American Overseas Memorial Day Association - Belgium - FIRST LIEUTENANT JAMES AARON PIGUE

FIRST LIEUTENANT JAMES AARON PIGUE
Company A, 117th Infantry Regiment, 30th Division

Lt. James A. Pigue was born in 1884, the son of Edward and Fannie Pigue of Nashville, Tennessee. In August of 1917, he was a First Lieutenant in the Third Regiment of the Tennessee National Guard when the regiment was called into federal service. In September of 1917, his regiment was assigned to the 30th Division, and was re-designated the 117th Infantry Regiment. The 30th Division was known as the “Old Hickory Division” in honor of President Andrew Jackson from Tennessee.

On 30 April 1918, Pigue and his regiment shipped to Europe. When they arrived in Belgium, they were assigned to the British Second Army near Ieper for training. On 16 July, Pigue’s regiment entered the front lines and took over full responsibility for the East Poperinghe Line of trenches. Two days later, Marshall Foch launched the Second Battle of the Marne in France and the Allies launched attacks across the Western Front in support of that offensive. Lt. Pigue was killed in action on the same day, 18 July 1918. The historical files do not record the exact circumstances of his death. However, given that he was an unseasoned Lieutenant on the front lines during an offensive, it is reasonable to assume that he died leading his men over the top.

Lt. Pigue was initially buried at the Gwalia British Cemetery, but his body was moved to the “American Plot” of the Lijssenthoek Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in June of 1919. Lt. Pigue’s wife, Jane Weller Pigue, sent a telegram to the War Department requesting that his body not be disturbed under any circumstances. However, she remarried, and she did not reply to any of the War Department’s subsequent inquiries concerning the proper paper work to be completed. So, his father took charge of the situation, and he came to Europe to see his son’s final resting place for himself. In July of 1921, Edward Pigue visited his son’s grave and met with officials of the Imperial War Graves Commission, who assured him that the British government would care for the grave in perpetuity. Edward Pigue agreed to leave his son’s remains undisturbed, and he had the words “Gave His Life For Humanity” added to his son’s tombstone.