WoodCop: Travel: Orville Best


89th Infantry		89th Infantry

Corporal Orville W. Best
E Company, 354th Infantry Regiment,
89th Infantry Division, IV Corps,
U.S. Army, American Expeditionary Forces

     Orville William Best was born in Emporia, Kansas on August 25, 1896. When he was a young boy, his family relocated to Kansas City, Missouri. It was in Kansas City that Orville Best volunteered for military service and enlisted in the U.S. Army on April 25, 1918. After basic training, he was sent to France in June, 1918 as part of the 89th Infantry Division (made up largely of soldiers from Missouri and Kansas) of the American Expeditionary Forces under the command of General John J. Pershing.

     Soon promoted to Corporal, Best served in both the St. Mihiel Offensive and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. It was during the Third Phase of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive that he was seriously injured. On November 3, 1918 -- a mere 8 days prior to the armistice and the end of the fighting in France -- Corporal Best was injured in a Mustard Gas attack by the Germans and by a machinegun wound in the stomach.

     Corporal Best spent several months in an Army hospital in France recuperating from his battlefield injuries. Along with his comrades in the 89th Infantry, he finally returned to the United States in March, 1919. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army on April 16, 1919. He received the following decorations for his military service:

American Victory Medal (with FRANCE bar)
Service Medal of the State of Missouri
Purple Heart

     Orville William Best, decorated World War I veteran, lived the rest of his life peacefully and honorably in Kansas City, Missouri, along with Blanche, his wife of over 50 years. Together they raised two children, Bill and Dorothy, and lived long enough to not only see their children grow, but also many of their grandchildren. He passed away quietly on December 30, 1982, after living a rich and full life in which he devoted so much to his family and his country. We miss him still.