When Harry M. Gipson was born on March 29, 1893, in Bangor, Maine, his father, William, was 41 and his mother, Alice, was 23. He had four brothers and six sisters. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I as a Private in Company L, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. He died of wounds on June 2, 1918 and is now buried in Somme American Cemetery, Bony, France. He also has a marker in Riverside Cemetery, Newport, Penobscot County, Maine, USA. His rank is inscribe as the monument as PVT.