Private Matt Hooper
United States Army, World War I
Company G, 815 Pioneer Infantry Regiment
February 6, 2025 - Two years after the new Shelby County Courthouse was completed in Center, Texas, Matt Hooper was born in Timpson, Texas, at the start of spring, March 10, 1887. His parents Selena “Lennie” Hawkins and Alex Hooper, both native Texans, were raising their family of seven on a farm like many did at that time, first in Shelby County and then in Rusk County. It is believed that his mother, Selena, passed some time in 1900 when Matt was about ten years old. Father Alex married Rebecca Hall in Rusk County during the year 1902. Besides Matt, she became the stepmother to three other boys, Tommie, Wash, and Johnnie, along with three girls, Bettina, Mary, and Deola. She and Alex would have three girls of their own: Pearlie, Ila, and Bernice.
With the United States joining the World War in Europe on April 6, 1917, the Selective Service Act required all men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register on June 5, 1917. Andrew complied, registering in Precinct 7, Timpson, Texas. He was 26 years old, self-employed as a farmer, married, and claimed an exemption based on having dependents. His race was listed as Negro, and he was described as medium height and built with no disabling features. Additional information about his marriage could not be found.
He was drafted over a year later, on July 19, 1918, at the county seat, Center, Texas, and was sent to the 165 Depot Brigade, Camp Travis, San Antonio, Texas, for training. On September 6, 1918, following basic, he was reassigned to Company C of the 815 Pioneer Infantry Regiment that had just been organized at Camp Funston, Kansas. During September, they moved to Camp Merritt, New Jersey, and the following month, to the Port of Embarkation at Hoboken, New Jersey.
On October 11, 1918, Matt and the 815 boarded the troop transport USS Maui (ID-1514) at Hoboken, and they departed for France under the command of Colonel Lawrence P. Butler. Matt listed his brother Tommie, RFD 4, Box 71, Timpson, as the next of kin in the event of an emergency. Upon arrival, the 815 Pioneer Infantry Regiment, along with the 813 and 816, was sent to Romange (a commune in the Jura department in eastern France) for work with the Services of Supply (SOS), collecting and reburying the American war dead in the Argonne National Cemetery.
The war ended on November 11, 1918, and the regiment remained in France until July 18, 1919, when they boarded the USS Aeolus for the journey home to the United States. They arrived at Newport News, Virginia, on July 29 and were then transported to nearby Camp Stuart before entraining to where it all began, Camp Travis, Texas. Private Hooper was honorably discharged there on August 8, 1919, and the following year would be awarded the World War I Victory Medal.
His life after the war is sketchy. On April 27, 1942, while living in Camden, Polk County, Texas, he registered for the World War II Draft (Old Man’s Draft). At that time, Matt was employed by W. H. Carter and Brother in Camden. He stood 5 foot 5 inches and weighed 145 pounds.
Forty years later, on June 18, 1982, at the age of 95, he passed away at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Houston, Harris County, Texas, of a heart attack. His residence was 5600 Chenevert Street, Houston; he was widowed and a retired construction worker. On Friday, June 23, Matt was buried in the Houston National Cemetery, Houston, Texas, with full military honors. Day is done, God is nigh.
SOURCES:
(1): Year: 1900; Census Place: Lawsonville, Rusk, Texas; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0087; FHL microfilm: 1241667
(2): Year: 1910; Census Place: Justice Precinct 7, Shelby, Texas; Roll: T624_1588; Page: 19B; Enumeration District: 0154; FHL microfilm: 1375601
(3) Registration State: Texas; Registration County: Shelby County
(4): "Texas, World War I Records, 1917-1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89MN-47NQ?cc=2202707&wc=3342-SP8%3A1560656702%2C1560884901 : 26 March 2015), Enlisted men > Holmes, Tullus P-Hubbell, Jay B, 1917-1920 > image 1015 of 3801; Texas Military Forces Museum, Austin.
(5): https://www.blacksoldiersmattered.com/unit?id=815%20Pion%20Inf
(6): The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War Ii Draft Cards (4th Registration) For the State of Texas; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147
(7): Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin Texas, USA
(8): McMahon, Margaret Ph. D. A Guide to the US Pioneer Infantry Regiments in WW I. 2023.
