About
Ferdinand John France, the son of Joseph and Katherine (Mais) France, was born on November 12, 1898, in Schenectady, New York. Before joining the military, he worked for the Western Union Telegraph Company.
On November 15, 1915, Ferdinand enlisted in the United States Navy and began his training in Newport, Rhode Island. He held the rank of Quartermaster 3rd Class and was stationed on the USS Birmingham. The USS Birmingham was serving as the flagship for the US Naval Forces and was leading convoys between Gibraltar, the British Isles, and France. On September 23, 1918, while in Gibraltar, Ferdinand died suddenly. He was originally buried in the North Front Cemetery, which was used throughout World War I for the burial of sailors and soldiers who died on ships passing through Gibraltar or in the military hospital. The cemetery faces southward towards the Rock of Gibraltar. Ferdinand was brought back to the states in 1920 and buried in Old St. Joseph's Cemetery, Schenectady, New York.
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave, Ancestry
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
For the Fallen
Laurence Binyon
