Private Willie McCray, A Soldier's Story
.png "Private Willie McCray, U.S. Army – World War I")
Private Willie McCray, A Soldier's Story
Private Willie McCray was born on January 15, 1891, in North Carolina. Before entering military service, he worked as a plasterer, a skilled trade that required physical endurance and precision, and one common among working-class Americans of the early twentieth century.
In July 1918, as the United States expanded its forces during World War I, McCray enlisted in the U.S. Army. He trained at Camp Jackson in South Carolina, one of the Army’s primary training centers during the war, before being assigned to Fort McDowell on Angel Island near San Francisco, California. The post served as a key processing and administrative center for soldiers deploying to, and returning from, the Pacific and overseas assignments.
McCray’s military service coincided with the final months of the war and the massive logistical effort required to mobilize, house, and demobilize troops. After the armistice, in January 1919, he relocated to Roanoke, Virginia, where he returned to civilian life and resumed work as a plasterer.
Private Willie McCray died on February 4, 1934. He is buried at Old Lick Cemetery in Roanoke, Virginia.
He is remembered as one of many Americans who stepped briefly into military service during World War I, answered the nation’s call, and then quietly returned to the labor and community life that defined the era.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
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