored

Jesse Moonier and Howard Reddick are the namesakes of American Legion Post No. 133 in Perryville, Missouri.

Post 133 was founded in 1920 after the end of World War I and was named for Moonier and Reddick because they were the first two soldiers from Perry County to have made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of the country.

According to archives supplied by the Perry County Historical Society (PCHS), Pvt. Reddick was sent to France in July 1918, where he was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines. The 6th Marines fought in the offensive campaigns of Aisne-Marne and St. Mihiel. But it was the offensive campaign of Meuse-Argonne that Reddick "gave all" He died Oct. 4, 1918, at the age of 20.

The PCHS archives further state during the closing months of WWI, Pvt. Jesse Moonier of the 128th Infantry Regiment, participated in several major campaigns. Those included Alsace, Aisne-Marne and Meuse-Argonne, campaigns on the Western Front in France. On Aug. 30, 1918, at the age of 22, Moonier made the supreme sacrifice for his country.

Moonier

Courtesy of the Perry County Historical Society Howard Reddick

Courtesy of the Perry County Historical Society Howard Reddick

Moonier's last campaign began Aug. 18, 1918, and was called the "Oise-Aisne offensive". According to the archives, a soldier named Henry Beck was with Moonier when he died. Beck recounted he and Moonier had taken refuge in a shallow shell hole. They had taken off their helmets to enlarge their hiding place. Then a lull came in the shooting and Moonier raised his head, without his helmet, over the top to look around. Moonier was struck in the head by two German machine gun bullets. Private Moonier fell back across Beck, dying instantly.

The archives stated Moonier's family received a letter of regret from the regiment's commanding officer, General Harrison, 42 days after Moonier's death. At the time, Moonier was survived by his father, seven brothers and three sisters.

According to obituaries Moonier's family submitted to the New Republican Era and the Perry County Republican newspapers, Moonier was born and raised in Perry County and lived with his father near Perryville. He was considered the "baby" and "favorite" of the family. Moonier did well in school and worked hard to help his "aged father to make his life happier," the obituary stated.

"If it had not been for the love of his father, he could have had more freedom, but this was not Jesse's wish," Moonier's family wrote in his obituary.

The obituary further stated Moonier was the first of the family to enter the Army and that he "made good on every point of his training," and "his brightness and good behavior gained the love of his captain and brother soldiers."

Jesse Moonier's grave marker at Mount Hope Cemetery in Perryville, Missouri.Courtesy of Perry County Historical Society

Jesse Moonier's grave marker at Mount Hope Cemetery in Perryville, Missouri.Courtesy of Perry County Historical Society

"Little did we think he would be the first to be taken from us. But God knows best and has plucked the fairest flower," the family wrote. "We are proud his death has been for the highest, noblest cause. As we love him in life let us not forget him in death."

In a poem submitted with the obituary, Moonier's family said he was patient and "took hardships as they come," when he was "over there", nobly facing shell fire and braving the "bursting bomb". They wrote Moonier was "worn with the conflict" during his days in the trenches and that he willingly offered his life.

"When called by the trumpet at time's great review, he will stand, who defended the red, white and blue," the poem reads.

In the last letter received by his family, dated Aug. 15, 1918, Moonier wrote to his brother, Pius, about his war experiences. He thanked his brother for a letter and said he was glad to hear from home. He commented that he hoped "the crops are good, but I guess the help to put them away will be more scarce."

Moonier wrote about hearing his brother, Dennis, was also overseas and they must have just missed seeing each other when disembarking from New York.

Howard Reddick's grave marker at Mount Hope Cemetery in Perryville, Missouri.Courtesy of Perry County Historical Society

Howard Reddick's grave marker at Mount Hope Cemetery in Perryville, Missouri.Courtesy of Perry County Historical Society

"I would like to have seen him as it had been nearly two years since I seen him," Moonier wrote.

To his family's requests for long letters, Moonier responded, "if you could see us sometimes when shells and poison gas comes. We don't think about writing, you could not imagine how quick a thousand soldiers can lie down and how close we hug the ground for dear life."

Moonier wrote he had been in several battles and had been engaged in some hand-to-hand fighting, "and have had some close calls, but it seems as if I hold a lucky number for, I have not received a scratch." He wrote about "seeing red" when a fellow soldier falls, and credited his training for being "limber and quick" during battle.

Moonier asked family and friends to write, saying he and his fellow soldiers enjoyed nothing more than a letter from home.

"When we see someone reading with a smile, we always say to him, 'Did you get a letter from mamma?'" Moonier wrote.

He closed the letter saying, "the shells are passing pretty close to the billet" where he was writing the letter, and "I remain, as ever, your brother, Jesse."

On Jan. 1, 1921, the remains of Moonier finally arrived home. A crowd estimated at 4,000, with 150 former servicemen in uniform paid their final respects.

Reddick

Regarding Reddick, the archives state that Nov. 11, 1918, Reddick's parents were rejoicing in the announcement of the Armistice. Having sent five sons overseas for the Great War, two who had been gassed but survived, they had "fond hope" that all five boys would be returned to them. However, two days later, rejoicing turned to sorrow when they received a telegram informing them their youngest son had been killed in action during the Meuse-Argonne campaign.

The archives go on to state the campaign was a major part of the final allied offensive of the war. It stretched along the entire Western Front, involving 1.2 million U.S. soldiers and costing 26,277 soldiers' lives. It was during the Battle of Mont Ridge that Reddick lost his life near St. Etienne. He was buried near that location with the battle "still raging around his fellow marines," the archives stated.

Later Reddick's remains were moved to the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery. Eventually, his remains were brought home to Perryville on Oct. 3, 1921.

Both Moonier and Reddick were laid to rest in Mount Hope Cemetery with full military honors provided by the newly instated Moonier-Reddick American Legion Post No. 133, the archives state.