He Wore the Uniform

World War I Uniform and Other Artifacts
from the Wallace Room

Just this past March, a World War I officer’s uniform hung proudly on the wall at the Chesapeake Central Library.  Norfolk County Historical Society volunteers found it in a box in the Wallace Room while assembling items for a display -- a historical timeline we called “A Look at Norfolk County.”

There were many other items in our timeline – a replica Revolutionary War musket we affectionately call “Big Bess,” a pair of binoculars used in the Civil War, maps, some old photographs and daguerreotypes, even a stovepipe hat -- but the uniform commanded the most attention.

Library patrons seemed to gravitate to it. Some patrons recognized it. Some patrons asked questions about it. Some just stood in front of it…staring at it…contemplating its significance.  Who wore the uniform?

World War I Officer's Uniform Donated by
the Estate of A. Otto Lynch

Arundah Otto Lynch was born in Camden County, North Carolina in 1888 and was the son of Willoughby and Mary DeLena (Knight) Lynch. Otto grew up on the family farm on Ballahack Road, not too far from the Wallaces at Glencoe and the Stewarts at Beechwood.  He spent much of his adult life serving his country and his community…he wore the uniform.

Lieutenant Lynch was a 30-year-old school teacher in 1917 when he enlisted as a private in the Army.  He was first stationed at Fort McPherson, Georgia, where the German crews of two captured surface raiders, the Kronprinz Wilhelm and the Prinz Eitel Friederich were held as prisoners of war.

He quickly rose through the ranks during his first years of service. By May 1918, he was promoted to second lieutenant and was ordered to Fort Lee in Virginia to help organize the 320^th Service Battalion, Quartermaster Corps which would feed, clothe, and arm U.S. troops in Europe. His battalion left for Brest, France in July 1918 as part of the American Expeditionary Forces.

In Brest, he served as a quartermaster officer in the Service of Supply (SoS). By the fall of 1918, the SoS supplied food, clothing, arms, ammunition, as well as personal and housekeeping equipment. In addition, the SoS provided support services such as paying soldiers, doing laundry, performing salvage operations, supplying areas for bathing and disinfection (ridding troops of lice, or “cooties”), and even identifying and caring for the dead (carried out by the Graves Registration Service).

Members of the SoS in WWI were assigned to one of three duty areas: base operations (huge, central supply depots near major ports that distributed materiel forward), intermediate sections (where supplies were stored for distribution to combat zones), or advanced sections (located directly behind the combat zones). Lynch served in one of the advanced sections, which shipped daily supplies and rations directly to the front.  

By August 1919, he was back on U.S. soil after an honorable discharge as a second lieutenant. He immediately passed the Virginia State Bar exam that month and began to practice law, spent 9 years as a title examiner, married Viola Lena Walter of Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1922, and was appointed commonwealth attorney in 1928. He remained in that position until 1954 when he became county treasurer for Norfolk County. He served as treasurer until he retired in 1963 when Norfolk County and the city of South Norfolk merged to become the city of Chesapeake, Virginia. 

Faithful and skillful service to his fellow citizens reflects Mr. Lynch’s dedication to community and country, both in and out of uniform.  The Norfolk County Historical Society wishes to thank the Lynch family for their donation of historical mementos and artifacts to the Wallace Room. 

Do you have items that may be of significance to your area's history? Have you done research on your family history or genealogy? Consider donating these items to your local historical or genealogical society.