War Memorial at Lyon and McFaddin Halls

The War Memorial on West Campus was dedicated in 1932 and commemorates Cornell’s 264 casualties during World War I. The dedication of the memorial was held on the fourteenth anniversary of the first appearance of the Stars and Stripes in the war, which was carried by a small group of Cornell men led by Captain Edward Tinkham. The dedication was national news. It included a national radio broadcast by President Herbert Hoover who gave the dedication speech. You can find a copy of that speech at the bottom of the page.

The War Memorial as seen from across West Ave.

The two towers adjacent to Lyon and McFadden Halls were built in 1928. The North tower, connected to Lyon Hall, was named Army Tower and the south, connected to McFaddin Hall, named Navy Tower. Following the dedication ceremony, a wreath to the memory of Captain Tinkham was placed in the memorial room on behalf of the Italian Government. Wreaths were also placed on Captain Tinkham’s grave in Ravenna, Italy by officials of the Italian Government. [52][53]

Within Army Tower, at the north end of the cloister, is the Memorial Shrine. Above the entry to the shrine is inscribed: “This entry a memorial of the useful services of Mary Stuart Seaman in Belgium and France from the outbreak of hostilities until the end of the war is the gift of her husband Louis Livingston Seaman ‘72 Major Medical Corps U.S.V.” Major Seaman is also memorialized in Barton Hall for his service.

Built in 1931, the Shrine was originally open to all but, after anti-war protesters burned furniture and defaced the room in the 60’s, the room was closed. In 1984, the Memorial Shrine was reopened. It served as a lounge for the neighboring dormitory. In 1990, C Company, 1 Regiment of the Scabbard and Blade, which is Cornell’s chapter of the ROTC honor society, was made responsible for the Shrine. The Shrine also houses a stone panel on its north wall engraved in gothic script with the memorial’s purpose:

When the United States of America
engaged in the great war of
1914 – 1918
thousands of the students, former
students, and teachers of
Cornell University
entered the country’s service
and therein manfully did their duty.
Many of them lost their lives –
We who knew those dead
have built here
what we hope shall remain
their enduring memorial.

Engraved directly above the script is a shield bearing the University’s emblem, and the wall above the university’s emblem is covered in a beautiful mural depicting an angelic scene with two figures, one entering from each side of the mural. One figure with wings appears to carry a flaming sword, and a five-pointed star in an outstretched hand. The other carries what appears to be a sheaf of wheat. (Artist: Allison Mason Kingsbury Bishop) Below the inscription is a stone table with a recess containing an illuminated book recording the names of the 264 casualties. [69]

The Navy tower, to the south, bears an inscription above the entrance that reads: “In Memory of George Fredrick Hewitt 1849-1922 who in his daily life exemplified the qualities of patriotism, fortitude, and courage so richly possessed by the young men to whom this memorial is dedicated. This entry is given by his son George Frederick Hewitt Jr, Cornell [date obscured]” There is also an entry into the Navy Tower named the Womens Memorial Entry. Over the door is carved this inscription: “To the Cornell Men who died in the War the Women of Cornell dedicate this entry”

The cloister joining the two towers contains sixteen panels engraved with the 264 names of Cornellians who died in World War I. The entry into the cloister from the east is dedicated in honor of the Army with an inscription above that reads: “This entry, the gift of their fellow soldiers, is a tribute to the memory of those Cornell men who lost their lives while serving in the Army” The entry from the west is dedicated in honor of the Navy and reads: “This entry, the gift of their fellow soldiers, is a tribute to the memory of those Cornell men who lost their lives while serving in the Navy”

In the Cloisters looking south.

In the Cloisters looking north.

The names are all in alphabetical order, except for four. Those names of these four men were discovered shortly after the panels were carved. The dates that follow are the dates of their undergraduate degree. Those names without numbers had special, or graduate degrees, or were members of the teaching staff.

Thanks to work by Cornell’s Digital Consulting and Production Services (DCAPS) and efforts by the VCNG the complete text of the 1930 publication, “Military Records of Cornell University in the World War” is now publicly available in digital format. The book was prepared by order of the Cornell Board of Trustees and records of military service of all 264 Cornellians honored in the memorial. [71]

There actually was a 265th Cornell student who died in the war, but you will not find his name listed here. His name was Hans Wagner, and he died fighting for the Germans. At the time of the memorial’s creation there were protests held by students to include Hans’s name, calling it a “notable gesture” and citing that the memorial was intended not to commemorate the war, but to remember the dead. After considerable discussion and debate, Cornell President Farrand made the decision that Hans’s name would not be included. [54]

Around the outer walls of the buildings there are more than 150 engravings. There are 70 engraved shields, and 6 carved and painted into the doors on either end of the cloister, which display the insignias of the many different units in which Cornellians served. You will also find shields engraved with 59 insignia representing units of the American Expeditionary Force including the 3 armies, the 9 army corps, the 41 divisions of the regular army, National Guard, and National Army, and 6 special military units. Each of the cloister windows is topped by the name of one of sixteen major engagements in which those units fought. On the eastern side you will find Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, Cambrai, Saint Mihiel, Somme, Oise-Aisne, Vittorio-Veneto, Montdidier-Noyon; and on the western side: Lys, Ypres-Lys, Cantigny, Aisne, Soissons, Belleau Wood, Meuse-Argonne, Chateau-Thierry. On the outside of the towers there are 13 more shields, each carved with a single object intended to convey timeless meaning, that would be immutable despite changes in language, though their meaning did clearly change less than a decade after they were inscribed. The seven objects carved on the corner shields are, on the western side, the lotus flower and the sheaf of wheat for renewal of life, the laurel wreath for unselfish service, and the chalice for chivalry; on the eastern side, fleur-de-lis for France, the rose for England, and the olive branch for Italy. The 6 carved symbols on the northern tower are: the Swastika for antiquity, an Egyptian ideogram for life (resembles a Tau symbol), the Menorah for omniscience, the Saint George’s Cross, Saint Andrew’s Cross, and the Maltese Cross. [51]

The War Memorial from next to the flag pole.

The door to each room inside the towers and many of the rooms in Lyon Hall bear tablets with bronze inscriptions in memory of individuals or groups, totaling about 40 additional memorials:

Room 102: Class of 1913
In Memory of Joseph Alpheus Carr : Leslie Kellogg Chapman : Glendyn Lionel Cloran : Charles Glenn Crittenden : Otis Davey : Stuart Emmet Edgar : Frank Harris Gardner : Leslie Herbert Groser : Parr Hooper : George Theodore Houston Jr : Eugene Jennings Irish: Walter Seely Jones : James Gillespie Blaine Lampert : Joseph John Mason: Howard Raymond Moore : Jacob Ferdinand Speer: Philip Comfort Starr : Wilbur Carleton Suiter

Room 101 : Eleanor M . and Anna G . Connolly
In memory of their brother Major Maurice Connolly ’97. A former member of congress, he was a military aviator throughout the war and a reserve officer when his life was lost by the fall of a plane 29 may 1921

Room 103 : Class of 1892
In memory of Samuel Gustavus Beckett Colonel commanding the 75th overseas battalion , Canadian expeditionary force , killed in action near Vimy 1 March 1917 , the class of 1892 gave this room

Room 104 : Class of 1906
In memory of Charles Ferguson Cook

Rooms 201 , 202 : J . DuPratt White ’90
In memory of his father Charles Nelson White

Room 106 : Class of 1916
In memory of Thomas Dwyer Amory : Charles Barrett: Charles Curtis Beakes : George W Bonney : Lawrence Glen Brown : Ebenezer Bull : Ernest Clinton Chad Bourne : Elsworth Holeman Dederer : Winthrop Coit Fanning : Daly Radogass: Harry Ginsburg : Clifford Barker Grayson : Enoch Nathaniel Holstrom : James Louis Hooker : Henry Ingersoll Ingersoll : John William Klein Jr : Louis Heyward Lathrop : Robert Krohn Livingston : Morgan Bland Mcdermott : James Russell Mailler : John Little Moffat VI : Clendenon Sheaf Newell : Harold Rainsford Pouch : Jesse Morse Robinson : Newton Chauncey Rogers : Leslie Jacob Rummell : Edward Ilsley Tinkham : Donald Taylor Toles : Peter Gregory Wagner: Horace Wyman II

Room 204: Mrs. Louise E . Wilder
In memory of her son John Hayhurst Wilder ’17 First Lieutenant in the U.S. air service killed in France 19 august 1918

Room 203: Class of 1902
In memory of Walter Vincent Gallagher

Room 302: Class of 1918
In memory of Spencer Thorndyke Alden : Merrill Blanchard : Harold Bartlett Bradley : Harold Walton Burns : Herbert Stiles Douglass : Frederick Lewis Drake : John Thomas Eilenberger : Thomas Henderson Farnsworth : Horace Baker Forman III : Frank George : Arnold Walter Godduhn : Duncan Ross Grant : Arthur Gerald Haen : George Norris Hammond : Earl Garrett Henderson : Clayton Caskey Ingersoll : Thomas Graham Knudson : George Loomis Loveridge : John Edward Ludford : Malcolm Wright Macalpine : John Murray Mc Clellan : Alfred Bryan Patterson Jr : George Fitz Randolph : William De Chastignier Ravenel Jr : Robert Norton Reynolds : Robert Henry Roat : Francis Murray Roberts : Christopher Macnair Speed : Charles Augustus Stockton : John Cooper Thomas : Sidney Paul Thompson

Room 206 : Class of 1891
In memory of Bert Brenette Stroud

Room 301: Class of 1912
In memory of John Townshend Child : Eugene Arthur Conklin : Lindley Haines De Garmo : Oliver Raymond Holmes : Robert Tusseyisett : Duncan Ross Macdonell : Stanley Nathaniel Miller : Chandler Montgomery : Kenneth Hugh Nash : John Edwin Ray Jr : Wilhelmus Mynderse Rice : George Leonard Walter Jr : Innokenty Ivan Wassilieff

Rooms 311, 312, 313 : Alpha Delta Phi
In memory of Charles Oliver Wiegand ’17, Merrill Blanchard ’18, William Graham Carmack ’19

Room 401: Class of 1887
In memory of the Cornell men who lost their lives in their country’ s service in the world war

Rooms 410 , 411 : Paul A . Schoellkopf ’06
Room 413 : Zeta Psi
In memory of Robert Tussey Isett ’12 George Leonard Walter Jr ’12 Harold Livermore Roehrig ’14 Edward Francis O’Connor ’19 Karl Groff West ’19 members of the Cornell chapter of zeta psi who died in service in the world war

Room 412 : Mrs. George L . Walter, Howard K . Walter ’14
In memory of George Leonard Walter Jr ’12 an officer of the 34th U.S. Infantry , 7th division, who died at Briey, France , 23 January 1919

Room 502 : Family of A . A . Porter
In memory of Albert Augustus Porter ’19 volunteer in the Cornell unit of the American Field Service who died while on duty in Paris 25 April 1917

Room 504 : Mrs. Annie Cooper Thomas
In memory of her son John Cooper Thomas ’18

Room 506 : Family of W . B . Hastings
In memory of Walcott Brown Hastings ’15 an officer of the 127th infantry killed in action at Dun-Sur-Meuse 16 October 1918

Room 509 : John and Isabella Baker
In memory of their son First Lieut. Elbert Curtiss Baker is who fell while leading his platoon of Company E, 371st Infantry 30 September 1918 and earned the posthumous award of the Distinguished Service Cross

Rooms 511, 512 : Frank H . Hiscock ’75
In memory of Chester Ingersoll Warren ’03 Roger Wolcott Hitchcock ’10 Sidney Townsend Cole ’14 Elbert Curtiss Baker ’15 George Bryan Evans Jr ’15 Walcott Brown Hastings ’15 Horace Wyman Ii ’16 John Cooper Thomas ’18 William Muir Russel ’18 Albert Augustus Porter ’19 members of the Cornell chapter of the Kappa Alpha Society who gave their lives in service in the world war

Room 513 : Henry Russel
In memory of his son William Muir Russel ’17 pilot in the 95th Aero Squadron First Pursuit Group, U.S. Air Forces killed in combat in the air over Vauxcère in France 16 July 1918

Room 115 : Phi Kappa Sigma
In memory of Leslie Jacob Rummell ’16 pilot and Ace of the U.S. Air service and winner of the Distinguished Service Cross who died in France 2 February 1919 and Lowell Hobart Riley ’19 Lieutenant in the 58th U.S. Infantry and winner of the Distinguished Service Cross who was killed at Fismes 7 August 1918 in an observation post which he had held for two days under intense artillery fire

Room 116 : Psi Upsilon
In memory of Henry Niemeyer Brooks ’88 Ross Macmillan ’00 Herrman Husted Vail II George Theodore Houston Jr ’13 Alexander Ferdinand Mathews ‘19 members of Chi chapter of Psi Upsilon who gave their lives in the World War

Room 215 : Class of 1905
In memory of William Wright Baldwin Jr First Lieutenant, Co. A, 165th U.S. Infantry, killed while leading his company in battle near Meurcy on the river Ourcq 29 July 1918

Room 216 : Class of 1905
In memory of Andrew Jackson Lowndes Captain, Quartermaster Corps, U.S. Army, who fell a victim to influenza while on duty as superintending engineer of army transports at La Rochelle in France 17 October 1918

Rooms 314 , 315 : Class of 1910
In memory of Frank Findlay Hanbidge : Roger Wolcott Hitchcock : Norwood Macleod : Daniel Joseph Meskill : Jefferson Davis Vincent : Edgar Montgomery Whitlock

Room 316 : Class of 1877
Dedicated in gratitude and loyalty to our alma mater

Room 414 : Victor Emanuel ’19
In memory of George Bell Jr, Ll. B. 94 Major General, U.S. Army commanding the 33rd Division in the Somme and Meuse – Argonne offensives

Room 415 : Victor Emanuel ’19
Charles Blanchard Beck ’19

Room 416 : Victor Emanuel ’19
In memory of Sherman Harris Sanborn

Room 514 : Donald R . Baldwin ’16
In memory of his Brother Morgan Smiley Baldwin ’15 who died 9 October 1918 of wounds received in action in the Somme offensive

Room 515 : Col . F . Judson Hess ’87
To those members of the class of 1887 who served in the Spanish – American War and the World War

Room 516 : Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Splane
In memory of their son Lieut. Alvin William Splane ‘21 who gave his life in the Air Service of his country 16 December 1918

Room 615: Elias F. Buckley ’24 Walter W. Buckley ’26
In memory of Charles Baldwin Hagadorn ’86 Norwood Macleod ’10 Jefferson Davis Vincent ’10 William De Chastignier Ravenel Jr ‘18 Malcolm Wright Macalpine ‘19 members of the Cornell chapter of Beta Theta Pi who died in service in the World War

Room 616: Winthrop and Harriet Ingersoll
In memory of their son Clayton Caskey Ingersoll’18 First Lieutenant , 27th Squadron, United States Air Service, killed by the fall of his plane near Issoudun 26 April 1918

Room 715 : The Telluride Association
In memory of Louis Heyward Lathrop ’16 an officer of the U.S. Field Artillery who died at Plymouth , England 17 march 1918 and Benjamin Stuart Walcott (Princeton ’17 ) a pilot of the Lafayette escadrille (Croix de Guerre : Médaille Militaire who was killed in aerial combat near Saint Souplet 12 December 1917 Cornell University records here a gift of Mrs. Rosamund L. Lathrop of Pike, New York, in memory of her son Louis Heyward Lathrop

Room 815 : Class of 1907
In memory of their classmates Joseph Addison Abrams, Theodore Kingsley Bushnell, Thomas Waring Todd, William Wallace Waring, who lost their lives in service in the World War

Room 716 : Cornell Daily Sun
In memory of former members of its editorial board Leslie Herbert Groser ‘13 killed in action near Chateau – Thierry 6 June 1918 and Edward Foreman Graham ’14 killed in action near Fismes 22 August 1918

Room 816 : Class of 1909
In memory of their classmates Harry De Witt Clark, Elmer Stanley Terhune and all other Cornell men who lost their lives in the World War “their bodies are buried in peace, but their name liveth for evermore” [51]

Lyon and McFaddin Hall now serve as residence halls on West Campus, part of what are known as “The Gothics.” McFaddin Hall is now part of Hans Bethe House. Lyon Hall is now part of Flora Rose House. Both are open only to upperclassmen. McFaddin Hall is co-ed, and Lyon is women only.

President Hoover’s speech: 

“Fourteen Years ago this morning a group of American boys carried an American Flag into the fighting on the Aisne front, and thereby made a splendid gesture symbolical of the might of the New World mustering for the decisive issue. 

This unit was composed of undergraduates of Cornell University and was under the leadership of Captain Edward Tinkham, a Cornell student in the class of 1916. It was a vanguard of a mighty army of American youth that flowed across the Atlantic in the months that followed. In this army were 9,000 other Cornellians who followed Tinkham’s unit in the nation’s service. 

Two hundred and sixty-four of them did not return. I am happy today to take part in the dedication of a permanent memorial to those men of Cornell University who lost their lives in the World War. Significant in itself, this memorial takes on a broader aspect. While we pay tribute specifically to the service of the 264 Cornell men whose names are carved in the beautiful shrine, the occasion recalls the great part in our war effort played by the men of all our universities and colleges.  

The towers and cloister in which the memory of Cornell’s heroic dead is enshrined – distinctive, beautiful and useful though they are – are not mere buildings. They are symbols, fitting and lasting symbols, of the ideals for which the men of Cornell, of all of our universities and colleges, of our whole country, fought and died. They commemorate the contribution of youth to the cause of America, a free gift of devoted young lives to an ideal they deemed worth cherishing and defending. 

These young men of the Tinkham unit were typical American boys. Their experienced and their reactions typify the response of American youth everywhere in the hour of crisis. Volunteers sprang up right and left; young men eagerly offered to risk their future – their lives – because they wanted to do their man’s share in a crisis of the world. Without one atom of selfishness, they sought to carry out their ideal of manhood. It involved hardships, danger, even death, but they were unafraid. With heads erect, with vibrant tread, they left their training camps. Alive with purpose, alive with honor, alive with faith, their only anxiety was how quickly they could get over there. 

They had no illusions about what was ahead of them. Life to them had been sweet, joyous, and carefree. Tomorrow it might be ended. Yet they never faltered and gave up all for a cause which they believed to be right. There was no searching for motives or for ulterior purposes. They accepted whatever came with a smile, and they did not ask questions. They had no hatred in their hearts, but they went about their job with full resolve to play the man’s part in a terrible business.  

Their patriotism never wavered but rather their devotion grew and found its way back to the quiet campuses which they had left in the full flush of their youthful enthusiasm. To them and to all those from Cornell who followed them we dedicate this memorial. In speaking for the Cornell dead I am drawing the attention of this nation to all of its university war dead – indeed, to all our youth who went over, never to come back. 

In this memorial, as in all our other memorials, we do not seek to glorify war or to perpetuate hatreds. We are commemorating not war, but the courage and the devotion and the sacrifice of those who gave their lives for their fellows and for their country. We raise these because we are able to remember the ideals which possessed us at the time. We do not condemn our own action or belittle the high motives and ideals which based our efforts when we acknowledge that the war was a catastrophe. 

Here in the scenes which they loved you have built a loving monument to their memory. We cannot add to their glory, but we and our descendants will be the better for remembering them” [52