Witty, Kenneth (P1, C3, L23)

Private Kenneth Witty, 18, of Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky, died while on federal active duty of Typhoid Pneumonia at Fort Thomas, Kentucky on 15 July 1916. He was part of the Kentucky National Guard contingent called to federal duty to patrol a sixty mile stretch of the border between Fort Bliss and Fort Hancock during Mexican Border Service. He enlisted in Company D, 1st Battalion of the 3rd Kentucky Infantry Regiment on 21 June 1916 and listed his civilian occupation at that time as a clerk. Witty's body was accompanied home by Second Lieutenant Cecil Armstrong of Company D. He was laid to rest in the Riverside Cemetery in Hopkinsville. Armstrong himself died from an illness while on active duty with his unit in Lexington on 20 September 1917.

Soldier Boy Who Died at Ft. Thomas Buried Here Yesterday

Hopkinsville Kentuckian 18 July 1916 Page 1

The body of Kenneth Witty, who died Saturday of typhoid-pneumonia at Fort Thomas, where he went with Company D as a private, was quietly laid to rest in Riverside Cemetery yesterday morning at 10 o’clock. Dr. C. M. Thompson preached the funeral services, which were held at the home of the boy's mother, Mrs. M. H. Grey. The young man was the son of the late John H. Witty and was 18 years old.

The body was accompanied here by Cecil Armstrong, who was sent as an escort from the company. The remains arrived at 10 o’clock Sunday morning. Herman Jackson, John Beard, Ernest Snodgrass and Jarrett Renshaw, former members of Company D, acted as pall bearers.