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Glenview resident chronicles first Americans in World War I in new biography ‘A Destiny of Undying Greatness’

Glenview resident Mark Trapp points to the name of Kiffin Yates Rockwell, an American who fought for France in World War I. Trapp has written a biography documenting Rockwell’s life and military service. Photos submitted
In this photo published in "A Destiny of Undying Greatness," Gen. John J. Pershing (middle) stands in the Invalides museum in Paris on July 4, 1917.
This photograph shows Kiffin Rockwell's funeral procession entering the cemetery in Luxeuil on Sept. 25, 1916.
Kiffin Rockwell poses for a photo in August 1916, about a month before he was shot down in battle. Rockwell was wearing this uniform when he died in September 1916.
Four Americans who fought in World War I as part of the French Legion pose for a photo with a French comrade. All four Americans in this photo were killed in France during the war.
Glenview resident Mark Trapp stands next to a memorial in Paris for American soldiers who fought for the French Foreign Legion during World War I.
Kiffin Rockwell is buried under American and French flags in a cemetery in Luxeuil, France.
Glenview resident Mark Trapp stands next to Kiffin Rockwell's grave in France. Trapp published a biography Aug. 27 on Rockwell's life and military service called "A Destiny of Undying Greatness: Kiffin Rockwell and the Boys who Remembered Lafayette."
Gen. John J. Pershing delivers remarks at a ceremony in Paris on July 4, 1917.
Jason Addy, Editor
7:54 am CST November 5, 2019
One hundred years after the epic legacy of Kiffin Rockwell was cemented in American and French military history, Glenview resident Mark Trapp set out to tell the definitive story of Rockwell and a group of Americans who fought in World War I years before their country.

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