Herman Rudolph Wissman

Bio and photo courtesy of Andrew Pestle

Herman Rudolph Wissman was born to German immigrants in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on December 24th, 1895. He graduated from high school in about 1913 and subsequently became a maintenance inspector for the local railroad. In 1915, Herman and his younger brother Benjamin were each sentenced to one year of imprisonment at the Pennsylvania Industrial Reformatory after entering a building and committing larceny. He served his time without incident and was eventually released from custody.

Herman was employed as a "Gymnasium Assistant" during the 1917 draft registration and denied any deferments from military service. He was inducted into the US Army on May 29th, 1918, and sent to Camp Humphries for basic training. Herman was assigned as a Corporal with an engineer training unit and sailed overseas aboard the SS Orita on July 14th, 1918. Once in France, he was reassigned to Company "H" of the 116th Engineers, and this photograph seems to depict him around that time period.

The 116th Engineers were stationed in the French city of Angers and functioned as a frontline AEF training unit. The regiment was responsible for teaching a diversity of military skills, such as pontoon bridge construction, grenade throwing, firearm practice, knot tying, trench digging, bayonet use, and the deployment of barbed wire entanglements. In total, the 116th Engineers were responsible for training approximately 29,000 doughboys.

Herman demonstrated proficient skill throughout his time with the AEF and was promoted to Sergeant while in France. He returned to the United States aboard the USS Rijndam on February 9th, 1919, and received an honorable discharge on March 13th. His service number was 2601939.

After the war, Herman began a distinguished career as a motorcycle patrolman for the Pittsburgh Police Department. It was thanks to his honorable military service and time in law enforcement that in 1935 he received an official pardon from the Governor of Pennsylvania for the crimes he committed during his youth. Herman was married several times but does not appear to have had any children. He was active in the Lutheran Church, the Syria Shriners, and the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. Herman died of a heart attack at the age of 71 years on March 27th, 1967, and is buried with a veteran's gravestone in the Allegheny County Memorial Park Cemetery of Allison Park, PA.

https://www.findagrave.com/.../180.../herman-rudolph-wissman