World War I American

The Keep Family

Keeps Worldwide

America’s Entry into World War I

The United States did not enter World War I until 1917. (See map for locations of countries that fought in the war.) As in most wars, the United States entered the war for complex reasons, but the sinking of the passenger liner Lusitania, unrestricted submarine warfare, and political considerations were important reasons.

President Wilson did not want to enter the war. The Germans regarded the United States as nothing, and were somewhat correct. Its army was small and had no experience and was poorly trained. It had no modern equipment. However, by mid 1917, General Pershing had arrived in France with forces that by March of 1918 would total some 318,000 men with plans for one million to follow, only part of which arrived before the end of the war in 1918.

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest U.S. engagement. It began 26 September 1918 and ended 11 November 1918. In the three weeks fighting, the battle deaths of Americans numbered 18,000, a daily average of about 1,000.

Americans who died in the war amounted to 120,000, including 62,000 who died of disease.

There were no military engagements in North or South America, except for The Naval Battle of the Falkland Islands which did not involve the United States.

The draft was instituted through the Selective Service Act of 1917, and of the 5 million men who served during this time almost 3 million were drafted.

Green Triple Entente Powers

Orange Central Powers

Below are records of those Keeps who registered for the draft in WW I. Some 24 million registered, 5 million served, 3 million of them drafted. This list may be incomplete.

Draft Registration Records.

Draft Card of Henry Oliver Keep

AMERICAN MILITARY ROSTER

WORLD WAR I

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WORLD WAR 1, 1914 - 1918

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Index Page

Insignia of the First, Second, and Third Armies, United States Expeditionary Force, World War I

Notice: In 1973, a terrible fire at the U. S. National Personnel Records Center destroyed military personnel records for 1912 to 1963, some 16 - 18 million records. Searching U. S. records for details for these years is difficult if not impossible. Counties in the country have some records, but they seem not to be available in a central location and most are not in electronic form. The following list of Keeps involved in W W I is therefore no doubt very incomplete.

Your help is badly needed in order to add names to this list, and contacting Bob Warner about your relatives would be extremely helpful.

Name	Location
Alan Percival Keep	Bronx, New York
Albert Keep	Denver, Colorado
Andrew Mac Keep	Erie, Pennsylvania
Archie Ralph Keep	Valley,Nebraska
Arthur A Keep	Hardeman, Texas
Arthur Elbridge Keep	Winnebago, Illinois
Arthur Keep	Independent City, Maryland
Arthur Ralph Keep	Howard,Nebraska
Austin Baxter Keep	New York, New York
Ben James Keep	Poinsett, Arkansas
Bert Ellery Keep	Erie, Pennsylvania
Bert Spencer Keep	Jackson,Michigan
Caled Max Keep	Schuyler, New York
Calvin Fontaine Keep	Duval, Florida
Carroll R Keep	Ashtabula, Ohio
Cassius Lee Keep	Los Angeles,California
Charles Alexander Keep	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Charles Alfred Keep	Tuscola, Michigan
Charles Benjamin Keep	Howard, Nebraska
Charles David Keep	Wayne, Michigan
Charles Henry Keep	McPherson, Kansas
Charles Jasper Keep	Ramsey, Minnesota
Charles Kopecky Keep	Atlantic. New Jersey
Charles Lamb Keep	Cook, Illinois
Charles Rockwood Keep	Franklin, Maine
Charles William Keep	Worcester, Massachusetts
Chas John Keep	Oneida,Wisconsin
Chester Arthur Keep	Allegheny, Pennsylvania
Clarence Jay Keep	Shelby, Iowa
Clifford Holcombe Keep	Kings, New York
Clyde Morace Keep	Isabella, Michigan
Donald Bruce Keep	Essex, New York
Earl L Keep	Chase, Nebraska
Earl Mell Keep	Buffalo, Nebraska
Ed Farley Keep	Saline,Nebraska
Edmund Easelbert Keep	Mesa, Colorado
Edward Clarence Keep	Minnehaha, South Dakota
Edward Henry Keep	Orleans, Louisiana
Edward Keep	Multnomah,Oregon
Elmer Lee Keep	Otoe, Nebraska
Ernest C Keep	Butte, Idaho
Eugene Miller Keep	Winnebago, Illinois
Ezra Francis Keep	Kennebec, Maine
Fenton Rea Keep	Ashtabula, Ohio
Frank Charles Keep	Richmond, New York
Frank Elery Keep	Denver, Colorado
Frank Harold Keep	Minidoka, Idaho
Frank Leon Keep	Wood, Ohio
Frank Melvin Keep	Wayne, Michigan
Fred Clifford Keep	Franklin, Maine
Frederick Arthur Keep	Norfolk, Massachusetts
Frederick P Keep	Douglas, Nebraska
Fredrick Archibold Keep	Washington, Ohio
Geareld Franklin Keep	Ramsey, Minnesota
Gee Keep	Modoc, California
George Albert Keep	Allegheny, Pennsylvania
George Alfred Keep	Multnomah, Oregon
George Ernest Keep	Traverse, Minnesota
George H Keep	Rosebud, Montana
George Otis Keep	Worcester, Massachusetts
George Pangburn Keep	Crawford, Kansas
Glenn Allison Keep	Cuyahoga. Ohio
Guy Stephen Keep	Erie, Pennsylvania
Harry Abner Keep	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Harry Barton Keep	Washington, Ohio
Harry Chester Keep	San Joaquin, California
Harry Joe Keep	Multnomah,Oregon
Harry Lee Keep	Lancaster, Nebraska
Harry Walter Keep	Ramsey, Minnesota

Name	Location
Henry Blair Keep	Cook, Illinois
Henry Lee Keep	Lancaster, Nebraska
Henry Oliver Keep	Jacksonville, Florida
Homer Keep	Jefferson,Oregon
Howard Clinton Keep	Cass, Iowa
Huey Main Keep	King, Washington
Imla T Keep	Monroe, Florida
Ivan Jennings Keep	Erie, Pennsylvania
Jack Richard Palmer Keep	San Diego, California
James Dennis Keep	Butler, Ohio
James Graham Keep	Allegheny, Pennsylvania
James Joseph Keep	Franklin ,Ohio
James Richard Keep	Multnomah, Oregon
James V Keep	Edgar, Illinois
Jay A Keep	Cuyahoga. Ohio
Jerry Keep	Keokuk, Iowa
Jim Saley Keep	Tulsa,Oklahoma
Johann Frederick Otto Keep	Contra Costa, California
John Henry Keep	Grand, Colorado
John Joseph Keep	Spokane, Washington
John Lyman Keep	Finney, Kansas
John Virgle Keep	Sherman, Texas
John Wm Keep	King, New York
Joseph Edward Keep	Cole, Missouri
Judson B Keep	Vigo, Indiana
Jue Keep	Washoe, Nevada
Kester Leroy Keep	Minnehaha, South Dakota
Lloyd A Keep	Furnas, Nebraska
Lyle Deighton Keep	Los Angeles, California
Lyle Lester Keep	Jefferson, Oregon
Malcolm Charles Keep	Santa Clara, California
Melo Keep	Miscellaneous, Michigan
Milton Edwin Keep	Salt Lake City
Nigel Keep	Alameda, California
Ogden Avery Keep	Suffolk, New York
Oliver Tony Keep	Bergen, New Jersey
Orrin Hugh Keep	Gratiot, Michigan
Oscar Joseph Keep	Duval, Florida
Paul Keep	Lyon, Iowa
Perry Nelson Keep	Litchfield, Connecticut
Pliny M Keep	Lawrence, Pennsylvania
Ralph Miles Keep	Uinta, Wyoming
Rex Riley Keep	Dallas, Texas
Richard Boxell Keep	Vigo, Indiana
Richard Durrell Keep	Franklin, Maine
Richard O Keep	Keokuk,Iowa
Richard Oliver Keep	Keokuk, Iowa
Robert Porter Keep	Hartford, Connecticut
Robert Sius Keep	Armstrong, Pennsylvania
Shirley D Keep	Furnas,Nebraska
Sidney Keep	Los Angeles, California
Thomas Henry Keep	Cortland, New York
Tom Keep	Los Angeles, California
Vern Randolph Keep	Wood,Ohio
Walter Robert Keep	King, Washington
Walter William Keep	Weld, Colorado
Will Clarke Keep Jr.	Buffalo, Nebraska
Will Keep	Montgomery, Ohio
William John Keep	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
William Leonard Keep	Douglas, Nebraska
William Porter Keep	Allegheny, Pennsylvania
William Riley Keep	Madison,Indiana
William Robert Keep	Lapeer, Michigan
William W Keep	Ramsey, Minnesota
Willis Art Keep	Bonneville, Idaho
Winfred P Keep	De Kalb, Indiana
Winthrop Leicester Keep	Siskiyou,California

U. S. National Personnel Records Center, 1973

Military Participants, World War I

Keep Family Members, other Surnames

Name	Date of Birth Parents	Details of Service Regiment/Company Other Information
Keep, Arthur William	24 Oct 1901 Ernest C. Keep Bertha Leona Randall	U. S. Army, WW I. Cavalry Division, stationed at San Antonio, Tex.
Keep, David E.	19 July, 1898	U. S. Army, WW I, Bugler, Service stated Apr. 12, 1917.
Keep, Frank Sampson	26 April, 1899 Barton Bowen Keep Lena Fontane	U. S. Army, WW I, Sgt., Enlisted May 20, 1913, from Boardman, Florida. Severely wounded July 17, 1918. Brother of Henry Oliver Keep and Imla T. Keep below. Served 1918 - 1919. Discharged Feb. 17, 1919.
Keep, Frederick Peter	14 Jun 1888 Oscar L. Keep Mary -----	U. S. Army, WW I.
Keep, Gerald F.	----	WW I, Enlisted Nov. 22, 1918.
Keep, Henry Blair	25 Sept. 1891 Chauncey Keep Mary H. Blairt	U. S. Army, WW I, Co. A, 10 MG, BN
Keep, Henry Oliver	11 May 1896 Barton Bowen Keep Lena Fontane	U. S. Navy WW I, Enlisted Sept. 22, 1917, age 21. Electrician 3rd Class,Jacksonville, Florida. Served on USS Cypress. Brother of Imla Keep below.
Keep, Imla T.	15 Sept. 1892 Barton Bowen Keep Lena Fontane	U. S. Army, WW I, Private, 166 Dep Brig. and Battery E. Served overseas July, 14, 1916, to Jan. 15, 1919. Of Boardman, Florida. Brother of Henry Oliver Keep and Frank Sampson Keep above.
Keep, John Marcus	13 Apr 1895 Elisha Keep Lena Henderson	U. S. Navy, WW I, Ensign

Military Roster, World War I

General John Pershing

Surname	Given Names	Date of Birth Parents	Details of Service Regiment/Company Other Information
Cook	Ray Benton	26 Aug 1898 Ada Louise Benton George R. Cook	U. S. Army, WW I. In 1917 joined the Army and was stationed at Camp Merritt, N. J., where he died of influenza while waiting to be shipped to France.
Harmon	William Charles	16 Sep 1893 Mira Lotta Cargill William C. Harmon	WW I.
Homes	Percy S.	2 Jun 1895 Emma Stevens Edward Homes	U. S. Army, WW II, cited for gallantry, Percy was a runner between the battalion and his company, which was subjected to continuous machine gun fire. Of a group of 14, only 4 survived. An article in the New York Times in 1918 stated that "He performed his duty in an exceedingly courageous manner."
Kirk	James Lindsley	20 Jan 1895 James Kirk Josephine Lindsley	WW I, was wounded.
Moore	Bertell Winfred	4 May 1899 Florence May Keep Berton F. Moore	WW I.
MacArthur****	Arthur III	Arthur MacArthur Mary Pickney Hardy June 1, 1876 Great Grandson Olive Keep	WW I. Served as Navy Captain of many ships. Received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. **** See Personal Experience Pages
MacArthur****	Douglas	Arthur MacArthur Mary Pickney Hardy Jan 26, 1880 Great Grandson Olive Keep	WW I, WW II, Korea. General of the Army, U. S. Army. Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. **** See Personal Experience Pages
Ream	Ward	10 Nov 1886 Julius Jacob Ream Margaret Rounds	U. S. Army, WW I, Captain, Engineering Division,. Killed in France.
Ream	Percy Oliver	31 Aug 1892 Oliver Ream Josephine Otto	WW I.
Sutherland	Allan Donald	15 Oct 1897 Ethel Ruth Brown George J. Southerland	U. S. Navy, WW I. Enlisted in the Naval Reserve and was stationed on Nantucket Island, Mass, until discharge at Christmas 1918.