— Others Listed from Previous Genesee County Rolls —
– – – – –
Frank Bodonix
Private, Co C, 23rd Infantry, 2nd Division. Died June 7, 1918 of wounds received in action near Belleau Wood, France. Age 24.
Listed under LeRoy on County Lists 2 and 3.
Actual home town: Undetermined (possibly Jersey City, New Jersey; see text)
Burial: Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, Plot B Row 10 Grave 52, Belleau, France
Frank Bodonix appears on two published Genesee County honor rolls and is listed as a Genesee County soldier in the State of New York’s Roll of Honor. On that roll, and on his NYSS, Bodonix’s town of residence is given as LeRoy, New York. County Honor Roll Lists 2 and 3, which were largely based on the Roll of Honor, also list Frank Bodonix as a LeRoy soldier.
Other official sources, however, including the U.S. Army casualty list on which his name appeared in June, 1918, as well as Soldiers of the Great War, give his home address as Jersey City, New Jersey. The emergency contact information on his NYSS lists a Jersey City address for his brother.
Research failed to confirm or disprove Bodonix’s residency in either place. No mention or evidence of any Bodonix was found in LeRoy or Genesee County area newspapers, directories, or other source documents from the time. No census records for the period spanning 1890 through 1920 were found for any Bodonix in New York or New Jersey. In addition, documents in Private Bodonix’s Burial Case File, including 1919 War Department letters mailed to Frank Bodonix’s brother in Jersey City and returned marked “no such street address,” and also a War Department document dated ten years later (July 20, 1929) marked “Cannot locate any relatives,” indicate that sustained government efforts to locate the Bodonix family or any other relatives were equally unsuccessful. It’s hoped that further research may clarify Bodonix’s status as a New York (whether LeRoy or elsewhere) or New Jersey soldier.
As a Syracuse recruit in the regular Army’s 23rd Infantry regiment, Bodonix (along with the rest of his regiment) left the United States from Hoboken, New Jersey on September 7, 1917, and arrived at St. Nazaire, France on September 20. On that same day, the 2nd Division was officially formed, bringing into its organization two Army regiments—the 23rd and the 9th, then known collectively as the Syracuse or 1st Provisional Brigade—and two marine regiments, the 5th and 6th.
Most sources say that Private Frank Bodonix was killed on June 7, 1918. That was the second day of the vicious fighting at Belleau Wood, in the Chateau-Thierry sector, when the 2nd Division launched a series of assaults on strong German positions. A searcher’s report in Bodonix’s Burial Case File says only, “Pvt Bodonix was wounded in action about June 1, 1918 at Chateau Thierry, and died on the way to hospital.” It’s unlikely that June 1 is the correct date. On June 1, according to History of the 2d Division in World War I, “No casualties had been reported” as the division’s troops, including Bodonix’s 23rd Infantry, moved into positions south of Belleau Wood, in the Chateau Thierry sector.
On June 7, however, the 23rd Infantry, battered by combat the previous day, took additional casualties as it held a line at Triangle Farm, just south of Bouresches, near the southeastern edge of Belleau Wood, protecting and extending the division’s right flank as marines stormed the woods.
– – – – –
—— [CLICK ON DOCUMENTS TO OPEN FULL VIEW IN SEPARATE TAB] ——
June 19, 1918 The Jersey Journal p1 c8
– – – – –
June 20, 1918 Poughkeepsie Eagle-News p10 c5
– – – – –
June 20, 1918 New York Herald Part Two p4 c4
– – – – –
Bodonix Listing under Genesee County, Roll of Honor: Citizens of the State of New York Who Died While in the Service of the United States During the World War, page 64
– – – – –
Source: New York Service Summary from Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917-1919, NY State Archives, Albany, New York
– – – – –
Source: Burial Case Files, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92, National Archives — St Louis, Missouri
– – – – –
Source: Burial Case Files, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92, National Archives — St Louis, Missouri
– – – – –
Source: Burial Case Files, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92, National Archives — St Louis, Missouri
– – – – –
Source: Burial Case Files, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92, National Archives — St Louis, Missouri
– – – – –
Frank Bodonix headstone, Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, Plot B Row 10 Grave 52, Belleau, France
– – – – –
Frank Bodonix Sources:
– County Lists 2, 3
– Jun 19, 1918 The Jersey Journal p1 c8
– Jun 19, 1918 Oswego Daily Times p1 c1
– Jun 19, 1918 Utica Herald-Dispatch p1 c5
– Jun 20, 1918 New York Herald Part Two p4 c4
– June 20, 1918 Poughkeepsie Eagle-News p10 c5
– NYSS
– Roll of Honor (NY State), p 64
– WWI database, American Battle Monuments Commission website (www.abmc.gov/search/wwi.php)
– Soldiers of the Great War, Vol. 2, p 260
– 2d Division, Summary of Operations in the World War, pp 5-14
– History of the 2d Division in World War I, pp 1-3, 39, 56, 124-34
– Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Volume 2, pp 21-31
– Final Report of Gen. John J. Pershing, Document No. 626, Government Printing Office, Washington DC 1920, p 33
– BCF
– – – – –
Click for Key to Source Abbreviations. See the Bibliography for complete title, author, and publisher information, with links to online access when available.