Charles H. Pappassi (1918/10/20)

A newspaper heading "Dies at Camp Bowie" announced the end of a former local clerk.

Charles Henry Pappassi was born April 13, 1889, in Santa Cruz, California, to Paul and Martha Pappassi. Paul was an orchardist who, with his wife, two sons and two daughters, settled in the Corralitos-Laurel area. Charles spent his formative years in the county and received an education that enabled him to work as clerk in a local store. Sometime prior to June 1917 he moved to San Francisco and while living in that city, commuted to Oakland where he was employed as a carpenter.

Charles Pappassi appeared before the San Francisco draft board on June 5, 1917, where he registered for induction. Records at that time described him as being tall, of medium build with brown hair and brown eyes. California Adjutant General records denote that when Pappassi was inducted into the army in late 1917 or early 1918, he was living in San Jose.

After entering the army, Pappassi received orders to report to Camp Bowie, Texas. Camp Bowie, the home of the 36th Infantry Division, had been established in Fort Worth, Texas in 1917, and served as its main training facility. On October 20, 1918, Charles H. Pappassi died at Camp Bowie from what the California War History Committee described as an "accident or other causes." The location of Charles Pappassi's gravesite has not been identified.

(CAG; WWIDR; SCSf October 23, 1918 2:3; White, Lonnie J, Texas Military Forces Museum, 36th Division in WWI, http:// www.texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org/36division/white.htm [16 September 2008]; WEP December 28, 1918 5:7)

Creator: Nelson, Robert L.
Source: Remembering our own: the Santa Cruz County military roll of honor 1861-2010. Santa Cruz, CA: The Museum of Art & History, c2010.
Date: Undated
Type: OBIT
Coverage: 1910s
Rights: Reproduced by permission of Robert L. Nelson and The Museum of Art & History.
Identifier: RO-PAPPASSI

Citation

Nelson, Robert L. “Charles H. Pappassi (1918/10/20).” Remembering our own: the Santa Cruz County military roll of honor 1861-2010. Santa Cruz, CA: The Museum of Art & History, c2010. SCPL Local History. https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/items/show/4662. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.