George Dailey was born and raised 2 miles of south of Exeter. He enlisted in the Army on November 28, 1917, when he was 28 years old.
He was a private and first set to Camp Fort McDowell. Later, he served in the Phillippine Islands. From there, he was sent to Vladivostok in Siberia. He was there for three months before he died.
Private Dailey died in a cantonment hospital in Sibera from bronco-pneumonia and dysentery. The United States contributed heavily to the Trans-Siberian Railroad project of the Csar Nicholas. When Russia fell and the Csar killed, there was concern as to who was in charge of the railroad project and where the supplies the US donated went. President Wilson sent troops to Russia to guard our "interests and properties." Many soldiers died from pneumonia and dysentery because of the harsh conditions in Siberia. This deployment continued for several years. In 1919, Russian Bolsheviks launched an attack on the Americans near Vladivostok.
His death was reported in the local newspapers on October 10, 1918. Dailey's body arrived home to Exeter from Russia on November 14, 1918. Captain H.C. Carr and his company of Home Guards from Porterville participated in the service.