Tremont Mail

Emery Joseph Whisler

For this week's profile, I had the opportunity to dust off a little project I haven’t quite gotten around to trying to: track the details surrounding the military service of Emery Whisler, a son of Mackinaw. Take a visit to Veterans Park and you’ll find a memorial inscribed with the words “Priv. Emery J. Whistler 122 M.G. Bn. 33 Div. 1898-1918”, indicating that young Emery was a member of the 122nd Machine Gun Battalion of the 33rd Division during World War One. Starting with this information, here is what I’ve been able to piece together.

Emery Whisler was born on October 14, 1898, and was reported to have been an “unusually bright boy with a beautiful voice of rare quality.” Before enlisting with the Illinois National Guard, Emery made his living by working as a barber. While his primary motivations for enlisting are unknown, we do know that he signed up for service in Pekin and made his way to Camp Logan, Illinois, where the 33rd Division was officially activated in July 1917. After basic training, the division would send troops to France starting in May 1918. Upon arrival, American troops received further training from the British Army, particularly the Australian Corps. After this last round of training, elements of the 33rd Division would be the first American troops to enter combat alongside the British Army in The Battle for Hamel, on July 4, 1918.

Sometime between arriving in France and entering the front lines, Emery Whisler was transferred to the 122nd Machine Gun Battalion, for unknown reasons. By late September, Emery would have been in the Toul sector, in anticipation of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which was the beginning of a series of offensive maneuvers that eventually brought the war to an end. Unfortunately, Emery would be severely wounded on October 11, during the 2nd phase of the offensive. Succumbing to his wounds, Emery joined 26,276 other American troops who would give their lives during this operation. His death would fall just one month short of Armistice Day on November 11, 1918.

Emery J. Whisler is buried in Mackinaw Township Cemetery, Block 88 Lot 1. His burial plot was provided by the local American Legion.