Laurens Bennett Strain, Bloomington private, example of 'regular soldier' in World War I

Editor's Note: This is the third part of an exclusive Herald Times series from PBS documentarian Jo Throckmorton.

Laurens Bennett Strain wasn’t a professional soldier. The involvement of the United States in the Great War was something that stirred within him a reason to enlist. He didn’t plan on the war, but he answered the call when it came. 

So, he went Over There. To France. He went to fight for his belief in the freedom from random torpedo attacks on American ships. He went for the belief that no person should live under the type of treatment imposed on those who were overrun by the German Army. For those beliefs, and others, he died. 

Laurens Bennett Strain was from Bloomington, Indiana, and he died like so many other young American men on these battlefields of the French Frontier — without a Silver Star, a Distinguished Service Cross or a Medal of Honor. He was in the majority of citizen soldiers. He was among those who died in action while doing his duty.

Part 1:Bloomington documentarian traces WWI soldiers in France

Pvt. Strain is one of the subjects of the upcoming documentary film, “Over There: Hoosier Heroes of the Great War.” I am writing from Reims, France, as I prepare to move on to the farther reaches of Eastern France to capture the stories of various Hoosier soldiers, and a nurse, who served in the war. The film will air late this year on the PBS stations in Indiana. You can see more video and learn more about this film at www.hoosierheroesofwwi.com.

Part 2:Ernest Duncan Finley, Bloomington soldier, was first local man to die in World War I

Laurens Bennett Strain was born in April of 1897 in Bloomington, Indiana. His father Homer was a dentist and he was the only child of Homer and Viola P. Bennett Strain. He lived at 527 N. Washington St., and was a student before choosing to enlist in the U.S. Regular Army about one month after the entry of the United States into the war. He was sent to National Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for his training — but because of the dire need for soldiers on the front lines, his training was short and did not fully prepare him for what he was to face. 

On Christmas Eve 1917, he embarked on the S.S. Canada and arrived in France as part of the 2nd Division, 4th Machine Gun Battalion, Company D. He was clearly a smart young man as he was a corporal by then. However, things changed not long after his unit moved toward the front.  

For reasons at this moment unknown, Corporal Strain was transferred at his own request to Company C of the 5th Machine Gun Battalion of the 2nd Division at a reduced rank of Private. This change from Company D to Company C may very well have sealed his fate.

Pvt. Strain found himself in action in a small clearing just to the north of the Bois de (woods of) Clarembeau, just outside Le Thiolet, France. It was during intense fighting throughout that sector that he was killed. Just after midnight on June 7, 1918, Pvt. Strain was struck in the head by a machine gun bullet. He was buried in a temporary grave not far from where he fell, and then was removed to be buried at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery at Belleau, France.

On August 6, 1921, as part of the overall “repatriation” program offered to the Gold Star Mothers of those killed in the war, Laurens Bennett Strain was boarded onto the U.S.A.T. Wheaton for the passage back to Hoboken, New Jersey, before finally coming home to Bloomington. He now rests in Rose Hill Cemetery. The VFW Post 604 is named in his honor.

He was 21 years old at the time of his death, just over one year from the date of his enlistment. His story is important as it brings into stark reality the sacrifices of so many forgotten soldiers. He was not famous like Alvin York. He did not win a Medal of Honor, as had fellow Hoosier Samuel Woodfill. He was just a soldier, and for those who faced the possibility of losing their homes and their country, that was more than enough.