Pvt. William Wilaby
January 12, 1894 - February 16, 1984
123 Spruce Squadron
William Wilaby
William Wilaby was born to parent August and Tobe Wilaby on January 12, 1894. He would eventually have 5 siblings (Jennie, Ruth, Sennie, August and Frank) with William being the oldest.
In October of 1918 he joined the US Army in the 123rd Spruce Squadron. He was discharged in December of 1918. On his return he married Helena Kracke and they raised four daughters in the Brooking, SD area.
William died on November 12, 1973 and is buried in Fairview Cemetery, White, SD.
The 123rd Spruce was formed in August 1918 at Vancouver Barracks. In the same month they were sent to Lake Pleasant, Washington. The town of Joyce, as well as a post office specially opened at Siemscary, were the main centers of operation of a major railroad construction project to reach the huge stands of spruce near the area currently bounded by Olympic National Park. This project involved over 3,000 soldiers located at many camps within Clallam County. In September 1918, they were moved to Siemscary. In November 1918, they, as well as many other units in Clallam County, were moved to Port Angeles, where they waited for transportation. In December 1918, the unit was moved to Vancouver Barracks, and were demobilized there in January 1919 Washington Spruce unit charts that I show on my website indicate that this unit had 2 officers and 141 enlisted men.
