Russell Custer (1892-1976)

Born: November 28, 1892 in Parker Ford, PA
Died: December 3, 1976
Buried: Palm Schwenkfelter Church, Palm, PA
Spouse: Mabel Hunsberger
- Born: 1900
- Died: 1985
- Parents: Henry Sylvanus & Agnes (Schultz) Hunsberger
Married: August 1, 1925
Children: Eleanor Grace

Russell Custer was born on November 28, 1892 in Parker Ford, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

At the start of the first World War, Russell was living in North Dakota and working as a well driller. On March 28, 1918, at the age of 26, he enlisted at Camp Dodge in Iowa. His enlistment paperwork describes him as having brown eyes, black hair, a ruddy complexion, and standing 5′ 8.5″ tall. His father, Abraham Lincoln Custer, was listed as next of kin, and living at 518 Staubridge St in Morrisstown, PA (an address which no longer seems to exist).

A Private First Class, Russell served in the Company F (listed I in some documents), 138th Infantry. Fortunately, he kept incredible records of his travels through France on a massive, fold-out map.

Russell saw some of the most intense days of the War. He was involved in the offensives in St. Michiel from September 11 – 18, 1918, and Argonne Meuse from September 26 – October 1, 1918. The latter was a 47-day long, bloody offensive that proved to be the bloodiest battle in US Army history but ultimately brought an end to the war.

In thanks for his service, Russell later received a medal from the French government, as well as a letter stating that his name was “inscribed on the Book of Gold of the Soldiers of Verdun.” The letter is signed by the President of the Association of Verdun, the President of the Gold Book, and the mayor of Verdun, Parliament member of the House.

Russell returned to the States aboard the ship Aeolus, which departed St. Nazaire on the West Coast of France on April 16, 1919. His Honorary Discharge and release from the Army was May 12, 1919. In 1925, he received $350 for his service.

Russell married Mabel Susan Hunsberger, a highly-educated (especially for a female of the time) school teacher, on August 1, 1925. They had one daughter, Eleanor Grace.

After the war, Russell was a tinsmith in Red Hill for 19 years, after which he worked for the Liquor Control Board for 17 years. When he retired, he was the manager of the Schwenkville State Store. According to his obituary, Russell was a member of numerous organizations, including Perkiomen Post 184, the American Legion, Veterans of WWI Pennsylvania Barracks 84, and he was a 60-year member of Odd Fellows Lodge 106 in Barlow, North Dakota.

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