Paxton High School - Reflector Yearbook (Paxton, IL)

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Paxton High School Reflector 19 in passing the physical examination, he entered West Point in the fall of 1914. Prior to this time, no candidate for admission to West Point had been per- mitted to enter upon presenting a certificate of graduation from an accredited high school. A new ruling resulted in his admission, and also that of Leo Warner, upon his Paxton High School credits. As a result of the declaration of war in April, it was decided to grad- uate the 1918 class with three years of regular West Point training and some intensive supplementary training during the summer of 1917. He therefore received his diploma and the commission of Second Lieutenant August doth of that year. He was then given a thirty-day furlough before being assigned to special duty. This furlough period was very happily utilized by Mr. Cole in the consummation of a little romance that had enlivened the later months of h!s military training at West Point. The nature of this romance will be understood when it is known that the day following his graduation, he was married to Miss Teance Espy, of Atlanta, Georgia, at the Hotel Astoria in New York. The remainder of his furlough period very naturally became the occasion of a honeymoon trip to the home of his wife in the sunny southland. On October 1st, accompanied by Mrs. Cole, he reported for duty at ihe lT. S. Army Post at L.aredo, Texas, for official duty in the G th Infantry, 3rd Battalion. Upon assuming this duty he was advanced to the rank of First Lieutenant. Lieutenant Leo. V. Warner, '13; West Point, '17. Attention has been elsewhere called to the special distinction won b the class of 1913 in military matters. In addition to the distinction there noted, this class, and the school as well, may be very justly proud of the fact that this class and the Paxton High School furnished two of the five Illinois students who received their diplomas and commissions from West Point with the class graduating in August. 1917. To have furnished at one time 40% of Illinois’ quota at a West Point Commencement is certainly an unusual dis- tinction for a class, school, or community. It is also worthy of note that Lieutenant Leo Warner is the only student from Ford County who has been able to stand the rigid mental and physical tests necessary for graduation from our government military school. After graduating from high school, Leo spent a term of nine months in supplementary study at a special West Point preparatory school at Wash- ington. D. C. He devoted himself there especially to mechanical drawing and trigonometry in anticipation of having to take the. until 1914, uniformly required educational test for entrance; but the new order accepting credits from high schools of high standing, as in the case of his classmate, made it possible for him to be admitted upon the certified credits furnished from the Paxton High School. As a result of vacation work, and the emergency arising from the declaration of war, his class was graduated with 3V6 years work, though the

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18 Paxton High School Reflector CLASS OF 1913. The graduating class of 1913 has won the greatest military distinction. This must be evident from the following facts: Of its 13 boys, 9 are in some branch of the U. S. war service. Two of them are West Point graduates— PAUL COLE and LEO WARNER. Three of them are commissioned offi- cers in the Regular United States Army. The third commissioned officer in the Regular Army is Eugene Frederick, son of Mr. Sherman Frederick of Clarence, 111. The other six soldiers of this honored class are Bernard Asper- gren. Randall Bear, Arthur Currie, David Danielson, Claude Stine and Mack Wylie. LIEUTENANT PAUL COLE, U. S. ARMY Lieutenant Paul Cole, P. H. S., '13—West Point, ’17 Paul Cole of Ludlow, 111., after graduating with the Class of 1913, taught school for one year in Champaign county. Having received an ap- pointment as a cadet from this Congressional District and being successful

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Paxton High School Reflector 20 LIEUTENANT LEO WARNER, U. S. ARMY entire four years' work was completed; and he was given his diploma and the commission of Second Lieutenant, Aug. 30, 1917. After spending his furlough of 30 days at his home, near Paxton, in visiting relatives and friends, he was assigned to duty at Syracuse, New ork, as acting Captain. Later he was transferred to Charlotte, N. C. The last word received by his father, Mr. Wm. Warner, Chairman of the Ford County Exemption Board, was to the efTect that he was still at Charlotte, but daily expecting to receive orders to embark for France. Lieutenant Warner made a pleasant call at the high school and tile superintendent’s office early in September before leaving for duty at Syracuse. He was enthusiastic about the training—intellectual and physical—at West Point, and no less so with reference to his graduating at a time when his country could make immediate use of the military training which it had givem him. Leo graduated from high school a year under the ordinary minimum