Seaman Second Class, U.S. Naval Reserve Force.
Died of pneumonia at Eastleigh Naval Aviation Repair Base, England, October 21, 1918. Age 21.
Town: Batavia
Burial: Batavia Cemetery, Lot No 577, Batavia, Genesee County, New York
Harold Ray Lortz was born in Batavia (Genesee County), New York, on April 8, 1897. He was the youngest of seven children (brothers Fred M and Frank W; sisters Ella, Isabel M, Eva E, and Mary H) of William and Mary L Lortz. Harold’s father was a German immigrant who worked as an engineer and gunsmith at the Baker Gun and Forging Company in Batavia. The 1900 US and 1905 NY censuses show the family living at 43 Columbia Avenue, while the 1910 US and 1915 NY censuses, as well as 1917’s Genesee County Militia Enrollment list, Lortz’s draft registration card, and all documents in his OMPF give 45 Columbia Avenue as the address.
Harold Lortz attended Batavia High School and was a mason by trade. His draft registration card gives the Batavia Masonic Temple as his place of employment. Lortz signed up for the U.S. Naval Reserve Force on May 31, 1918, in Rochester (see June 5, 1918 Rochester Democrat & Chronicle), and received his final exam and official enlistment in Buffalo on June 3 (see his OMPF and Officers and Enlisted Men of the United States Naval Service Who Died in the World War).
Lortz left Batavia on June 14, 1918 for the Great Lakes Naval Training Station at Lake Bluff, Illinois. In mid-July, his unit was sent to England to help man the newly established Eastleigh Naval Aviation Repair Base, which served as a critical bomber assembly and repair facility for the Allies’ Northern Bombing Group. Seaman Lortz was one of 20 enlisted men who died from influenza or pneumonia during an outbreak of Spanish flu at the base in the fall of 1918.
Seaman Harold Ray Lortz’s body was returned to Batavia under military escort on January 8, 1919, and was interred on January 11 at Batavia Cemetery.
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October 26, 1918 Batavia Daily News p6 c4
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January 11, 1919 Batavia Times p2 c3
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Source: New York Service Summary from Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917-1919, NY State Archives, Albany, New York
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Source: Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), U.S. Navy, Archival, Record Group 024, National Archives – St. Louis, Missouri.
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Source: Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), U.S. Navy, Archival, Record Group 024, National Archives – St. Louis, Missouri.
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Source: Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), U.S. Navy, Archival, Record Group 024, National Archives – St. Louis, Missouri.
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Source: Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), U.S. Navy, Archival, Record Group 024, National Archives – St. Louis, Missouri.
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Harold R Lortz headstone, Batavia Cemetery, Lot 577, Batavia, Genesee County, New York
GPS Coordinates: Lat 42° 59’ 38.29” N, Long 78° 10’ 7.489” W (DD: 42.993969, -78.168747)
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Harold R Lortz Sources:
– All County Lists; also BHR
– Jun 5, 1918 RDC p15 c2
– Jun 15, 1918 BD p2 c2
– Aug 13, 1918 BD p8 c4
– Oct 26, 1918 BD p6 c4*
– Nov 2, 1918 BT p2 c4-5
– Jan 11, 1919 BT p2 c3
– “United States Census, 1900.” Online index and images, HeritageQuest.com. Entries for William Lortz (head) and Harold R Lortz (son, age 3), citing Census Records, Batavia, Genesee, New York; sheet number 6, line numbers 16 and 24, microfilm series T623, Roll 1038, page 62.
– “New York State Census, 1905.” Online index and images, FamilySearch.org. Entry for Harold R Lortz, age 8, citing Census Records, Batavia, E.D. 01, Genesee, New York; page number 47, line 3.
– “United States Census, 1910.” Online index and images, HeritageQuest.com. Entries for William Lortz [not indexed; search by cited microfilm series/roll/page number] (head) and Harold R Lortz (son, age 13), citing Census Records, Batavia, Genesee, New York; sheet number 12, line numbers 10 and 16, microfilm series T624, Roll 951, page 86.
– “New York State Census, 1915.” Online index and images, Ancestry.com. Entry for Harold R Lortz, age 18, citing Census Records, Batavia (Ward 1), A.D. 01, E.D. 01, Genesee, New York; page number 28, line 49.
– Farm Journal Illustrated Directory of Genesee County (1917), p 69
– “Militia Enrollment List” (Genesee County, 1917), p L2
– NYSS
– Roll of Honor (NY State), p 65
– World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Ancestry.com)
– “Lortz, Harold Ray,” Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), U.S. Navy, Archival (Record Group 024); National Archives – St. Louis, Missouri.
– The Battle of Eastleigh England, pp 7, 86-90
– “Casualties of the United States Navy and Coast Guard by Date and Ship/Base – 17th to 24th October 1918,” online (http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyUS-CasualtiesChrono1918-10Oct3.htm)
– Officers and Enlisted Men of the United States Naval Service Who Died During the World War, p 467
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Click for Key to Source Abbreviations. See the Bibliography for complete title, author, and publisher information, with links to online access when available.