Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthAugust 12, 1895
Place of BirthCoeur d'Alene, Kootenai, Idaho
CountryU.S.A.
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinIsabella McDonell
Trade / CallingSalesman
ReligionRoman Catholic
Service Details
Regimental Number74558
Battalion5th Machine Gun Battalion
ForceU.S. Expeditionary Force
Branch161st Regiment
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at EnlistmentSpokane, Washington State, U.S.A.
Date of EnlistmentAugust 5, 1917
Age at Enlistment22
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarNo
Death Details
Date of DeathOctober 5, 1918
Age at Death23
Buried AtMeuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne, France
PlotPlot G Row 1 Grave 16

Moore, Allen Thomas Joseph

Allen Thomas Joseph Moore was born on 12 August 1895 in Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai, Idaho. He moved to Rat Portage, now Kenora, in 1897 along with his widowed mother Isabella Moore (nee McDonald). Isabella’s brother Alfred, who worked for the CPR, and her sister Margaret were already living there at the time.

In 1898 Isabella married a well-known local physician, Dr. Allan Scott MacDonell. They lost a child, Colin Alexander, who died at 11 months of age Aug. 9, 1900. Dr. MacDonell died of a sudden heart attack the following March 6. Both are interred at the Lake of the Woods Cemetery.

Around 1906 Isabella and Allen relocated to Spokane, Washington State.  Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai, Idaho, where Allen was born, is a resort community about 40 km from Spokane.

In Spokane, Allen attended Gonzaga College, a Jesuit run school, from 1907 to 1912. He then worked as a messenger boy and by 1914 was a store clerk with the John W. Graham paper company. In 1916 he joined the Washington State National Guard, Company H, 2nd Infantry where he trained as a machine gunner. He was part of the Washington State Guard contingent that took part in the U.S. campaign in Mexico in the winter of 1916/1917. On his return, he returned to work at the Graham paper company, this time as a salesman.

Allen  remained a member of the Washington State National Guard and was mustered into federal service Aug. 5, 1917 along with other members of his Guard unit as part of the 161st Infantry assigned to the 41st Division, shipping overseas to France in the winter of 1917/1918. The 41st Division served as depot division providing troops to frontline units.

At the time of his death Allen J. Moore was with the 5th Machine Gun Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, United States Army.  The 5th Machine Gun Battalion had entered the front lines in the Verdun area in March of 1918 and took part in the Aisne-Marne Defensive (Chateau Thierry) and the subsequent Aisne-Marne Offensive over the spring and summer of 1918. In September they were part of the major Meuse-Argonne Offensive, including a fierce 10 day battle at Somme-Py and Blanc Mont from Oct. 1 to Oct. 10 in which the battalion suffered its heaviest losses of the war.

Allen Moore is buried at the  Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne, France along with over 14,246 other American soldiers,  most having lost their lives during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.  He is commemorated for his service on the  Notre Dame du Portage Roman Catholic Church Memorial in Kenora and by the American Battle Monument Commission.

by Bob Stewart

Photo credits: young Allen from class photo, 1907, Gonzaga University Web Archives; older Allen from Washington State Digital Archives
grave marker photo: soilsister on findagrave.com
newspaper article: Kenora Miner and News 25 December 1918
Notre Dame du Portage Roman Catholic Church Memorial photo: courtesy of the church

Moore-Allen-Thomas-Joseph-2 Moore-Allen-Thomas-Joseph-3 Moore-Allen-Thomas-Joseph-4 Notre Dame Church Plaque


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