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Seaman Second Class Wilbur Elting Peecher

  • Unit: Naval Auxiliary Reserve, Ninth Naval District
  • Date of Birth: July 13, 1895
  • Entered the Military: May 20, 1918
  • Date of Death: July 1, 1974
  • Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
  • Cemetery: Union Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio
Contributed by Ms. Katie Craven
Open World Learning Academy
2017–2018

Before the War

On July 13, 1895, Wilbur Elting Peecher was born in Ohio. He graduated from high school and pursued an agricultural degree for two and a half years, but left for a full time job at the railroad where his father also worked. Peecher worked as a farm laborer and as a clerk for the Norfolk & Western Railroad in the years leading to World War I.

Wilbur Peecher’s World War I Draft Registration Card, June 5, 1917. National Archives and Records Administration.

Military Experience

After the United States entered World War I, Peecher applied to enroll in the U.S. Naval Reserve Force in May 1918. Initially denied entry on medical grounds due to flat feet, he acquired the required endorsements to have his disability waived. Despite being on active duty, Peecher never saw overseas action. 

He was stationed in Chicago for training as part of the 9th Naval District and stayed in Chicago and then Cleveland, Ohio for the remainder of the war. The Great Lake Naval Training Station in Chicago, Illinois played a key role in training sailors. Originally designed to accommodate 1,500 recruits at a time, it housed more than 13,000 in October 1917, including schools for yeomen, radio operators, signaling, baking, cooking, and musicians.

Peecher was released from active duty in January 1919 and was honorably discharged in September 1921.

Recruits entering training camp at Great Lakes Naval Station in Chicago, Illinois, c. 1918. National Archives and Records Administration (165-WW-341A-008-ac).
Barracks construction at Great Lakes Naval Station in Chicago, Illinois, c. 1918. National Archives and Records Administration (165-WW-341A-037-ac).
Recruits from the 11th Signal Battalion, comprised of men from Chicago, living in the Municipal Pier at at Great Lakes Naval Station in Chicago, Illinois, August 1917. National Archives and Records Administration (165-WW-293B-018-ac).

Veteran Experience

Peecher married Beatrice Boardman of Indiana and they had two daughters. Following the end of World War I, Peecher tried different occupations, steadily improving himself. 

According to the 1920 federal census, he worked at Ohio Nut & Washer Company, and by 1930 he owned a grocery store in Columbus, Ohio. While running his neighborhood grocery, Peecher also read law and became a member of the Ohio Bar Association in 1936. Peecher established his own practice in the late 1930s and continued to practice law until his death in 1974.

Wilbur Peecher Grave, September 26, 2004. Travis Stephenson. Findagrave.com.

Commemoration

Wilbur Elting Peecher died on July 1, 1974 and is buried in Union Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio.

Bibliography

11th Signal Battalion…at Municipal Pier, Chicago. Photograph. August 1917. National Archives and Records Administration (165-WW-293B-018-ac). Image.

Constructing barracks for the accomodation of the new recruits….Great Lakes Naval Station, Chicago, Ill. Photograph. c. 1918. National Archives and Records Administration (165-WW-341A-037-ac). Image.

Logistics File, 1916–1920; Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library, Record Group 45 (Box 5); National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

Logistics File, 1916–1920; Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library, Record Group 45 (Box 79); National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

Logistics File, 1916–1920; Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library, Record Group 45 (Box 92); National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

Logistics File, 1916–1920; Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library, Record Group 45 (Box 93); National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

Ohio. Franklin County. 1910 U.S. Census. Digital Images. http://ancestry.com.

Ohio. Franklin County. 1920 U.S. Census. Digital Images. http://ancestry.com.

Ohio. Franklin County. 1930 U.S. Census. Digital Images. http://ancestry.com.

Ohio. Franklin County. 1940 U.S. Census. Digital Images. http://ancestry.com.

Peecher Family Photographs. 1918–1990. Courtesy of the Peecher Family.

Recruits Entering the Training Camp for Enlistment in the Navy, Great Lakes Naval Station. Photograph. c. 1918. National Archives and Records Administration (165-WW-341A-008-ac). Image.

Stephenson, Travis. Wilbur Peecher grave photograph, Union Cemetery. Find a Grave. Last updated November 9, 2004. Accessed January 29, 2019. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9784579/wilbur-b-peecher.

Subject File, 1911–1927; Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library, Record Group 45 (Box 978); National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

Wilbur Peecher, Official Military Personnel File, Department of the Navy, RG 24, National Archives and Records Administration — St. Louis.

Wilbur Peecher. U.S. City Directories, 1822–1995. Digital Images. http://ancestry.com.