USS Mount Vernon after being torpedoed by a German submarine in the eastern Atlantic on September 5, 1918. The torpedo killed 36 men. The ship made port the next day in Brest, France, where it was given a temporary patch. It is possible that Buster Williams (1887-1945) was on the ship at this time.

Buster Williams was born on December 16, 1887, in Barnwell, South Carolina. He worked as a farmer in Elkton, Florida, before being drafted into the United States Army in St. Augustine, Florida, on June 19, 1918. Williams served for about two months in the 135th Depot Brigade, a unit responsible for processing and training new recruits. From August 18, 1918, until the end of the war, he was part of Company B of the 536th Engineers Service Battalion. The 536th boarded their ship for France on August 26, 1918. The unit likely worked at the St. Aignan depot, where they would have been responsible for loading and unloading equipment and serving in primarily a support capacity. Once the war ended, Williams returned to Florida, where he married his wife, Ethel, and had three children. Williams worked as a laborer for a cemetery. He, his wife, and his son-in-law remained in the same house until Williams's death on December 28, 1945. He is buried in the St. Augustine National Cemetery.

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 continues, engaging a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in national cemeteries 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 headstones at four national cemeteries, two in Florida (Florida National Cemetery and St. Augustine National Cemetery) and two in France (American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries at Aisne-Marne and the Meuse-Argonne), where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.]]> United States Navy]]> Naval History and Heritage Command]]> Veterans Legacy Program Collection]]> United States Navy and published by the Naval History and Heritage Command.]]>
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This resource is provided here by RICHES for educational purposes only. For more information on copyright, please refer to Section 5 of Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code.]]> ]]>
Buster Williams was born on December 16, 1887, in Barnwell, South Carolina. He worked as a farmer in Elkton, Florida, before being drafted into the United States Army in St. Augustine, Florida, on June 19, 1918. Williams served for about two months in the 135th Depot Brigade, a unit responsible for processing and training new recruits. From August 18, 1918, until the end of the war, he was part of Company B of the 536th Engineers Service Battalion. The 536th boarded their ship for France on August 26, 1918. The unit likely worked at the St. Aignan depot, where they would have been responsible for loading and unloading equipment and serving in primarily a support capacity. Once the war ended, Williams returned to Florida, where he married his wife, Ethel, and had three children. Williams worked as a laborer for a cemetery. He, his wife, and his son-in-law remained in the same house until Williams's death on December 28, 1945. He is buried in the St. Augustine National Cemetery.

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 continues, engaging a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in national cemeteries 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 headstones at four national cemeteries, two in Florida (Florida National Cemetery and St. Augustine National Cemetery) and two in France (American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries at Aisne-Marne and the Meuse-Argonne), where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.]]> Veterans Legacy Program Collection]]> ]]>
• reproduce the work in print or digital form
• create derivative works
• perform the work publicly
• display the work
• distribute copies or digitally transfer the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending.

This resource is provided here by RICHES for educational purposes only. For more information on copyright, please refer to Section 5 of Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code.]]>