Private Liberty Pease, Company E, 168th Infantry, 42^nd “Rainbow” Division was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Cross for his extraordinary heroism in action in the Forest de Fere, near Nesles, northeast of Chateau Thierry, France, July 26 to August 2, 1918, during the advance of his regiment in the Forest de Fere, by his voluntary unauthorized and untiring efforts in carrying wounded, both by day and by night, under the most severe and dangerous circumstances, and especially when the town of Sergy was under bombardment, July 31, 1918.

Note: 
The Distinguished Service Cross is this nation’s second highest military award (behind only the Congressional Medal of Honor)

Residence at time of enlistment: R.F.D. No. 2, Farragut, Iowa

After surviving the war overseas, he returned home and was formally decorated with his Service Cross at a ceremony in Camp Dodge, Iowa.  he was a highly respected veteran who earned five war medals over the course of his military service, including the French Croix de Guerre.  

Later in life, records note that he spent time out west at Camp White in Oregon, but always maintained deep roots in his old Iowa hometown.

Liberty Pease was the son of John E. Pease and Sarah Jane Deming. 

His father John E. Pease (1860–1925), was born in Kewanee, Illinois and later became a prominent farmer in the Farragut area of Fremont County, Iowa.  His mother Sarah Jane Deming (1863-1936) often had her name spelled Denning in early local records.

Private Liberty Pease was one of seven children:

Grace Pease (1887–1978) — Married Ernest Marion Aspedon Sr. and lived in Riverton/Farragut, Iowa.

Harry Pease (1888-1972) — Left Iowa later in life and lived in Mission, Texas.

Marion Pease (1891–1947) — Later married and went by the name Mrs. Marion Oppenheimer.

Helen Pease (1894–1983) — Married and went by the name Mrs. Helen Wright; lived her life in Farragut, Iowa.

Florence Pease (1896–1970) — Married Arthur Dempster and relocated to Grinnell, Iowa.

Liberty Pease (1899-1960) – Married Jessie Edna Bangs

Dorothy Pease (1903-1968) — Married and went by the name Mrs. Dorothy Watkins.

Liberty was actually named after his grandfather, the elder Liberty Pease (1822–1873) and grandmother Philena Field (1826-1914). His grandfather was a prominent early pioneer who moved the family from Massachusetts to Illinois, and eventually settled in Iowa.  Liberty and Philena are buried in the Farragut Cemetery.  

Liberty Pease

Birth: 29 March 1899 Farragut, Fremont, Iowa, United StatesDeath: 23 Oct 1960 Vancouver, Clark, Washington, United States

Burial: 28 October 1960 Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States