Earl Franklin Jepson was born in Carson City, Nevada, on Christmas day, 1891. When he was six months old, his parents moved to the Carson Valley in Douglas County where Earl was raised and where he was living at the time he entered the Service. His youthful days were spent in school at Gardnerville and Genoa in the valley, and he worked at odd jobs as farm hand, waiter, cook, and later, janitor of the County Court House in Minden. He was still in the employ of the County and also of the Virginia & Truckee Railway Company when his call came. Previous to the time of his acceptance in the army, he had been refused by the medical examiners, which was a sore disappointment to him. However, when he was at length called and accepted, his satisfaction was complete, and no man turned to the duty of serving his Country with more enthusiasm.

He entrained for Camp Lewis, American Lake, Washington, on June 26th, 1918. On the 20th of the following month, he was transferred to Company G, 158th Infantry of the 40th Division, and sent to Camp Kearny, California. There he remained until his unit was sent East to New York, arriving there on the 5th of August. By the 20th of the month he was overseas.

In September he was transferred to infantry replacement and assigned to Company B, 308th Infantry, 77th Division, about the 21st of the month. He had joined them just in time to advance with them into the Argonne Battle, which commenced on the 26th.
The record of the 77th Division will live forever in the history of America. In their position as the last division on the extreme left of our army, they entered the advance on its first day.

With the 28th Division on their right, they advanced northward, clearing the Bois de la Grurie, and between October 2d and 7th, were fighting in the Bois d’Apremount east of Binarville. On October 15th the 77th was relieved by the 78th. Save for the 29th and 26th Divisions on the right wing, the 77th was the only division which had been fighting continuously from the 26th of September until that time. When the 77th again relieved the 78th on the 31st of October, the latter division had made but little progress in the way of covering territory. It may therefore be said that the 77th Division covered the whole sweep of country from their place of jumping off (on September 26th) to the last front of the army just south of Sedan on the 11th of November.

It was during the fighting east of Binarville that Earl Jepsen fell (October 4th, 1918). He was serving as runner to Battalion Headquarters and was on patrol duty at the time. His remains lie in the American Cemetery at Binarville, Department of the Marne, Grave No. 14, Plot B.

The fallen patriot was the eldest son of the late H. C. Jepsen, the County Clerk of Douglas County, and Mattie F. Jepsen, who resides in Minden, Nevada. He was a brother of Ralph W., Fred, Hans R., John T., and Mildred Jepsen, all of Minden, Nevada, and Mrs. Lewis Hymers, 2001 Kaloraine Street Rd., Washington, D. C. Fraternally he was a member of I. O. O. F. Lodge 36, and of Carson Valley Rebekah Lodge No. 33, I. O. O. F., of Gardnerville, Nevada. He gave to his Country a life that had been ever clean, quiet, and straightforward; he faithfully discharged his duty to his God, his Country and his fellow men.