Anton M. Hunkler

World War I

Anton Hunkler was born on August 25, 1886 in Mineola, Iowa to Joseph and Mary Anna (Bia) Hunkler. His father was an immigrant from Switzerland who arrived in the United States in 1869. Anton’s parents were married in New Orleans in 1875 and moved to Iowa. The family moved to Templeton around 1890.

Anton enlisted in the US Army on April 29, 1918 and he was given serial number #2856803. He was assigned to Company A of the 34th Infantry Regiment and received initial training at Camp Baker near El Paso, Texas. By early August, 1918, Anton’s unit had become a part of the 7th Division of the US Army and was at Camp Merritt, NJ preparing to sail to Europe. They sailed from Hoboken, NJ on August 17, 1918 aboard the USS Leviathan, a former German passenger liner known then as the “Vaterland.” This was the fastest passenger liner in service at that time and arrived in Brest, France on August 27, 1918.

Once in France, additional training took place at the Ancy-le-Franc Training Area. Anton’s unit entered combat on October 9, 1918 in Lorraine in the Puvenelle sector. During this time, the Company endured German shell fire and, later, chemical attack near Saint-Mihiel. The 7th Division remained engaged in northeast France until early November when it began preparation for a major attack on the Hindenberg Line. However, hostilities ended on November 11, 1918 and that assault was never conducted.

Company A was assigned occupation duty after the German surrender. The unit returned to the US aboard the SS New Amsterdam, a Dutch liner, which sailed from Brest on June 9, 1919. The ship arrived back in Hoboken, NJ on June 19, 1919 and Anton was discharged eight days later. Sometime during his service, Anton had been wounded in some fashion. He was included in a list of Iowans “wounded slightly” in the Iowa City Citizen in early 1919 and, when he returned to the US, he was a part of Casualty Detachment #882. The extent of his injuries is unknown.

Unlike many Templeton boys who served in World War 1, Anton was in the US Army for more than one year. As a result, he was a Private First Class at his discharge.

Anton returned to Templeton and was a mason as well as a railroad employee. He never married. He died in a Carroll nursing home on December 1, 1964 at age 78.