This newsletter profiles Rossie O. Knight, a son of Sovin and Eliza Allen Knight, whose life was significantly marked by misfortune, particularly due to his service in World War I. His early life included the burning down of his family home in 1909 and the death of his father when Rossie was 19. He enlisted in the army in 1913, and though initially stationed at Fort Hancock, he found himself overseas with the U.S. First Division Ammunition Train during World War I, where he participated in four major offensives, including Montdidier-Noyon, Ainse-Marne, Saint Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne. Despite a temporary demotion from Sergeant to Private during the Montdidier-Noyon Offensive for an unknown infraction, he was a crucial part of keeping front lines supplied. Rossie was repeatedly exposed to gas and chemical weapons during the war, leading to life-long wartime trauma and respiratory ailments. He spent the remainder of his life as a patient at the U.S. Veterans Hospital in Augusta, Georgia, where he suffered from extreme anxiety and sensitivity to noise, a condition that persisted despite occasional visits home. Rossie O. Knight died in 1963, buried with military honors.

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