Behind the information boards to the right of the entrance gate.

Monument

A rough-hewn stone monument bearing three plaques outlining the life and legacy of Doctor Lieutenant William T. Fitzsimons, the first U.S. Army officer killed during World War I. It describes his early life, education, and work with the Red Cross in Europe, followed by his service at Base Hospital No. 5 in France. Fitzsimons was killed in a German air raid on September 4, 1917. His death caused widespread indignation in the U.S., led to a surge in military enlistments, and resulted in several memorials in his honor, including a hospital named after him—Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Colorado and a fountain in Kansas City. The plaques on this monument are written in French and 1 of them has his portrait.

On September 4, 1917, during World War I, Base Hospital No. 5, located near Dannes-Camiers in Pas-de-Calais, France, was bombed by a German aircraft. This hospital was run by the Harvard Medical Unit, part of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). Around 10:30 p.m., seven bombs were dropped, five of which hit the hospital directly. This attack killed four people, including Lieutenant William T. Fitzsimons, a medical officer in the U.S. Army Medical Reserve Corps, who became the first U.S. Army officer to die in the war.

The hospital was treating soldiers from both British and American forces, and the bombing shocked the military and medical communities because hospitals were generally considered off-limits under the Geneva Conventions. Along with Fitzsimons, Privates Rubino, Tugo, and Woods were also killed, and several others were severely injured. The bombing highlighted the indiscriminate nature of air raids during the war and the vulnerabilities even in medical settings.

Source of information: savethearch.org, collections.countway.harvard.edu

Source of photos: www.memorialgenweb.org

Upper Plaque:

Les Anciens Combattants de Camiers commémorent

le 100éme anniversarie du décés de William T. Fitzsimons ...

Le Docteur Lieutenant William Thomas FITZSIMONS est né le 18 avril 1889 à Burlington (État du Kansas). En 1912, il est Docteur en médecine. En 1913, il étudie la chirurgie à l'Hopital Roosevelt (New York). En septembre 1914. il accompagne la Croix Rouge en Angleterre pendant six mois puis sept mois en Belgique. En 1915, il revient aux États Unis, et en avril 1917 il est nommé à Camiers au Base Hospitol n°5 de gestion américaine sous commandement britannique, où il commence à exercer fin août 1917. Dans la nuit du 4 septembre 1917, vers 23 heures, c'est le drame. Au cours d'un bombardement aérien allemand sur l'Hôpital, William T. FITZSIMONS est tué ainsi que trois de ses camarades : les soldats Oscar TUGO, Rudolph RUBINO et Leslie WOODS. Il est le premier officier américain tué en France lors de la Première Guerre Mondiale. L'émotion est grande, une vague d'indignation parcourt les États-Unis. Un office religieux est célébré le 12 septembre à Kansas City, suivi d'un défilé militaire. On assiste alors à une augmentation des engagements dans l'armée américaine. En 1920, un Hôpital d'Aurora (Colorado) porte le nom de FITZSIMONS General Hospitol. En 1922, une fontaine dédiée à la Mémoire de FITZSIMONS est inaugurée à Paseo (Kansas City Missouri), en présence de cinq mille personnes. Le 4 septembre 2016, une délégation des Anciens Combattants de Camiers organise une cérémonie marquant le 99éme anniversaire de son décès, à Bony où il repose. Le 9 septembre 2017, dans la zone mémorielle de Camiers, l'inauguration de la stèle marque le 100éme anniversaire du décès du Lieutenant William Thomas FITZSIMONS.

English Translation:

The Camiers Veterans commemorate

the 100th anniversary of the death of William T. Fitzsimons ...

Doctor Lieutenant William Thomas FITZSIMONS was born on April 18, 1889 in Burlington (State of Kansas). In 1912, he was a Doctor of Medicine. In 1913, he studied surgery at Roosevelt Hospital (New York). In September 1914, he accompanied the Red Cross to England for six months and then seven months in Belgium. In 1915, he returned to the United States, and in April 1917 he was appointed to Camiers at the American management Base Hospital No. 5 under British command, where he began working at the end of August 1917. On the night of September 4, 1917, around 11 p.m., tragedy struck. During a German aerial bombardment of the Hospital, William T. FITZSIMONS was killed along with three of his comrades: soldiers Oscar TUGO, Rudolph RUBINO and Leslie WOODS. He was the first American officer killed in France during the First World War. The emotion was great, a wave of indignation swept across the United States. A religious service was held on September 12 in Kansas City, followed by a military parade. We then witnessed an increase in enlistments in the American army.

In 1920, a hospital in Aurora (Colorado) was named FITZSIMONS General Hospital. In 1922, a fountain dedicated to the Memory of FITZSIMONS was inaugurated in Paseo (Kansas City Missouri), in the presence of five thousand people. On September 4, 2016, a delegation of the Camiers Veterans organized a ceremony marking the 99th anniversary of his death, in Bony where he rests. On September 9, 2017, in the memorial area of Camiers, the inauguration of the stele marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Lieutenant William Thomas FITZSIMONS.

Left Plaque:

Lieutenant William Thomas Fitzsimons

Médecin américain

American doctor

(1889 - 1917)

Right Plaque:

Le 4 septembre 1917, l'Hôpital de base n°5, géré par l'unité américaine de Harvard, subit un terrible bombardement. Le Lt. William T. Fitzsimons est le premier officier de l'armée des États-Unis tué lors de la Première Guerre Mondiale 

Cette stèle a ètè rèalisèe avec le soutien du Conseil dèpartemental du Pas-de-Calais.

English Translation:

On September 4, 1917, Base Hospital No. 5, managed by the American unit of Harvard, suffered a terrible bombing. Lt. William T. Fitzsimons was the first officer of the United States Army killed during the First World War

This stele was made with the support of the Departmental Council of Pas-de-Calais.