Everett Raymond McClay, grandson of John McClay who was killed in the Civil War, married Elsie Ringle from Eau Claire, Wis. They moved to Minneapolis, where Everett worked as a mechanic.

On April 27, 1918, at age 21, Everett enlisted into the Army and trained at Camp Dodge, Camp Trairs and Camp Mills. Records show he was tall and slender, had blue eyes and brown hair.

He was sent to Europe and served in Company E, 357th Infantry. Everett became part of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which was the greatest American battle of the First World War. In six weeks, the American Forces lost 26,277 killed and 95,786 wounded. It was a complex operation involving a majority of the American ground forces fighting through rough, hilly terrain that the German Army had spent four years fortifying.

On Nov. 4, 1918, Everett McClay was killed in the battle of Meuse-Argonne, an area of eastern France just west of Luxembourg. He was buried in the Argonne American Cemetery at Romage, Mease, France. Everett McClay's remains were later returned to this country and were interned in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Eden Prairie.

Less than one month after Everett was killed his wife gave birth to their daughter, Elizabeth "Betty" McClay.