John Seymour Joseph

John Seymour Joseph was born to Mr. and Mrs. H. S. Joseph on January 21, 1896 in Eunice, Louisiana. He moved from Eunice to Melville with his parents in 1897. He attended public school in Melville until he graduated high school in 1912.

In September 1912, Joseph entered Louisiana State University. From 1914 to 1915, he left LSU and enrolled and attended medical college at Tulane University. He reentered LSU in 1918 and continued in the mechanical course.

On May 15, 1918, he was sent from LSU to the Fourth Officers’ Training School in Camp Pike, Arkansas. In June 1918, he was sent to Camp Zachary Taylor in Kentucky for Central Officers’ Training School for Field Artillery. Joseph became eligible for appointment as Second Lieutenant due to his good-standing status in his class. Unfortunately, an influenza outbreak at the camp killed 824 soldiers and put 13,000 in the hospital; there is a chance that Joseph was one of these. He died on October 16, 1918. There is no definitive record of his cause of death.

Written by Caroline Marse