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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
VPI Class of 1916
Person
An individual.
Last Name
Tebbs
First and Middle Name
John Alexander
Nicknames or Other Names
"Growley"
Hometown
Leesburg, Virginia
VPI Graduating Class
In what VPI class did this individual graduate or what class should they have graduated from?
VPI Class of 1916
Undergraduate Major
What did this individual major in while at VPI?
Electrical Engineering
Siblings
William Tebbs and Dick Tebbs
Graduated
Yes or no, did this individual graduate from VPI?
Yes
Service Branch
What branch of the military did this individual serve in?
United States Marine Corps
Rank
What military rank did this individual hold?
Captain
Military Events
What significant military events occurred in this individual's life?
Involved in the Aisne-Marne Offensive, St. Mihiel Offensive, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.<br /><br />Tebbs was wounded at St. Mihiel from a German bullet. On October 4, 1918 he was involved in a gas attack. Then, on November 2, sustained another wound and was removed from active service for the duration of World War 1.
Additional Notes
John Tebbs served in the US Marine Corps during World War I alongside his two brothers, William Tebbs (VPI Class of 1909) and Dick Tebbs (VPI Class of 1907).
1927 "Virginia Polytehnic Institute in the World War" booklet
Did this individual appear in the 1927 booklet "Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the World War"? If so what page?
Yes, page 143
Birth Date
March 9, 1893
Biographical Text
<div style="text-align:center;"><em>“Tebbs was badly gassed during the fighting in France and spent three months in the hospital as a result of his experience.”</em></div>
<div style="text-align:center;"><em>-The Virginia Tech, reporting on Captain Tebbs returning to the United States on April 3, 1919</em></div>
<p><span>Only a month after the United States joined the Allied war effort in April 1917, John Alexander Tebbs joined the Marine Corps and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. After completing training at Quantico, Virginia, Tebbs to France and arrived on June 8, 1918. Once there, Tebbs was quickly transferred to the 6th Marine Machine Gun Battalion and was rushed to the front to join that unit which was already fighting in the Aisne-Marne Offensive.</span></p>
<p><span>In the Aisne-Marne Offensive, Tebbs participated in the last phase of the Battle of Belleau Wood, where his machine gun battalion was tasked with providing suppressing fire for the final Marine assault to the Wood. Due to the ferocity of the Marines of the 4th and 5th Regiments, along with the 6th Machine Gun Battalion, German soldiers at Belleau Wood nicknamed the Marines “Teufel Hunden” or “Devil Dogs.” Belleau Wood was later renamed “Bois de la Brigade de Marine,” meaning “The Wood of the Marine Brigade.”</span></p>
<p><span>After the Aisne-Marne Offensive, Tebbs and the 6th Machine Gun Battalion participated in the St. Mihiel Offensive, where Tebbs received minor wounds from a German bullet. In late September, his unit was transferred to the Meuse-Argonne. It was there, on October 4, 1918 that Tebbs was involved in a gas attack near the Mont Blanc Ridge. In his Marine Corps service report, Tebbs recalled that this gas attack was, at first, not serious enough to warrant leaving front-line service. However this, combined with another wound sustained on November 2, removed Tebbs from the fighting. Four months after the armistice, in March 1919, Tebbs was still recovering from his wounds. In a report from medical staff at Quantico, doctors reported that Tebbs’ physical condition was fair and that he was still suffering from shortness of breath and occasional bouts of coughing.</span></p>
<div>
<p><span>John Tebbs returned to the United States and continued to serve in the Marine Corps, during which time he rose to the rank of Major. While in the Marine Corps Tebbs was sent to Haiti in 1922 and then to China in 1934. When he died on June 11, 1945, he was survived by his wife Lillian.</span></p>
</div>
Death Date
June 11, 1945
Cause of Death
Heart Attack
Spouse(s)
Lillian Veir White- Marriage Date: November 1920
Unit
What unit or ship did this individual serve in or on?
6th Machine Gun Battalion, 4th Marine Brigade, 2nd Division
Battles or Engagements
What battles or engagements was this individual involved in during World War One?
Aisne-Marne Offensive (fought in the Battle of Bellau Wood), St. Mihiel Offensive, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
Postwar Life
What did this individual do after the war?
Remained in the Marine Corps until his death in 1945
Occupation
Marine
Contributing Researchers
Daniel Newcomb
County and/or State
Leesburg, Virginia
Birthplace
Leesburg, Virginia
Place of Death
Tyrone, Adams, Pennsylvania, USA
Parents
Father: Richard Henry Tebbs Mother: Lillian Tebbs
Children
No children
Retired Rank
What military rank did this individual hold upon retirement?
Major
Other Events
What other significant events, outside of the military, occurred in this individual's life?
He remained a Marine until his death in 1945.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Tebbs, John Alexander