Avria Label Blumenthal

Avria Label Blumenthal’s Personal Narrative was derived from information found in public records, military personnel files, and local/state historical association materials. Please note that the Robb Centre never fully closes the book on our servicemembers; as new information becomes available, narratives will be updated to appropriately represent the life story of each veteran.

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Military Honor(s):

Distinguished Service Cross

Citation: The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Alabel Blumenthal, Private, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Cierges, France, August 2, 1918. As Private Blumenthal was dressing wounded men and carrying them into shell holes for protection, a heavy barrage was put down in the field where he was working but he nevertheless refused to seek cover, ministering to the wounded and reassuring them, until he was mortally wounded by a bursting shell.

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Life & Service

  • Birth: 30 July 1888, Lincoln, NE, United States
  • Place of Residence: Chicago, IL, United States
  • Race/Ethnicity: Jewish American
  • Death: 3 August 1918 , France
  • Branch: Army
  • Military Rank: Private
  • Company: [Medical Detachment]
  • Infantry Regiment: 128th
  • Division: 32nd
Personal Narrative
Early Life (Pre-War): Includes general parent information, sibling information, education Toggle Accordion

Avria Label Blumenthal was born on 30 July 1888 in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, to Russian parents Judith Gishes (1866-1942) and Moses Blumenthal (1863-1942). He was the second of five children, Rebecca Celia (1886-?), Sarah (1890-1995), Barre (1891-1954), and Solomon (1893-1982).

The family remained in Lincoln for the birth of their third child in 1890 but relocated to Sioux City before the fall of 1891. The family settled in Chicago (799 Girard St) before December of 1893, where Moses Blumenthal worked as a vegetable peddler. By the 1910s, Moses and Judith Gishes Blumenthal owned and operated a furniture store.

Information related to Avria Label Blumenthal’s early education and employment is minimal; on 6 July 1913 he married Lena Lewis (1887-?), a native of Scotland, in Chicago. By the mid 1910s, Blumenthal was a businessman for Richardson Silk Company, later, an accountant with Montgomery Ward & Co.

Service: Includes a summary of transfers, rank change(s), training, enlistment, and discharge locations Toggle Accordion

Blumenthal’s date of enlistment is unknown; he was assigned as a Private to Medical Detachment, 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Division, and may have left the United States around February of 1918. At this time, Barre Blumenthal was a Sergeant assigned to the 149th Field Artillery, Solomon, serving with the Navy in an unknown role. Private Blumenthal received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions near Cierges, France on 2 August 1918,

“The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Private Alabel Blumenthal (ASN: 17453), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Medical Detachment, 128th Infantry Regiment (Attached), 32d Division, A.E.F., near Cierges, France, 2 August 1918. As Private Blumenthal was dressing wounded men and carrying them into shell holes for protection, a heavy barrage was put down in the field where he was working but he nevertheless refused to seek cover, ministering to the wounded and reassuring them, until he was mortally wounded by a bursting shell.”

The extent of Private Blumenthal’s injuries are currently unknown, as are any efforts of treatment. 

Later Life (Post-War): Includes post-war education, occupation, marriage(s) and/or children, location and date of death Toggle Accordion

Blumenthal died of his wounds on 3 August, and was initially buried in Jaulgonne, Aisne, France, before being disinterred and reburied in August of 1919 at the American Cemetery (Oise-Aisne American Cemetery), Seringes et Nesles, Aisne, France.

Blumenthal’s Distinguished Service Cross was accepted by Lena Lewis Blumenthal; information related to her later life is minimal- she moved overseas to work as a social worker in 1925.