Lost His Life On The OtrantoThe bodies of Boyd Danner and Paul Markley are being brought back for burial and have now arrived in New York, according to information received by relatives here and at Havana, although nothing definite has been learned regarding the time when the bodies will reach home. These young men lost their lives October 6, 1918 when the steamer Otranto sank near the coast of Ireland during a storm.
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Lost His Life On The Otranto
The body of Private Boyd D. Danner, of Summum, who lost his life in the sinking of the transport Otranto off the Scottish coast, on October 6, 1918, arrived in Astoria Saturday noon enroute to Summum, where a military funeral was held Sunday afternoon at 1:30 o’clock from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Spangler, Rev. L. A. Crown of the Christian church officiating.
The American Legion had charge of the funeral. The Astoria band, of which deceased had been a member, also attended the services and led the twenty-eight soldier boys who marched in a body in the procession to the cemetery.
Joe McCann, of Marietta, who was in camp with Boyd at Fort Screven, a survivor of the Otranto, rescued by the British cruiser attended the funeral and marched with the other soldiers. It is estimated that there were more than one thousand people in attendance at the funeral.
The floral tributes were numerous and very beautiful.
The casket, furnished by the government, in which the remains were shipped from overseas was made of walnut, copper lined, and was opened by Undertaker Cline Horton at his parlors in this city. The body was wrapped in an army blanket, on top of which was the soldier’s identification tag and the official seal of the war department.
Boyd D. Danner was the son of Mrs. Edward Spangler and was born at Summum, Illinois, November 7, 1894, and at the time of his death was twenty-four years of age, lacking one month. At the time of his death he was a member of Battery C 54th Artillery A. E. F.
Boyd was a musician and had volunteered his services to his country. He left Ft. Screven early in September for an eastern embarkation point. The loss of his life was caused by a collision of transport Otranto and the cruiser Kashmir in the North Channel between Scotland and Ireland, the ships having collided during a heavy storm.
Boyd leaves behind him the record of a clean life, obedient and kind. His love for the ideal led him from home and loved ones, his love for country cost him his life.
Besides his immediate family, other relatives and many friends mourned as they gathered to pay their last respects to one who gave his all for his country.