Marion G. Crandell
Marion G. Crandell | |
|---|---|
 Marion G. Crandell, from a 1926 publication | |
| Born | April 25, 1872 Cedar Rapids, Iowa |
| Died | March 26, 1918 (age 45) France |
| Occupation(s) | Educator, war worker |
| Known for | First American woman in active service killed in World War I |
Marion G. Crandell (April 25, 1872 – March 26, 1918), sometimes seen as Marion G. Crandall, was an American educator and war worker. She was "the first American woman in active service killed in World War I."[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Crandell was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa[2] and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, the daughter of George Taylor Crandell and Anjeannette Adeline Taylor Crandell. Her father was an auditor for the Union Pacific Railroad.[3][4] She graduated from Omaha High School in 1889,[5] and studied French at the Sorbonne.[6] She trained as a teacher the University of Colorado.[3]
Career
[edit]Crandell was a French teacher in Iowa, Nebraska, and California. She was on the faculty of Bellevue College in Omaha from 1911 to 1915.[3]
After visiting her brother George in Alameda, California,[7][8] Crandell volunteered to do war relief work in France.[9] She arrived in France in February 1918, taught French to other volunteers, and worked in a canteen near the front lines.[10] Crandell died in 1918,[11] when an artillery shell struck the YMCA canteen where she was working, near Sainte-Menehould.[12] She was 45 years old.[2][6]
Legacy
[edit]Crandell's grave is in Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery. There is a school building named for her in Davenport, Iowa, and historical marker.[13] A section of Iowa highway also commemorates her. Her name was included on the war memorial at her alma mater in Omaha.[2][6] In 2011, she was inducted into the Omaha Central High School Hall of Fame.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "In Memoriam: Marion G. Crandell". Primary Selections from Special Collections, Davenport Public Library. 2010-03-30. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
- ^ a b c Swanger, Michael. "Publisher's Perspective: Iowan was first U.S. woman killed in active service during the Great War -". Iowa History Journal. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
- ^ a b c Fannon-Langton, Diane (November 9, 2018). "Time Machine: Marion Crandel - The first U.S. woman killed in World War I was from Cedar Rapids". The Gazette. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
- ^ "Omaha Girl First Woman to Make Supreme Sacrifice". Carry on. 5 (2): 30. May 1926.
- ^ a b "Central will add 11 to its Hall of Fame". Omaha World-Herald. 2011-09-24. p. 44. Retrieved 2023-07-29 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Marion G. Crandell". The Central High School Foundation. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
- ^ "Gone West: Gold Stars on the Service Flag of the Sunset Country". Sunset Magazine. 41 (4): 14. October 1918.
- ^ "Alameda Woman Dies by Explosion of Shell". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1918-03-30. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-07-29 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hart, Albert Bushnell (1920). Harper's Pictorial Library of the World War. Harper. p. 313.
- ^ "Miss Crandell, Killed at Front, a Teacher". New-York Tribune. 1918-03-31. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-07-29 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Huns Murder Former Local Girl in France; Marion G. Crandell Killed by Shell in Canteen near Challons". Quad-City Times. 1918-03-31. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-07-29 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Church Woman Killed by German Bomb in France". The Churchman. 117: 524. April 20, 1918.
- ^ "Marion G. Crandell Historical Marker". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
External links
[edit]- Nebraska Stories: Marion Crandell (2021), a short film made for public television