Arthur B. Crean was a master sergeant in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was the first

United States armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

member to be issued a

service number A service number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they may be used in civilian organizations as well. National identification numbers may ...

and thus holds service #1 in the United States Army. When U.S. Army service numbers were discontinued in 1969, a report in the ''Des Moines Tribune'' noted that Master Sgt. Crean had been issued the number "ASN 1" on February 28, 1918. "G.I. Serial Numbers End July 1", ''Des Moines (IA) Tribune'', June 26, 1969, p21

Biography

Crean enlisted the

in 1899 and by the outbreak of the First World War was part of the enlisted

cadre Cadre may refer to: *Cadre (military), a group of officers or NCOs around whom a unit is formed, or a training staff *Cadre (politics), a politically controlled appointment to an institution in order to circumvent the state and bring control to th ...

who formed the core of the National Army. In 1920, he became one of the most senior enlisted members of the peacetime

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

. Crean's service record was destroyed in the 1973 National Archives Fire but a pay record survived, listing some of his service information. He is listed on it as a medical sergeant and the only confirmed military decoration he received was the World War I Victory Medal. In June 1921, when

John Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary ...

was listed as holding the first officer service number (O-1), Crean's service number was slightly modified. His new number became "R-1" to denote Regular Army #1.

References

Sources

National Personnel Records Center The National Personnel Records Center(s) (NPRC) is an agency of the National Archives and Records Administration, created in 1966. It is part of the United States National Archives federal records center system and is divided into two large Federa ...

, Service number data and information sheet, published 1995 * Archival reconstruction record of Arthur Crean,

Military Personnel Records Center The Military Personnel Records Center (NPRC-MPR) is a branch of the National Personnel Records Center and is the repository of over 56 million military personnel records and medical records pertaining to retired, discharged, and deceased veterans ...

External links

U.S. service number information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crean, Arthur United States Army soldiers Year of birth missing Year of death missing United States Army personnel of World War I