A portrait of Walter Scott Zerbe of Loyalton, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, taken about 1918 in his military uniform.
The following biographical and military information was provided by Sharman Meck Carroll:
Walter Scott Zerbe, son of Jonathan S. Zerbe and Julia [Messner] Zerbe, was born 28 February 1895, at Loyalton, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. He attended the ungraded school in his home town, then entered the Lykens High School where he finished the four year course in three years, graduating at the head of his class at the age of seventeen. He afterwards graduated from Peirce Business College, Philadelphia. Upon graduation he was employed in the Star Lock Works, Philadelphia, after which he secured the position of auditor by the Berwind White Coal Company which position he held when he heard his nation’s call for volunteers.
He enlisted in the U.S. Service at Somerset, Pennsylvania, on 3 February 1918. He entered training camp at Fort Slocum, New York, 5 February, was transferred to Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas, embarking for France from Camp Merritt, 25 May 1918. He is connected with the 102nd Aero Squadron.
He was made a Corporal on 1 October 1918 and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on 15 October 1918.
Walter Scott Zerbe served overseas from 26 May 1918 to 26 May 1919. He was honorably discharged from the service on 4 June 1919.
In 1934, when he applied for Pennsylvania Veteran’s Compensation, he reported that he was married to the former Catherine Baylor and had two minor children in his household: Barbara Ruth Zerbe and John Baylor Zerbe. Compensation was awarded for sixteen months at the rate of ten dollars per month, or a total of $160.00/
For World War II, Walter Scott Zerbe was required to register in what was known as the “Old Men’s Draft” of 1942 At the time, he said he was forty-seven years old, was born in Loyalton, and named his wife as someone who would always know his address. His physical description included that he was 5 foot 6 inches tall and weighed about 150 pounds. He was living in Lykens and was employed by the Lykens Mercantile Company.
Walter died on 25 October 1956. He is buried at the Maple Grove Cemetery, Elizabethville, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.
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Information was obtained from the database, World War I Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948, available on Ancestry.com. Research by Sharman Meck Carroll.