Biography

Harold M. Spaulding was born in Royalton, Vermont on 14 August 1893.  He was the son of John L. Spaulding and Ada May Newton. He entered Rhode Island State College (RISC) in September 1915 with the class of 1919. Harold majored in Agriculture.  He attended RISC for two years and participated in the Army ROTC Program while a student.

When the United States entered World War I, there were 562 male students enrolled at Rhode Island State College; 334 left to serve in WW I. Harold, like so many of his classmates, departed college before he graduated and enlisted in the United States Navy in 1917.  He was assigned to Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island.  While performing his military duties, he became ill and was hospitalized at the Naval Station Newport.  On 30 March 1918, Coxswain Harold M. Spaulding died from Cerebrospinal Meningitis following the Spanish Influenza.

A military funeral was held in April 1918 at Union Cemetery, North Smithfield, Rhode Island.  Coxswain Harold M. Spaulding, US Navy, answered the call to serve his nation with courage and honor during World War I.