Look Back: Nanticoke graduate pinned by King of England in 1919

Mar. 26—Wonder if any other Greater Nanticoke Area graduates met English royalty?

Among the 13 graduates of Nanticoke High School in 1906, one would be awarded the British Military Cross for bravery during World War I.

U.S. Army Lt. Dr. James Elmer Croop received the honor for "gallantly on the field when the Germans attacked the British lines at the commencement of the Second Battle of the Marne," according to the Evening News on March 27, 1919.

Croop received the decorated citation from King George V on Feb. 22, 1919.

"I want to thank and heartily congratulate you for the valuable service rendered to my troops for one and one-half years," the King of England said to Croop, as the Evening News story reported.

Croop was a 1906 graduate of Nanticoke High School having resided with his parents Mr. and Mrs. James Croop on South Hanover Street, Nanticoke. During the commencement ceremony, the graduates were required to perform a musical number, dance or give a speech.

Croop gave a speech about the preservation and protection of Niagara Falls from commercial and industrial development. As he had a fascination of the Great Lakes, it was no surprise Croop established a medical office in Erie, Pa., in 1912.

After graduating from Nanticoke, Croop elected not to work in the coal mines or railroads but attended and successfully graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.

With World War I underway in Europe and the United States entry into the Great War in April 1917, Croop enlisted his services on June 26, 1917, and was immediately commissioned as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Medical Corps.

Croop was called to active service Aug. 7, 1917, and after three weeks of military combat training, he sailed to England in September 1917, and was stationed for several months at a military hospital in Canterbury until November 1917.

Croop was transferred to France on Nov. 22, 1917, and studied battle field surgery and medicine before being shipped to the front lines having been assigned to the 8th Glouchestershire Battalion with the British Expeditionary Forces.

It was during the second Battle of the Marne in the summer of 1918 when Croop, as the battalions medical officer, ran into the fight to remove wounded soldiers, reported the Evening News.

"Croop went into No Man's Land, rescued several wounded comrades and carried them to a shell hole nearby, where, in the direct path of thousands of flying shells, he dressed their wounds. Later, when the enemy fire permitted, he carried them to a place of safety behind the lines amid the cheers of his entire company," the Evening News reported.

Croop would be promoted to captain on Aug. 8, 1918.

Due to his bravery, the King of England, George V., pinned the British Military Cross upon the breast of his military uniform.

According to Croop's Veterans Compensation Application, Croop took part in the battles of Kemmel Hill, Hindenburg Line and the second battle of Somme. He returned to his American unit in April 1919, and was honorably discharged on April 25, 1919, at Camp Dix, N.J.

Several days after being discharged, Croop visited his parents in Nanticoke.

"Captain Elmer Croop, who had been cited for bravery and also decorated by King George of England, returned home on South Hanover Street," the Evening News reported April 30, 1919.

Croop's time in Nanticoke did not last long as he returned to Erie. His parents also relocated to Erie to be closer to their son in July 1919.

Croop did return to the Wyoming Valley many times to visit family, friends and attend Nanticoke Class of 1906 reunions. Croop died at the age of 79 on Sept. 5, 1967, and is buried in Waterford, Erie County.