October 25, 2020 - Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation

Cobb County suffered lost sons in the Great War. One-hundred and two years ago, on October 15, 1918, Sergeant Earnest Willie Davenport was killed in action in the Meuse River–Argonne Forest offensive in France. Sergeant Davenport was a son of Acworth, GA. He was twenty-five years old at his death.

The battle he died in is, of itself, a remarkable piece of history. The battle lasted forty-seven days, from the 26th of September 1918 to the last day of the War, on November 11, 1918. The Offensive itself was massive, the largest in American history, and involved more than one-million Americans. More than 26,000 American lives were lost during this extended battle.

General Pershing, as American Commander-in-Chief during this closing phase of the War, wrote an illuminating history in 1919 that gave insight into the circumstance and military thinking of this great offensive. America, and its Expeditionary Force, played a decisive role in bringing Germany to a realization that surrender was inevitable. He communicated to Americans from Europe regarding our purpose there. This short clip is captured on the web site FirstWorldWar.com, a multimedia history of World War One:

Jack Pershing – From the Battle of France

The Muese River-Argonne Forest offensive was the decisive battle, coming on the heels of Germany’s defeat on the Bulgarian front, and made clear to the German High Command that the War was lost. As is so often the case, the War had, in fact, been lost well ahead of the cessation of hostilities.

Cobb lost, at least, thirty-two soldiers during the First World War (WWI). The names of those lost as well as the Cobb communities they called home, have been captured by the Georgia World War I Centennial Commission as part of the larger Centennial Commission effort to capture and illuminate the history of WWI.