The Legend of Cleon Krouse: Stone Harbor's 1st Lifeguard Became a World War I Hero and a Doomed Pilot
Editor’s note: July 4 marks the 102nd anniversary of an accident that tragically ended up costing the life of Stone Harbor’s first lifeguard and World War I hero. Although his life was sadly cut short, Cleon Krouse crammed more adventure into 26 years than two or three other people may achieve in their combines lifetimes. As you celebrate the Fourth, please take the time to remember this humble hero.
Cleon Krouse in the cockpit, ready for flight.
Courtesy of the Historical Society of Haddonfield, restored and colorized by Seven Mile Publishing
There’s an old saying: “The things that we do in our lives outlast our mortality.” Those words could easily have been written about Cleon Krouse. Yet, the exploits of this remarkable summer visitor to Stone Harbor have largely faded from memory since his passing.
Krouse’s family had roots in Lancaster and Williamsport, Pa., before settling in Haddonfield. They spent many of their summers on Seven Mile Beach in Stone Harbor.
In September 1920, The Evening Courier of Camden, a predecessor of today’s Courier-Post, wrote of Krouse:
“It was something more than a boyish love of adventure that prompted him to enlist on the side of humanity the year before his country took the step. He was more a crusader than any armor plated, clanking knight of old who history has painted a halo on. Daredevils like Krouse, whose souls were filled with the consuming desire for victory at any cost, won the war.”
High praise indeed for a popular teenager. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Cleon was one of six children born to Alice and Clarence Krouse. At just 16, he served as Stone Harbor’s first lifeguard, working as a one-man beach patrol stationed at 94th Street. He began as a volunteer, earning only tips, years before the borough was formally incorporated in 1914. South Jersey Reality, the developer of Stone Harbor, assured that he was trained to Red Cross standards.
The Krouse family left its mark in the insurance industry. Cleon’s paternal grandfather, William, is recognized as the first insurance adjuster in the profession. His father, Clarence, founded an insurance agency in Philadelphia and gained a reputation as an expert in fire insurance. Clarence Krouse was one of the founders of Stone Harbor and dabbled in politics, eventually serving three terms as mayor of Stone Harbor after being elected in 1919. He led the Cape May County Republican Party, was president of Stone Harbor’s Board of Trade and served as commodore of the Yacht Club of Stone Harbor. He played a key role in developing the town’s water pumping station at 96th Street and in building its boardwalk. Certainly, one of Stone Harbor’s earliest visionaries.
After the summer of lifeguarding in 1916, Cleon Krouse set his sights on a different kind of lifesaving. In December of that year, he applied for a passport to travel to France. Though the United States had not yet entered World War I, much of Europe was already deeply entrenched in conflict. Krouse had a desire to help.
He joined the American Ambulance Field Service, a volunteer corps formed by the American colony in Paris. These volunteers transported wounded soldiers from the front lines to the American Hospital of Paris on the city’s outskirts. At its peak, the service included 2,000 volunteers serving in France, Italy, Greece, Serbia, and Albania. Among them were college students, recent graduates, poets, businessmen, and even a young Ernest Hemingway, who would later draw on the experience in “A Farewell to Arms.” Volunteers covered their own travel and living expenses. The Krouse family funded participation for both Cleon and his brother William – about $2,000 each, which is equivalent to roughly $33,000 per person today.
The organization operated without protection until the United States officially entered the war. It was then absorbed into the U.S. Army.
Cleon was later wounded in Flanders and returned home to recover. News reports detail how he drank from a well at the front, poisoned by the German army. He was treated at a hospital in France before being temporarily discharged and sent back to Stone Harbor. Although he survived the initial poisoning, the effects lingered, and some accounts linked his later battle with diabetes to the incident. At the time, insulin was still in the earliest stages of development, but his family suggested that he began treatment with the new drug with “one or two shots.”
Krouse attempted to rejoin the military, but he was reportedly rejected by the U.S. Army, possibly due to complications from his injuries or even elevated glucose levels from diabetes. Undeterred, he traveled to Canada and was accepted into military service there.
He is still remembered as the first man from Haddonfield to enlist in World War I and is counted as that community’s fifth casualty of the war, likely the first from Stone Harbor. His name is listed on the monument that stands in front of Haddonfield Memorial High School and is honored by Haddonfield with their Poppy Project. Records from the Royal Air Force list him as a temporary second lieutenant assigned to airplanes and seaplanes. He survived two training crashes, one of which caused serious injury. The war ended before he completed training, and he returned home once again.
Back in the United States, Krouse tried his hand at recruiting for the military, but he yearned for more. He continued to embrace the booming aviation era. He performed air shows in Stone Harbor and Camden County. One widely reported event saw him fly from Stone Harbor to the 13th fairway of Tavistock Country Club near Haddonfield, where he landed to the amazement of hundreds of spectators. Here on the Seven Mile Beach he’d fly passengers up and down the island for $15 with special trips arranged by appointment.
Although he followed his father into the insurance business, Krouse also opened an airfield in the Colestown section of Delaware Township (now Cherry Hill). He was among the first pilots licensed by the City of Wildwood to carry passengers. In Wildwood he flew a Curtiss Jenny model airplane with a top speed of 75 mph.
Tragedy struck during a test flight in Wildwood on July 4, 1920. Work had just been completed on his Jenny when he took it on a test flight. Tragically, his recently repaired engine lost power at about 500 feet and he began descending toward a beach crowded with holiday sunbathers. He first tried to steer towards the ocean but was afraid he might have hit bathers. Witnesses recalled how he steered the aircraft away from the sunbathers and toward the street side of the boardwalk at Hildreth Avenue, where it crashed. No one on the ground was hurt, a testament to his courage and quick thinking. The plane was a total wreck. Krouse received medical attention in Wildwood.
Krouse, however, was badly injured and taken to his parents’ home in Stone Harbor. After nearly two months of recovery, he attempted to fly again. But following a second test flight, he collapsed upon climbing out of the plane. His condition worsened overnight, and he fell into a coma. He was transported to Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia by train from Stone Harbor, where he died two days later. His death was attributed to complications from the Wildwood crash, the earlier poisoning in France, and primarily his diabetes. William Krouse, his brother, was quoted in 1979 saying, “Cleon saw and did more than most people who lived a full age did. He said he was going to live the rest of his life the same way (after being diagnosed with diabetes) though it might be cut short.” And he did.
Multiple newspapers reported that his viewing in Haddonfield drew “thousands” who had known him from both Haddonfield and Stone Harbor. The funeral procession traveled down Haddon Avenue through Westmont and Collingswood to Harleigh Cemetery in Camden. Canadian and American military units escorted his casket. Lt. Frank Little of the Royal British Flying Corps flew overhead, dropping flowers from the sky. His pallbearers were members of the Royal British Air Corps. Haddonfield’s American Legion post concluded the ceremony with a rifle salute.
Among the many honors bestowed upon Cleon Krouse was the Croix de Guerre (War Cross) from France. This is awarded to those soldiers who distinguish themselves by acts of heroism involving combat with the enemy. He was also awarded a World War I Service Medal from the Borough of Stone Harbor.
It is impossible to know how many lives Cleon Krouse saved in his short life. But the final line from his funeral coverage captures his legacy with elegance and truth:
“Cleon Krouse was a brave soldier in war and a gentleman in peace.”
His story and that of the Krouse family, deserve to be remembered.
Here is an excerpt from a letter written by Cleon Krouse to his mother in Stone Harbor, dated April 7, 1917. This is an intimate look through the eyes of a 22-year-old ex-Stone Harbor lifeguard from the middle of “The Great War” more than 3,000 miles from home and more than 100 years ago. His teeming pride for his country is obvious. This excerpt is reprinted from the Evening Public Ledger of Philadelphia on May 2, 1917.
“ … As you may know, very heavy fighting is taking place at the front, for the Allies are making their wonderful spring drive which you perhaps have read about by this time. Well, the war office has called fifteen cars from our section to the front line, and I have been honored with taking full command of the squad. We leave here early on Monday April 9. Now there is more to this than you may perhaps imagine, for we are the first section to go to French front after America’s declaration of war. So is not an honor? And to think that I am to take command of the squad … If you could see France today you would think that you were home in the land of Uncle Sammy. I never saw so many American flags even in the States as they are flying all over everywhere. It is perfectly wonderful, indeed, and it makes us all feel so proud and happy. Every store, every building, in fact, everywhere you look, you see Old Glory. Oh it is so wonderful. Pretty thrilling isn’t it, when you think how close these boys are to things over there, and realize how soon many of them will not only be at the front carrying and aiding the wounded, but actually in the trenches and on the firing lines and taking part in the actual warfare themselves? God grant that it will not be long and that they come home safely.”
Seven Mile Publishing would like to acknowledge the kind assistance of the Krouse/Heward Family for their assistance. We would also like to acknowledge the assistance of the Haddonfield Historical Society and the Stone Harbor Historical Museum. This account also includes contributions from “The High Life” by Linda Dougherty which appeared in the Seven Mile Times Memorial Day 2014.