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First Lieutenant John Fletcher McCormick

A young man in a military-style jacket facing right.
  • Unit: 1st Aero Squadron
  • Date of Birth: December 20, 1895
  • Entered the Military: August 15, 1917
  • Date of Death: November 3, 1918
  • Hometown: Collins, Mississippi
  • Place of Death: near Pierremont, France
  • Award(s): Purple Heart
  • Cemetery: Plot F, Row 3, Grave 22,. Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, France, Memorial Marker in Hickory Grove Cemetery, Laurel, Mississippi
Contributed by Mrs. Michelle Rafach
Hancock High School, Kiln, Mississippi
2025/2026

Early Life

John Fletcher McCormick, the son of George D. McCormick and Maude Terral McCormick, was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and raised in rural Collins, Mississippi. While his father was raised in Mississippi, his mother was born in Texas and later moved to and settled near Collins. 

Collins was a farming community located between Jackson and Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The McCormicks owned their home, and George supported his family by selling furniture. John had five sisters, Edwina, Georgina, Carrie, Gladys, and Katherine. 

When McCormick graduated from Collins High School in 1915, he decided to attend The Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi, where he became an active member of the agricultural club.  

In 1917, during his junior year, McCormick gained employment at Fort Logan H. Roots in Arkansas. While there, he enlisted in the U.S. Army.

John F. McCormick’s family in the 1910 U.S. census, living in Collins, Mississippi. National Archives and Records Administration.
John F. McCormick as a freshman in the Agriculture Club at The Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi, 1915. Ancestry.
John F. McCormick, featured as a junior in The Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi’s yearbook, 1917. Ancestry.

Homefront

The town of Collins, Mississippi, was established in the early 1900s as a stop on the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad. The town was incorporated in 1906 as the county seat. The railroad and sawmills led to rapid growth. By 1910, the population of Collins was just over 2,500 people.

Collins was not involved in a specific field of wartime agriculture, but did work to continue harvesting and planting crops throughout the war. Cotton, grown in this area, remained a major crop in Mississippi. 

Food conservation efforts were promoted through advertisements featuring products such as wheatless biscuits. Food propaganda was used to target housewives, since they controlled the food presented to the family.  German propaganda was also presented to Collins, Mississippi, as the Germans were portrayed as animals, wolves, and Huns.  

Discrimination was prevalent in the Jim Crow South. Not only were those of a different race discriminated against, but so were women. This discrimination became evident when the question of women’s suffrage was raised in this region of the country.  The entire state of Mississippi, in general, was not a supporter of the women’s suffrage movement or of efforts to enfranchise women. 

The Red Cross appealed to community members to fund its mission and support it financially, fulfilling its duty as patriots.

Wheatless biscuits were one example of a recipe advertised in the Stone County Enterprise, a local newspaper for citizens to conserve for the war effort, October 28, 1916.
Local newspapers began publishing a war news of the week section in their papers to inform local residents of what was happening abroad during the war. Stone County Enterprise, November 24, 1917.
A political cartoon promoting the negative sentiment against the Germans during World War I. Stone County Enterprise, March 23, 1918.

Military Experience

John F. McCormick registered for the draft on May 24, 1917, at the age of 21. He enlisted on August 15, 1917, and was sent for training in military aeronautics at the University of Texas at Austin. The Canadian Royal Flying Corps (RFC) trained pilots and support staff at this location during the winter months.

On September 25, 1917, McCormick sailed for France with the Aviation Sector, Signal Enlisted Reserve Corps aboard the R.M.S. Saxonia. He flew a French Salmson SA-2 heavy observation aircraft.

On April 14, 1918, he was honorably discharged to accept his commission as first lieutenant in the 1st Aero Squadron.

John F. McCormick’s draft enlistment registration card, May 24, 1917. National Archives and Records Administration.
John F. McCormick and his unit sailed to France aboard the R.M.S Saxonia on September 25, 1917. National Archives and Records Administration.
John F. McCormick’s Mississippi World War I service card detailing his service record (front). Mississippi State Archives.
John F. McCormick’s Mississippi World War I service card detailing his service record (back). Mississippi State Archives.

Commemoration

On November 3, 1918, John F. McCormick was part of an attack on a German supply train. While in the process of attacking a German machine-gun nest, he was hit by ground fire. While he was mortally wounded, he was still able to bring the plane to the ground, but he crashed. A Lieutenant East dragged him from the burning wreckage before it exploded, and he died of his wounds.

He was a young man, only 22 years old, when he died serving his country. He is buried at Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, France.

McCormick’s mother, Maude, was offered the chance to travel to France as part of the Gold Star Mothers’ Pilgrimage. She did not indicate that she desired to travel in 1930, and it was “unknown” if she wanted to be considered for a later trip.

John F. McCormick was commemorated in Soldiers of the Great War. He is listed in the bottom row, second from left.
The Mississippi State Archives cataloged information about its citizens who were buried in military graves after World War I. Mississippi State Archives.
Maude McCormick did not indicate an interest in traveling to France as part of the Gold Star Mothers’ Pilgrimage in 1929. National Archives and Records Administration.
McCormick’s family placed a memorial marker at Hickory Grove Cemetery in Laurel, Mississippi. Find a Grave.
John McCormick’s grave at Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, 2026. American Battle Monuments Commission.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

“Better Farming in the South.”  Stone County Enterprise, [Wiggins, MS], March 23, 1918. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn87065666/1918-03-23/ed-1/. 

“Discount Negro Labor in the North.” The Columbus Commercial, [Columbus, MS], June 3, 1917. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn87065028/1917-06-03/ed-1/.

John F. McCormick. American Soldiers of World War I. Digital images. https://ancestryclassroom.com. 

John F. McCormick. Mississippi, U.S., State Archives, Various Records 1820-1951. Digital images. https://ancestryclassroom.com. 

John F. McCormick. World War I Army Promotion Cards, 1917-1918. Digital Images. https://ancestryclassroom.com. 

John F. McCormick. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Digital images. https://ancestryclassroom.com. 

John F. McCormick. World War I Service Cards, 1917-1918. Digital images. https://ancestryclassroom.com. 

John F. McCormick. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012. Digital images. https://ancestryclassroom.com.

Maude T. McCormick. U.S., World War I Mothers’ Pilgrimage, 1929. Digital images. https://ancestryclassroom.com.

Mississippi. Covington County. 1910 U.S. Census. Digital images. https://ancestryclassroom.com.

Mississippi. Jasper County. 1890 U.S. Census. Digital images. https://ancestryclassroom.com.

“The Suffrage Plank.” The Jones County News, [Ellisville, MS], September 9, 1915. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn87065069/1915-09-09/ed-1/.

“Weekly War News.” Stone County Enterprise [Wiggins, Mississippi], November 24, 1917. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn87065666/1917-11-24/ed-1/.

“Wheatless Biscuits.” Stone County Enterprise [Wiggins, MS], October 28, 1916. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn87065666/1916-10-28/ed-1/.

“When Will the War End?” Stone County Enterprise [Wiggins, MS], November 24, 1917. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn87065666/1917-11-24/ed-1/.

Will The American Farmer Kill The Kaiser’s Wolf—Famine. Political cartoon. Stone County Enterprise [Wiggins, Mississippi], March 23, 1918. https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn87065666/1918-03-23/ed-1/. 

“Women to Vote in 1912.” Greene County Herald [Leakesville, MS], November 10, 1911. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn87065327/1911-11-10/ed-1/. 

Secondary Sources

“1LT John Fletcher McCormick.” Find a Grave. Updated August 6, 2010. Accessed January 29, 2026. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/80742513/john-fletcher-mccormick.

“1LT John Fletcher McCormick.” Find a Grave. Updated November 20, 2011. Accessed January 29, 2026. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/80742513/john-fletcher-mccormick.

“About Collins.” City of Collins. Accessed January 29, 2026. https://cityofcollins.com/town-history.

“Collins, Mississippi.” Mississippi Rails. Accessed January 29, 2026. https://www.msrailroads.com/Towns/Collins.htm. 

“John F McCormick.” Honor States. Accessed December 22, 2025. https://www.honorstates.org/profiles/143430/.

Walters, Katherine Kuehler. “The Impact of World War I on Texas: A Historical Overview.” Updated March 27, 2024. Accessed January 29, 2026. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/world-war-i.

This profile was researched and created through the Researching Silent Heroes program, sponsored by the American Battle Monuments Commission.