The register of burial card for Clyde Emerson (1890-1919). One side of the card describes where Emerson was originally buried and lists his emergency address, while the other gives the location of his reinterment. His body was reinterred after the end of the war.
Clyde Atwood Emerson was born on September 22, 1890 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, though he moved to Floirda in the early twentieth century. He attended high school and went on to work in the hospitality industry. On February 26, 1918, he was inducted into the United States Army and became a sergeant in the 81st "Wildcat" Division, where he served in the 318th Machine Gun Battalion
Leaving the United States for Europe on July 31, 1918, Emerson and his unit participated in many of the last major campaigns of World War I, inlcuding the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. This was the allied offensive that ended the war. Emerson survived the war and remained in Europe awaiting demobilization. During this time, Emerson contracted Spanish influenza, which would claim the lives of more soldiers and civilians than the war, and died on January 30, 1919. He was originally buried two days later in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie, France. However, he was later reinterred in December 22, 1922 at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Belleau, France. Grave 8, Plot 11, Block B is his final resting place.
In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s
Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for k-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.