Soldiers who fought in the Civil War and World War I are buried in the Mica Peak Cemetery without proper markers honoring their military service.

Members of the Coeur d'Alene American Legion and others in the community are working to ensure this is no longer the case.

"These guys have languished for quite a while without gravestones or anything," Post 14 Adjutant Jerry Staub said during an Oct. 30 interview. "In one case, there's no marker at all."

A simple post marks the grave of Elmer Jess, who was inducted into the service March 31, 1918.

A small metal marker indicates the resting place of Joseph A. Phillips, who enlisted Feb. 7, 1865, in the 44th Infantry Regiment of the Wisconsin Volunteers. 

"These two guys, all they had for headstones were these little, tiny metal trinket-type things. That's all they were given," Mica Peak Cemetery Association President Bob Burton said. "Over the years, those things actually disappeared or got warped. One of them turned up missing, the other one had the lettering drop off. You couldn’t even tell who it was."

Years apart, in great wars they fought

Jess served as a private in Company A, 116th Signal Battalion, U.S. Army Signal Corps between July 10, 1918, and Aug. 15, 1918. It is likely that Company A served in France as part of the American Expeditionary Forces. Jess then served in Company C, 107th Field Signal Battalion until March 29, 1919, when his tour of duty concluded.

The July-August 1918 timeframe was an active period on the Western Front, particularly the Aisne-Marne Offensive, which lasted from July 18 to Aug. 6. This included the Second Battle of the Marne, a major turning point where the American Expeditionary Forces were heavily involved. The initial stages of the Allied Hundred Days Offensive began that August.

"Signal units were crucial for battlefield communications and were typically attached to divisions or corps," according to Legion data. "Search results show the 116th Infantry Regiment was part of the 29th Infantry Division and fought in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive later in the war, which suggests the 116th Signal Battalion was active in the American Expeditionary Forces.

Phillips served in the Quartermaster Department as a mechanic, a skilled civilian or enlisted soldier who performed essential logistical duties.

Research shows Phillips made and repaired wagons with the Quartermaster Department, which provided transportation, clothing and supplies to the Union Army.

"Mechanics were crucial to this effort, particularly for maintaining the Army's vehicles — wagons and trains — and equipment," the Legion data states. "Rather than serving in their regiment as a whole, it was common for soldiers with specific skills to be detailed to other departments where their talents were needed."

Attempts to verify service and find living relatives of Phillips and Jess — who were born, served and died before Social Security numbers or DD214 forms existed — began in spring 2024. With no success in the Spokane area, Burton, a Rotary Club member, contacted fellow Rotarian Bob Smee, who is now the Post 14 commander, to see if he could assist.

"I’ve always been very supportive of the military," Burton said. "When I saw these, I thought, 'We need to do something.'"  

Mica Peak is a small cemetery in Spokane County, just a few miles over the state line on Elder Road. The American Legion that once served that area disbanded some years ago, so the Coeur d'Alene American Legion agreed to help even though Mica Peak wouldn't normally be in its jurisdiction.

“There are other people that served that may have had the same name, so you have to peel back the onion a little bit more to find out when they entered the service and then you can go from there, which is what we did,” Staub said. "We determined to our satisfaction that these guys were veterans."

Finding family

The search for descendants was unsuccessful for Jess, but Phillips' great-great-granddaughter is Debbie Mitchell, who lives in Coeur d'Alene and happens to be a volunteer archivist for the Museum of North Idaho and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution Lt. George Farragut Chapter. Her grandfather's mother, Clara Phillips, was Joseph Phillips' daughter, and Phillips' grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War.

"Since I was a little girl, my grandmother used to do all the ceremonies on Memorial Day," Mitchell said. "There used to be a lilac bush and a little marker that was poked in the ground. This last year, I noticed the maker had been run over all the lettering on it was missing and the lilac bush had died. There was really nothing there to help me find the grave anymore. I was thinking, 'Gosh, we gotta do something.' I started thinking this summer, 'Grandma really would have wanted a stone there.'"

Mitchell said she was flabbergasted when she contacted Burton and found out he and others were already on the case.

“I give kudos to Bob for wanting to see that these veterans are honored,” she said.

Mitchell also recently out of the blue received the Phillips Family Bible from her aunt. She believes it was a gift for the wedding of her great-great-grandparents, Joseph Phillips and Harriet Campbell, as the first entry was made on their wedding day, Aug. 30, 1851.

"That's kind of a coincidence, too," Mitchell said. "My aunt had it; I didn't even know it existed."

She said she is grateful to the American Legion and others who are working to install official military markers on the soldiers' headstones.

"Because they all made a sacrifice for our nation, and even though that’s in the past, we still need to continue to remember their sacrifices and what they did for the nation," she said. "We need to acknowledge history also and consider the different types of hardships they endured."

Rest in reverence, soldiers

It will cost about $1,000 each for formal bronze engraved military markers to be installed on the final resting places of Jess, who died March 5, 1924, at age 33, and Phillips, who died March 8, 1913, at age 89.

Staub said the Legion is working with Eric English of English Funeral Chapels and T.J. Harris of Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens to accomplish the mission.

Once funding is complete, Staub said the markers will be placed and a service with full military honors will be held in the spring.

"These are brothers in arms. We can't let this continue," he said. "Someone needs to do something, finally."

For information or to help with funding, contact Staub at 909-921-1340.

    What's left of the original Mica Peak Cemetery marker for soldier Joseph A. Phillips, who served as a wagonmaker during the Civil War. His great-great-granddaughter Debbie Mitchell of Coeur d'Alene is pleased to know people are working to give her ancestor a proper military marker.
  

    Debbie Mitchell, the great-great-granddaughter of Civil War soldier Joseph A. Phillips, is seen Friday with the Phillips Family Bible. The first entry in the book documents the wedding of Phillips and his bride, Harriet Campbell. Joseph Phillips is interred at Mica Peak Cemetery, where efforts are being made to install an official military marker on his gravesite as well as World War I veteran Elmer Jess.
  

    Elmer Jess was inducted into the service March 31, 1918. His grave is currently marked with a simple post in the Mica Peak Cemetery.