Welcome to our Spade Family in America web page honoring our (deceased) descendants and the spouses of Spade descendants of Anton and Rosina Dorothea (Wolf) Spade who have served the United States in our armed forces. Spade family descendants have honorably and courageously served in the military from the Civil War to the present.

This family will NEVER FORGET the sacrifices and patriotism demonstrated by our sons and daughters--either active, guard or reserves--and their immediate families. We thank you now and forever for keeping America free. You are our heroes and are an enduring example for all Americans. If you are a family member and would like to learn more about your family genealogy, have some information changed or added about your Veteran, or if you have one of our highly sought after missing Veteran photographs, please email us at txauthor@yahoo.com "Click" on this white-lettered title "Spade Family in America" to visit our Web Site and please sign our Guestbook.

NOTE: Even if we have no photograph, there is still information about this Veteran in the photo caption. Click on the "thumbnail" photo on the right to highlight their photo/detail below. Click on the "View Full-Size Image" link for a larger photo. To save a copy of the Full-Size photo on your hard drive, right click your mouse and select "Save Picture as" and click "Save." Women Veterans are listed by their Maiden name.

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Spade, Alexander Kimmell
(1897 - 1960) 

 

Alec served our country in the United States Army in the 79th Infantry World War I (WWI) in 1917. World War I soldiers were nicknamed “doughboys.” He served in the European Theatre as a blacksmith with Co., H, 313 Inf., 79th Division. Since the United States Army wasn’t a mechanized Army at this point in history, this was a very important position to hold. It is believed Alec saw action during one of the first major engagements involving American troops and he later transferred to the 82nd Division. He trained at Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia. When Alec returned from Europe, he brought home an Army machine which knitted socks. His military gravestone is engraved, "Alexander K. Spade, Maryland, Horseshoer Sup Co 326 INF World War I March 9, 1897 Sept 1 1960."

(Source: http://www.pershingsdoughboys.org/index.html) “"We may as well begin by explaining an accepted origin for the term Doughboy which has become so closely associated with the soldiers of the American Expeditionary Force in WW1. Our minds must be cast back to 1916 and the punitive expedition across the Mexican border to catch the infamous Pancho Villa. Coined as a term of derision toward infantrymen, as they became covered in the fine adobe dust thrown up by cavalry hooves and motor transport wheels, the term soon evolved into quite the opposite as it would mark the men as combat veterans who had gone overseas to do their bit for Uncle Sam.”"

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