Albert Donwen

                                    Killed In Wreck On Way Home

Jackson County Soldier meets death in Railway Accident.
Albert F Donwen of Near Alpha Met Tragic Death in France on November 20th

Having been gassed on his birthday and then killed in a railroad accident in France just as he had started his homeward journey after leaving the hospital, is the sad fate which overtook one of Jackson County’s stalwart young soldier boys.

Mr and Mrs. John Donwen, residing near Alpha, received a message from the war department last Thursday Dec 26, conveying the sad information that their son Private Albert F Donwen of the American Expeditionary Forces, had been killed in a railroad accident in France on Nov. 20.
Albert left with the February draft contingent from Martin County for Dodge, later being transferred to Camp Logan, Colorado, and sailed from Long Island, N.Y., on May 9, for service overseas.  He was in the 129th Infantry, 33rd Division.

Albert was gassed on his birthday, Oct. 5. He had just been released from the hospital and was  on his way home when he met his death in the railroad accident.

 Albert Frederick Donwen was the third son of Mr and Mrs John Donwen.  He was born at Cabery, Ford County, Illinois, Oct 5 1892. He came to Minnesota with his parents in February 1912. Besides his parents, he leaves seven sisters and four brothers to mourn his loss (siblings named in report).

In the death of Private Albert Donwen, Jackson County mourns the loss of another one of it’s brave soldier boys.  The news of his tragic death came as a severe blow to the family, and the sympathy of the entire community is extended to them in their great sorrow. - Jackson County Pilot

Funeral for Albert Donwen.

World War I Links

Great overview page http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~worldwarone/WWI/index.html

The World War I Document Archive at The University of Kansas - WWI directory http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi

Albert's grave in 1919

Albert's grave  in Jackson, MN 1978