Military Legacy of Perry County, Kentucky and Beyond

MILITARY LEGACY OF PERRY COUNTY, KENTUCKY AND BEYOND

GENEALOGY ~ PHOTOGRAPHS ~ LETTERS ~ HISTORY

Written And Compiled By Waukesha Lowe Sammons

Daughter of Daskum Combs (1917 - 2005) and Albert Roy "Jake" Lowe (1917 - 2005),

who was awarded a Silver Star Medal for Action Taken on The Fourth of July 1944 in France,

and who was Killed In Action on September 16, 1944 in World War II.

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MEXICAN - AMERICAN BORDER PANCHO VILLA EXPEDITION (1910 - 1919)

PERRY COUNTY, KENTUCKY SOLDIERS, SAILORS, AIRMEN, MARINES

REMEMBER AND NAME, A - Z

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CORNETT
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CORNETT, WILLIAM RILEY (1887-1952), CAREER SOLDIER,                                                                                               PHILIPPINE MORO WAR, MEXICAN BORDER - PANCHO VILLA EXPEDITION AND WORLD WAR I.
HOMETOWN: SMITHBORO, Knott County, Kentucky, USA.
OTHER RESIDENCE: Sassafras, Knott County, Kentucky. Perry County, Kentucky? Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky.
DATE OF BIRTH: 24 June 1887 in Sassafras, Knott County, Kentucky.
PARENTS: Rebecca Hale and Jasper Cornett.                                                                                                     GRANDPARENTS: Adeline Brashear and Robert Samuel Cornett, Sr.                                                                               GREAT-GRANDPARENTS: Rachel Smith and John Cornett, Sr.                                                                                         GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS: Rhoda Gilliam (first wife) and William Jesse Cornett, American Revolutionary War.
SPOUSE: Frances Willard Combs, daughter of Clarinda Collins Combs and Taylor C. Combs of Kodak, Perry County, KY.
ENTERED SERVICE FROM: Kentucky. [William and his future brother-in-law, Ulysses Grant Combs, Sr. walked from Perry County to Jackson in Breathitt County, Kentucky to join the U. S. Army, because there was no railroad from Jackson to Hazard. People traveled by horse or water ways or on foot.]
FIRST ENLISTMENT: PHILIPPINE – MORO WAR.
~ First Enlistment Date: 26 July 1910. Enlisted at the Columbus Barracks, Ohio in the U. S. Army 7th Cavalry, Company L. Fought under the command of John J. “Black Jack” Pershing.
~ Mustered out Date: 19 July 1913 at Fort McDowell, California.
BRANCH OF SERVICE: U. S. Army. Became a career soldier.
COMBAT ORGANIZATION: 7th Cavalry, Company L, Philippine – Moro War.
SECOND ENLISTMENT: MEXICAN – AMERICAN BORDER - PANCHO VILLA EXPEDITION.
~ 1916: Reenlisted in the U. S. Army, 7th Cavalry, commanded by Pershing, traveled along the Mexican border in an attempt to capture Francisco “Pancho” Villa.
THIRD ENLISTMENT: WORLD WAR I.
~ 1918: First Sergeant William Riley Cornett, U. S. Army, 6th Infantry, Company D, AEF American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), WWI.                                                                                                                                                                                      ~ 19 April 1918, Ship, MOUNT VERNON, departed from Hoboken, New Jersey, Passenger, Sergeant William R. Cornett, 6th Infantry, Next of Kin, Elhanon H. Cornett, brother.
~ 1918, France, WWI Major Battles: Cornett participated in the following Battles: Toul Sector (June 4 to 11, 1918). Annould Sector (June 22 to July 16, 1918). St. Die Sector (July 16 to August 23, 1918). Frappelle Engagement (August 17 to 22, 1918). St. Mihiel Offensive (September 12 to 16, 1918). Meuse-Argonne Offensive (October 10 to November 11, 1918, Armistice Day).
~ 24 October 1918, France, WWI. William R. Cornett’s First-Cousin-Once-Removed, Second Lieutenant Sampson B. Brashear, U. S. Army, 358th Infantry Regiment, Company A, 90th Infantry Division, was Killed In Action in the Battle of Meuse-Argonne.                                                                        ~ 13 July 1919, Ship U.S.S. AMERICA departed from Brest, France, Passenger, Sergeant William R. Cornett, Company D, 6th Infantry, 732096, Next of Kin, Elhanon H. Cornett, brother; Arrived 22 July 1919 in Hoboken, New Jersey.
OCCUPATION: Farmer, Career Soldier, Postal Clerk.
DATE OF DEATH: 6 October or November 1952.
PLACE OF DEATH: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky.
CEMETERY: Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky.
SOURCES: Census. Family Interviews. Findagrave. Death Record. Military Draft Cards. U. S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914. U. S. Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists.
NOTE: I placed my second-cousin-two-times-removed, William Riley Cornett on my ~ Combs Collins Sumner Adams Holbrook Caudill Kelley Mullins; Brashear Young Campbell Cornett Woods Dorton Asher Bowling Sizemore ~ Maternal Family Tree, that I created on Ancestry.

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