17 November 1919 : Lieutenant Roland MacGray

Roland MacGray was born 7 June 1896 at Fowler, Benton County, Indiana.

Location of Fowler, Benton County, Indiana in the US (cc OpenStreetMap)

Roland MacGray was a West Point graduate of the Class of 1918.

After training at Fort Sill, Camp Funston and Camp Taylor, he sailed for France on 13 June 1918.

Seeing no action and still in training at the time of the Armistice, he moved to Germany as part of the Army of Occupation in Koblenz.

Occupations of the Rhineland and Saar regions: — blue: France, including the former American zone around Koblenz — yellow: Belgium — brown: United Kingdom — stripes : Ruhr, occupied by France and Belgium — green: Saar, occupied by France under the auspices of the League of Nations[1] French forces continued to occupy German territory in the Rhineland until the end of 1930, while France continued to control the smaller Saarland region until 1935.

It was here, on 17 November 1919, that he was shot dead by a disorderly soldier during a dispute. Roland is buried in Fowler and commemorated on the Tippecanoe War Memorial.

A small US flag and flowers taped to the memorial dedicated to all from Tippecanoe County who have made the supreme sacrifice in defense of the country next to Memorial Island Friday, May 27, 2016, in Columbian Park.

1st Lieutenant Roland Mac Gray, 11th Guards, US Army of Occupation, Germany

17 November 1919

Research by David O'Mara