A Memorial to Patrick H Milum
3 July, 2026: Patrick Milum, the brother of my grandfather, was born in West Virginia on July 4, 1892. On June 5, 1917, as World War I escalated, the US Government calls up the first of three registration periods. Unwilling to wait for an actual draft notice, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to Company B of the 3rd Development Battalion, 155th Depot Brigade, at Camp Lee, Virginia. His unit was responsible for getting soldiers trained and ready for overseas deployment.
While Camp Lee was supposed to be Patrick’s stepping stone to the battlefields of Europe, he never made it across the Atlantic. The severe crowded conditions of the military barracks fueled a rapid spread of the deadly 1918 influenza pandemic. Instead of falling in combat, Patrick contracted the flu; later he developed bronchial pneumonia and died at camp on October 17, 1918.
The 1918 influenza pandemic killed more American soldiers than actual combat did during World War I.
Out of the roughly 116,000 U.S. military deaths in the war, more than half (around 63,000) were due to disease, with the vast majority succumbing to the Spanish Flu and resulting pneumonia.
Military camps like Camp Lee, Virginia, were the perfect breeding ground for the virus. There were tens of thousands of young men arriving from all over the country, crammed into packed barracks, mess halls, and training grounds. Because their immune systems were fighting off a completely novel strain of the virus, it ripped through the camps with devastating speed, cutting down thousands of healthy young soldiers before they ever had a chance to deploy overseas.
Since Patrick died while in service to his country, a memorial was constructed in Wayne County, West Virginia with the names of the servicemen who died in World War I, who were from the Wayne area.
Although Patrick’s death was over 100 years ago, he is still remembered by his family. It is so important to keep in mind that as Christians, we do not mourn as those who have no hope. Because we know that since Jesus died but rose from the dead, we also live in that hope that we will see our loved ones again. Patrick Milum is not lost: we know where he is, and he knows where we are. That is separation, and separation is a temporary condition.
During our celebration of the birth of our nation this year, let’s remember all those who made this nation possible.
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