Ernest Nicholas Plate was born on May 18, 1891, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was called into military service as a 2nd lieutenant on August 15, 1917 and was assigned with the 83rd Training Battalion, the 3rd Training Battalion, and the Infantry until his honorable discharge on August 18, 1919. He served stateside for the entirety of World War I, with assignments at Annapolis, MD; Camp Lee, VA; Hoboken, NJ; and Newport News, VA. On November 3, 1918, he was promoted to 1st lieutenant. Plate died on April 18, 1973.