1st Lieut. Clarence G. Noble, Co. G, 128th Infantry, died August 4, 1918, of wounds received in action during the Aisne-Marne Offensive. He was only 22.
Noble’s tragic death occurred during the pivotal counter-offensive that broke the back of the German Spring Offensive during World War I. His unit was tasked with clearing stubborn German machine-gun nests and artillery positions scattered across the heavily forested French countryside. The heavy losses sustained by young officers like Noble during the summer of 1918 highlighted the brutal learning curve faced by the American Expeditionary Forces as they adapted to the realities of industrial trench warfare on the European continent.
Image via DPLA via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
