Death of Lt. William T. Fitzsimons-- Part 3: Served in Europe Before U.S. Entry Into the War

Historian James Heiman has written a book "Voices in Bronze and Stone: Kansas City's World War I Monuments and Memorials."  he has a whole chapter on Lt. Fitzsimons.

He was born April 18, 1889 in Burlington, Iowa, the oldest of six children.  Fitzsimons attended St. Mary's College in St. Mary's and then in 1908, transferred to the University of Kansas' School of Medicine, receiving his BA in 1910 and two years later his medical degree.

After a year of internship at St. Mary's Hospital, he spent 14 months studying surgery in New York City.

While still a civilian, he went to England as a Red Cross volunteer, arriving September 13, 1914, just a few weeks after the war started.  From there he went to Belgium to treat wounded civilians and soldiers, returning to the United States on December 10, 1915.

--DaCoot