Remembering Those Who Made the Ultimate Sacrifice
With Memorial Day weekend coming, we’d like to take a moment to share the stories of three service members from Hunterdon County, who made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for their country.
Lieut. Wilmer Edgar Herr
Lieutenant Herr holds the sad distinction of being Hunterdon County’s first serviceman killed in action during World War 1.
The son of Judge Henry Burdett Herr (1849-1920) and Virginia Herr (1853-1896), he was born on February 9, 1893 and graduated from Reading Academy in 1911 and Wesleyan College. Herr was in his second year at Columbia University Law School when he quit his studies to enter the service. Described as having dark brown hair and gray eyes, he headed to the training camp at Plattsburg, New York, and later received his commission as a second lieutenant. Before sailing to France on January 15, 1918, he spent a Thanksgiving furlough with his family.
Lieut. Herr, 25, served in the 9th Division, 2nd Infantry. On Easter Sunday, April 8, 1918, he had just returned from patrolling the no-man’s land in front of a mile of trenches south of the city of Verdun and east of the Meuse River, near the tiny village of Rouvois, when a high-explosive shell landed just a few feet from him. He was buried with other men of his regiment, first in Rouvois; after the Armistice he was transferred to the St. Mihiel American Cemetery in Thiaucourt, France. A cenotaph at Prospect Hill Cemetery honors his memory.
The Herrs had three other sons in the service at the time of the lieutenant’s passing: Major John Herr and Captain Frederick Herr (both West Point graduates) and Lieut. C. Ryman Herr, who would receive the distinguished Service Cross and the Croix de Guerre for services in France before returning home to practice law for more than 50 years.
Shortly after hearing of his death, Flemington Mayor Foran issued a proclamation requesting all flags in town to be placed at half-staff for one week. The Hunterdon County Democrat recorded, “The flag in front of the courthouse was draped, and the service flag taken down and two stars removed, being replaced by silver stars, one being for Cecil Tiffany, who died so soon after being sent to Camp Dix.”
Pvt. John Cruser Polhemus
John C. Polhemus was born in Amwell on Christmas Eve 1896. His parents, Jacob W. Polhemus (1870-1946) and Lida Allen Dilts (1871-1946) would later move to Flemington Junction. John was “highly thought of,” according to a local newspaper, and a member of the Flemington Presbyterian Church, where he belonged to the Ushers’ Association. In 1917, he enlisted in the Marine Corp. and served as a private, 78th company, 6th Regiment USMC.
Polhemus (left) participated in the battle of Belleau Wood (June 1-26, 1918) during the German spring offensive in France and likely fought in the heavily contested lines at Hill 142 just west of Belleau Wood. He died of wounds suffered on June 26 at Chateau-Thierry.
Lieutenant Courtney Ryley Cooper visited the battlefields near Chateau-Thierry and from the small town of Lucy Le Bocage would write, “Just outside this shattered, roofless, shell-torn little town, is a tiny cemetery. It rears its crosses beside a laughing, tinkling, little stream which flows from Belleau Wood, where Germany met the shock of the united States Marines in June, 1918, and recoiled in a retreat that ended only with her surrender.
“It is in this little graveyard, with its shelter of trees, its smooth kept graves, its American flag insignia on every cross that Private John C. Polhemus, of Flemington, lies buried. Private Polhemus was killed in the taking of Belleau Wood, June 26, 1918. Reading from the right, his grave is number 20, in the second row.”
The U.S. War Department established a permanent cemetery there in 1922 for 30 graves, then offered families the choice of having their loved ones’ remains buried overseas or repatriated home. Pvt. Polhemus’ parents opted to bring their son home. He is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery.
Sgt. Norman Manning
Sgt. Manning was the son of Cyrus Manning of Arch Street in High Bridge. A 1932 graduate of High Bridge High School, he married Arlene Wyhusky on February 12, 1941 at the parsonage of the High Bridge Methodist Episcopal Church. He was inducted into the Army in June of 1941, receiving basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia and advanced training in Florida. Before joining the Army, he was employed at Schmalz Creamery in Lebanon.
He headed overseas in January, 1944, first to England. He stormed the beaches of Normandy, France on July 6, 1944 with the 4th Infantry Division, 8th Infantry Regiment. The next day, Sgt. Manning was killed while leading several soldiers to a “point of safety” on the battlefield. An officer’s letter sent to his wife stated, “Sergeant Manning was the only man I have ever seen who was completely without fear.” According to that letter, his death was instantaneous.
He is buried at Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France.