Samuel E. Gipe
Captain Samuel Edward Gipe, 39, of Owensboro, Daviess County, died of service connected illness on October 24, 1916 in the Owensboro City Hospital. Gipe had been serving as Commander of Company K of the 3rd Kentucky Infantry Regiment for many years.
Gipe enlisted in the Kentucky State Guard in June 1897 as a sixth corporal and remained with the unit being promoted to eventually command the unit as its captain.
Gipe served on federal active duty with his unit during the Spanish American War (1898-99). Conflicting newspaper accounts say that he served at Anniston Alabama while another says that he served in Cuba.
Gipe was Captain of Company K when the Guard was again called to active duty for service on the Mexican border. According to newspaper accounts, Gipe worked himself to a state of exhaustion getting the unit recruited to full strength and its equipment and soldiers ready for the deployment. The unit traveled to Fort Thomas for induction. He was confined to his cot due to “overwork” for a few days shortly after they arrived. He was one of eighty six members of his unit who were failed because of the medical exams.
Gipe was reportedly rejected and discharged due to a weak heart which was a cause of great sadness for him. Gipe returned home after his discharge on 22 July 1916. Gipe remained in ill health on his return home and was eventually diagnosed with Bright’s disease. Bright's disease is a classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling, the presence of albumin in the urine and was frequently accompanied by high blood pressure and heart disease. Gipe was eventually hospitalized as his condition steadily declined until he perished.
Gipe’s civilian occupation was a Rural Free Delivery (R.F.D.) Letter Carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Daviess County beginning in March 1907.
Gipe is buried in the Rosehill Elmwood Cemetery in Owensboro.
Gipe was also the great uncle of Command Sergeant Major John D. Gipe. CSM Gipe retired militarily in 2013 concluding a highly distinguished military career serving as the State Command Sergeant Major of the Kentucky Army National Guard from 2002 – 2005; Command Sergeant Major of the Army National Guard (ARNG) from June, 2005 through July, 2009 and finally as the Senior Enlisted Advisor for to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.
Taps Sounded For Capt. Gipe; Twice Answered Nation's Call
The Owensboro Messenger 25 Oct 1916, Wed Page 6
Taps sounded Tuesday morning at 7:30 o'clock for Captain Samuel E. Gipe, Kentucky National guard. The former guardsmen succumbed to a protracted illness of Bright's disease. He died at the city hospital, hospital, where he had been a patient for the past four weeks. His death was not unexpected, as he had been in a critical condition ever since his return from Fort Thomas mobilization camp several months ago.
Captain Gipe bore his sufferings with soldierly fortitude. When the final call came he answered as a soldier should, bravely and unflinchingly. His regret, expressed Sunday when he realized the nearness of the end, was that he could not bid farewell to his boys of Company K, Kentucky regiment, now on service on the 'Mexican border.
According to funeral arrangements announced last night Captain Gipe will be buried from the First Christian church this afternoon at 2 o'clock. The services at the church will be conducted by Rev. M. G. Buckner, pastor of the church, assisted by Rev. Sam P. Martin, pastor of the Third Baptist church. Interment will follow in Elmwood cemetery.
At the church the body will rest within a casket draped with the national colors. The same colors presented to Company K will' be used for the purpose. The pallbearers will be members of the Camp of Spanish War Veterans. They will be: Active — George Leibfried, Ward Pedley, Marvin May, Marvin Thornberry, Bishop Ward and James Meisner; Honorary — T. J. Harper, Elmo Ham, Owen Isaacs, John Holzknecht, Harry Cooper, Herschel Helm; Cecil Smith, trumpeter.
The body will be accompanied to the cemetery by an escort from the Spanish war veterans’ and an escort from former members of Company K. The escort will carry no arms. At the graveside a brief service will be held. As the body is lowered into the grave taps will be sounded.
Captain Gipe, for eighteen years past, had been active in local military matters. Twice in that time he responded to his country's call to the colors. The first time, in 1898, when he saw service in Cuba as a member of the local military company and served throughout the campaign: When President Wilson called for volunteers Captain Gipe, as commander of the local company, again volunteered his services. After recruiting his company to strength he was ordered to Fort Thomas. Upon undergoing the medical examination preliminary to being sworn in for service on the border, he was rejected as physically unfit. Many of his friends believe this hastened his death.
At the time of his death Captain Gipe was thirty-nine years of age. He was employed in the post office department as rural carrier, entering the service March 1, 1907. During his last illness his wife has been acting as substitute carrier. He was a member of the 'Masonic fraternity and of the Modern Woodmen of America. Surviving him are his wife and four children, Theresa. Samuel E., Jr., William Rufus and Logan. The family has requested that the membership of the Modern Woodmen attend at the church this afternoon.