Train of Death
Montello, Nevada. There is not a whole lot to the place. Two bar and grills, a motel, a small grocery store and a couple of other businesses are surrounded by some of the most gorgeous and spacious country in the state. It is not unlike hundreds of tiny towns that once dotted the Nevada desert. Montello is one of the few that managed to cling to survival, many decades after its usefulness expired.
Montello was an important operations base along the Southern Pacific Railroad in the early 1900’s and an essential artery connecting the west to the rest of the country. Freight, supplies, and passengers were routinely loaded and unloaded here. Troop trains, as well, came through Montello during the First World War, when American soldiers from California were transported east to be shipped off to European battlefields.
Although about 20 million people died during the fighting in Europe, as many as 50 million more died in a different kind of war, which knew no boundaries. The Spanish Influenza swept through cities and then crept into remote portions of the globe, including Montello. The Spanish Flu (also called The Spanish Lady) was easily passed person to person, particularly in confined spaces, like trains!
Such was the case of a troop train stopping in Montello. The railroad had a doctor stationed in town to check the trains. Sick soldiers were removed from the train and taken to the makeshift hospital in the hotel. It has been said that some of these soldiers may have already been dead, but this is not confirmed. However, ten soldiers are believed to have eventually succumbed to the illness and were buried in the town’s cemetery. To make matters even worse, the paperwork and records on these ten souls were lost in a fire and the ten graves have been unidentified for over a hundred years.
Today, as we struggle through our very own pandemic with COVID 19, there is just as much uncertainty as to who lies in those graves. There have been attempts at solving the mystery though, and even some mild progress has been made.
Train of investigation
Until 1975 the graves were unmarked, and it was not even evident if ten bodies resided there in the northeast corner of the cemetery. Thanks to the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Kimber of Montello and the 40 & 8 of Las Vegas, all ten graves were located and marked. Unfortunately, they were unable to find any names.
In the early 2000’s, Dan Turner of The Elko Rose Garden Association, investigated the mystery and came up with some interesting findings. Compiling all the death certificates from Montello at that time, he was able to pick out certain ones that were Spanish Influenza victims. On some of those certificates, the signature of the presiding physician was a Medical Corps Army Captain. As fate would have it, this ultimately led to even more possibilities. Surmounting questions included: Were all ten of the unknown really soldiers? Why is there no record of families searching for their missing relatives? Should the bodies be exhumed for testing? Were they really headed east to be deployed to Europe, or were they returning home? To read more of Dan’s investigation, click on http://elkorose.schopine.com/montello_10unknowngraves.html
One thing is certain There are ten bodies buried uniformly in a corner of the Montello Cemetery. Although each grave is marked with an iron cross, there is a single tombstone before the graves which reads: “10 Unknown US Soldiers Buried here Victims of Flu epidemic World War I”
Until the day arrives in which we know different, it should be honored as such.
Often times the biggest mysteries are found in small, out of the way places. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of these mysteries in the western United States, which will keep Outerrealmz busy for an awfully long time.
Montello is located in Northern Nevada near the Utah border in Elko County. If you would like to visit and pay your respects to these unknown soldiers, take SR 233 from I80 between Wells and Wendover. Montello is 23 miles up that road. The cemetery sits at the north end of town.
To read another Outerrealmz post regarding mysterious graves, visit https://outerrealmz.com/journey-to-the-maidens-grave/
April 27, 2021 at 12:56 am
excellent reporting, my friend. timely and touching – thanks for letting me tag along. indeed, we owe them and all the others you mention, our Respect.