Leroy Clayton

When Leroy Clayton was born on August 22, 1895, in Finleyville, Pennsylvania, his father, Joseph, was 36 and his mother, Frances, was 33. He married Mabel E Spencer on December 22, 1915, in Brooke, West Virginia. He died on August 29, 1986, in New York at the age of 91, and was buried in Bronx County, New York.

Leroy Clayton enlisted in the Army in 1917 when he was 22 years old.  He served in Company A of the 317 Engineering Division.  

The 317th Engineers was first constituted on 24 October 1917 and organized at Camp Sherman, Ohio, as the 317th Engineer Regiment, 92nd Division. Like the rest of the 92nd Division, the 317th Engineers was an all-black, or “Negro troops” unit, with many of the NCOs coming from the 9th and 10th Cavalry. The 317th Engineers sailed for France in June 1918, and it was the first unit of the 92nd Division to enter the line, completing the relief of the 7th Engineers on 23 August 1918. The unit earned campaign streamers for the Meusse-Argonne and Lorraine campaigns supporting the 92nd Division and the 1st Army Corps. After the war, the 317th was demobilized on 31 March 1919.

Leroy Clayton died on August 29, 1986, at New York, Presbyterian Hospital. 

Hola, estas por cumplir 32 años, 32 días, 32 horas y 32 minutos desde que partiste. Mientras tu te ibas de este mundo yo llegaba.