The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Feature: Two generals, one name
History rediscovered for relatives of Lorain’s first mayor
Two Marines have taken their places in the history of Lorain’s native sons and daughters who became prominent defenders of the nation.
George Croghan Reid, the son of Conrad Reid, Lorain’s first mayor, rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Marine Corps.
He was the uncle of the other George Croghan Reid, the grandson of Conrad Reid, who became a brigadier general in the Marines and received the Medal of Honor for his service in 1914.
“I knew Lorain had one Medal of Honor winner,” said Jim Smith, a local historian who also is a Lorain City Schools board member. “Now we have two.”
Smith referred to Marine Cpl. Charles Berry, the Lorain native who in 1945 received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
In 2017, the centennial of World War I, has spurred research by Smith and Lorain historians Jane Baran, co-planner for Lorain’s annual Memorial Day commemorative service for deceased veterans, and Steve
Bansek, who organizes Lorain’s annual Memorial Day Parade.
Baran said her research about the Reids started by accident as she was studying indirect family connections of Lorain natives Admiral Ernest J. King and Marine aviator Major Lofton Henderson, who received the Navy Cross for his service in the Battle of Midway in World War II.
She also scanned records relating to World War I.
The younger George C. Reid remained in the military during World War I, but received his Medal of Honor for a different campaign.
“That’s how I found out about him and couldn’t figure out why nobody knew anything about it,” Baran said.
She explained her findings to Smith, who recalled the military service of the elder George C. Reid.
Lorain historian Loraine Ritchey, who publishes an online blog about topics including local history and politics, in January 2016, wrote about the younger George C. Reid.
But it appeared memories of the two Marines with the same name had faded due to a combination of factors, including time and place.
“These two guys, when you leave town, over the years –” Smith said.
“You’re forgotten,” Bansek said.
Along with the passage of time, Bansek noted humility plays a part in obscuring the military service of some veterans.
“The other side of the coin is that people that did get medals don’t really want the recognition,” Bansek said. “They want to stay in the background.”
George Croghan Reid, son of Conrad Reid
The elder George Croghan Reid was the son of Conrad and Abigail Reid, who became one of the founding families of Lorain.
In 1811, Conrad Reid set up a trading post at the mouth of the Black River, established the community’s first post office and was proprietor of the Reid House, a two-story hotel.
The couple had 11 sons and a daughter, including George Croghan Reid, born in 1840.
“Once he got in the military, he never came back,” Smith said. “That’s why he’s not well known in Lorain.”
The reference website Find A Grave posted what appears to be a Lorain newspaper article from March 1914.
The headline read: “Gen. Reid, son of Lorain’s first mayor, dead at Washington.” The newspaper article appeared to be from Lorain because it referred to Brigadier General George Reid as “holder of much property here,” dying of apoplexy in Washington at age 72 in 1914.
“Gen. Reid lived here when a boy, residing at the home of his father, who was owner of the old Reid house, a hotel which occupied the site of the present Wagner block,” the report said.
“He left Lorain when about 20 years old, soon entering the United States Marine service, in which he steadily advanced until he reached the head of the service,” the news report said. “He retired seven (years) ago, and about the same
time made his last visit to Lorain.”
The Washington Post also reported on Reid’s death and noted his final resting place would be Arlington National Cemetery.
The elder George Croghan Reid was survived by a wife and son.
The Washington Post referred to one of his honorary pallbearers as Major George Croghan Reid of the Marine Corps.
The other news report referred to his younger relative who also was a military comrade: “Captain George Reid, a nephew, is now at Vera Cruz.”
George Croghan Reid, grandson of Conrad Reid
The younger George Croghan Reid was born Dec. 9, 1876, in Lorain. He was grandson of Conrad Reid and nephew of the elder George Croghan Reid.
The younger George C. Reid was appointed a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps for the War with Spain, May 20, 1898, according to his biography through Arlington National Cemetery.
He was honorably discharged in February 1899, then appointed first lieutenant of the Marines in April 1999.
He rose through the ranks and became brigadier general on retirement
Sept. 1, 1930.
He received the Medal of Honor on Dec. 4, 1915, for distinguished conduct in the battle of Vera Cruz on April 21-22, 1914.
The younger George C. Reid, then a major, “was eminent and conspicuous in command of his battalion; was in the righting of both days and exhibited courage and skill in leading his men through action,” according to his Medal of Honor citation.
“His cool judgment and courage and his skill in handling his men in encountering and overcoming the machinegun and rifle fire down Cinco de Mayo and parallel streets account for the small percentage of the losses of Marines under his command,” the citation said.
Vera Cruz
The Battle of Vera Cruz was a two-day fight rooted in rising tension between President Woodrow Wilson and Mexican President Victoriano Huerta.
Wilson refused to recognize Huerta’s presidency, and after a series of events, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan “decided to occupy the most important port” in Mexico: Vera Cruz, which also is spelled Veracruz in some historical references.
A 2014 analysis published by the U.S. Naval Institute noted the Vera Cruz battle
of 1914 was the largest U.S. Navy and Marine Corps landing operation between the Spanish-American War and World War II.
A 1982 analysis published by the Marine Corps Association & Foundation noted “the rapid deployment of nearly half the existing Marine Corps and virtually the entire U.S. Atlantic Fleet to Mexico, fully integrated and ready to fight, provides us with a high standard of excellence to match 68 years later.”
There were 22 Americans killed and 70 wounded; at least 126 Mexicans were killed and 195 wounded, although the exact casualty count for Mexican losses is unknown.
“The Navy Department was so ecstatic about this victory that it gave away medals by the bushel,” said one analysis at weaponsandwarfare.com. “Congress for the first time authorized the Medal of Honor for naval and marine officers as well as enlisted men.”
That analysis noted 55 Medals of Honor were “handed out for this minor two-day engagement, the most for any battle before or since.”
On Nov. 23, 1914, the 7,000 American troops in Vera Cruz departed the city.
The younger George Croghan Reid died Feb. 19, 1961, at the U.S. Air Force Hospital of Harlingen Air Force Base, Texas.