Paseo West in Kansas City in Jackson County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
In Memory of William T. Fitzsimons
Photographed by Mark Parker, May 27, 2021
1. In Memory of William T. Fitzsimons Marker
In memory of
William T. Fitzsimons
Lieut Medical Corps USA
******
Killed in France.****
September Seventh
Nineteen Hundred
Seventeen * The first
American officer to
give his life in the
Great World War
***For liberty.
Erected 1922.
Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World I. A significant historical date for this entry is September 7, 1917.
Location. 39° 5.962′ N, 94° 33.826′ W. Memorial is in Kansas City, Missouri, in Jackson County. It is in Paseo West. It is at the intersection of East 12th Street and The Paseo, on the left when traveling east on East 12th Street. Touch for map. Memorial is in this post office area: Kansas City MO 64106, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this memorial is in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, in the Corn Belt, and on the Santa Fe Trail Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Goin' to Kansas City Plaza (within shouting distance of this marker); The Rebirth of Twelfth and Vine (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (approx. half a mile away); American Jazz Museum (approx. half a mile away); Roy Wilkins (approx. 0.6 miles away); Kansas City Call (approx. 0.6 miles away); Ms. Myra Taylor (approx. 0.6 miles away); St. Mary's Church (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kansas City.
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.
Also see . . . Lieutenant William T. Fitzsimons, MD: Good and Faithful Servant.
this page online
Lieutenant William T. Fitzsimons (18891917), an American officer in the Medical Reserve Corps, was the first United States Army officer to die in World War I. Fitzsimons, a University of Kansas alumnus and faculty member, died from wounds suffered during a German air raid on September 4, 1917, when bombs fell on Base Hospital No. 5 near Dannes-Camiers in Pas-de-Calais, France. Following his death, memorials to Fitzsimons were dedicated in Kansas City and across the country, including the renaming of Army Hospital #21 in Aurora, Colorado, to Fitzsimons Army Hospital in 1920. Through his sacrifice, William Fitzsimons wholly embodied the image of the selfless doctor and helped galvanize the nation against the atrocities of war.(Submitted on March 11, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina.)
Credits. This page was last revised on March 29, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 11, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 156 times since then and 30 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on March 11, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
