March 24, 2006

Oroville Register December 25, 1918
(found by Oroville Veterans Memorial Park Committee member Joan Lee)

Part 2 of 2
James Toland Gives His Life A sacrifice to His Country.
He served as a deputy under Sheriff Riddle. He was a prominent member of the local lodges The Fraternal Brotherhood the Native Son’s , the Moose and the Woodmen of the World. Pvt. Toland is survived by his mother, Mrs. Priscilla Toland, by a twin brother Stephen, who is now with the American forces in Siberia, by Miss Mary Toland, a teacher in the Oroville Schools and by his brothers William, Thomas and Manny Toland, all of Oroville. It is believed that Pvt. Toland is the soldier of whom Homer Spicer wrote, when he told of the death of Wyatt Arbuckle of Chico. His letter said; “It was the evening when they were ordered to go over. Their objective was a road over which for a while before German suppliers had been going. Wyatt and one other Chico boy, also an Oroville boy, were in the first wave. They were advancing in three waves. Along this road were scattered German machine gun nests”. The rest of this story was in last week’s paper.

Oroville Register January 11, 1919
OREGON CITY LAD IS DEAD IN FRANCE
A telegram from the War department to Mrs. Morrison of Oregon City, conveyed the news of the death of her grandson, Sylvester Miller, in France. Death was due to pneumonia. Pvt. Morrison was a full-blooded Indian, who was drafted from Butte County. He was attached to the 10^th Artillery.

Oroville Register December 24, 1917
PRIVATE GUS ALM FUNERAL ON WEDNESDAY
Mother and Sister Return from Camp Kearny, Where Military Funeral Was Held
Funeral services over the remains of Private Gus Alm, I Company member, first to give his life while in the service of his country, will be held from the Catholic Church Wednesday morning at 10 o’clock. Mrs. J. G. Alm and her sister, Miss Margaret Parks, arrived on the Western Pacific train yesterday afternoon at 4 o’clock from Camp Kearny, where they were called by the last illness of Private Gus Alm of I Company who died at the camp Friday morning. Private Alm was given a military funeral at the camp Saturday morning receiving the highest honors that could be bestowed upon him, only one other soldier who has died there has received such honors. The chaplain paid him a high tribute on account of his youth and of his sterling manly qualities, stating that so long as the flag was defended by such noble volunteers that democracy would never perish from the earth. The regimental band was in attendance at the funeral. After the services the entire membership of I Company escorted the remains, which were wrapped in a large beautiful flag, to the depot. Lieutenant Lothrop, Adjutant at Camp Kearny, and Captain Dooley did everything possible to alleviate the sorrow and distress of Mrs. Alm and Miss Parks, while they were at the camp. A pitiful feature of the home coming of the anguished mother of the dead soldier was that when Mrs. Alm and Miss Mattie Parks alighted from the train at the Western Pacific depot here, and went forward to the baggage car, where the remains of Private Alm were supposed to be, it was found that through some error the coffin had not been transferred to the Western Pacific at Stockton. No information could be given to the relatives as to where the remains were. When the soldier special on the Northern Electric reached Oroville, it was supposed that the remains were on that train, and the crowd that had gathered to welcome the soldiers remained quiet in honor of the dead soldier boy. But again the relatives were disappointed. The remains were not accompanied home by a soldier escort, although at Camp Kearny, they were accompanied to the train by I Company and the regimental band. At the Western Pacific depot and at the Northern Electric depot, there were officially appointed committees of the Red Cross and the Chamber of Commerce to meet the remains and to express as best they could to the sorrowing mother, the sympathy of the community for the great loss that she had sustained.

Stu’s Notes: Three stories of Heroes of Oroville, long ago, very in-depth stories of two of the men. Not much on the other, a true Native of America. This could be that not much was known of Sylvester or his relatives; maybe they didn’t come forward. Maybe nobody went out to talk to the Family. We of today can only wonder why. Truth is he and his family were almost eliminated in the Oroville area only a few decades before. But regardless of that he went to war to serve his relatively new country in it’s time of need. When they called he went. He didn’t run or hide, go to Canada, he went to war. So far from his mountain home, that I’m sure he loved. Did he have a girlfriend, wife, kids? How old was he? Will we ever know? The paper said lad, which means youth or young man. The story even had his name two different ways. I truly hope we can find more about him. He is a TRUE Hero of Oroville and we must never forget him. That’s all I need say this week.