David P. Digby
United States Army (1914-1918)

David Perry Digby was born in January 1889 to parents Lottie V. and Joseph A. Digby of 371 Mayville Avenue. He had two brothers, Percy and George, and four sisters, Lillie, Lottie, Bertha and Elmira. David was educated at the West Liberty Elementary School, first located on West Liberty Avenue and then on Pioneer Avenue. On January 2, 1911, he married Bertha E. Charleton of Clearfield, Pennsylvania.

David enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1914 and served in Hawaii before returning to the United States in 1916, stationed at Camp Douglas in Arizona. He participated in the Mexican Expedition against the villistas of the revolutionary Pancho Villa. Events in Europe and America's entry into the World War ended the crusade before Villa's capture.

After that David Digby was transfered to the East Coast and was one of the first men to land with General Pershing and the American Expeditionary Forces in France. By June 1917, only 14,000 American soldiers had arrived in France. That number would steadily increase to over two million by war's end. These early arrivals were not involved in combat, but instead provided logistical support for the French and English armies.

On August 8, 1917, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that a telegram announcing the death of David Perry Digby on July 31 in France had arrived at his parents home. David was the first young man from Brookline to die on foreign soil during the Great War.

On September 18, 1918, the Pittsburgh Daily Post reported that during an evening ceremony a service flag, containing sixty-seven Blue stars and one Gold star, was dedicated at the corner of Capital and West Liberty Avenues in honor of the boys of the community who were "doing their bit" for Uncle Sam.

In connection with the flag raising, and mounted at its base, was a large frame containing each soldier's name. The Gold Star was in honor of David Digby, who enlisted at the beginning of the war and was killed in action in France.

* Written by Clint Burton: May 25, 2018 *

The Brookline War Memorial

Listed below are many of the sons of Brookline who gave their
lives to preserve freedom and contain aggression during
World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”
General George S. Patton
 

World War I (1917-1919)

The World War I Memorial - Washington D.C.

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World War II (1941-1945)

The World War II Memorial - Washington D.C.

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Korean War (1950-1953)

Korean War Memorial - Washington D.C.

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Vietnam War (1965-1973)

Vietnam War Memorial - Washington D.C.

The Brookline Monument - The Cannon

<Brookline War Memorial> <> <Brookline History>