Hi @FISH. A deep interest in WWI plus three great uncles who fought in it, were the geneses of the 100 years ago column. Why such interest in a horrible war? Well, perhaps it was because I knew absolutely nothing about it, to begin with. But the more I studied it, the more I became fascinated with it. Family history played a part too. As mentioned, I had three great uncles who fought in WWI. Anyway, I started printing microfilm newspaper articles from the local library (this was before home computers) and that is where the clippings began to appear on the bulletin boards. After that, I became more interested in the societal aspects of that time and by then, WWI was exactly 100 years ago and the rest, as they, is history.
@Rikki Gins --Same here, I knew nothing about WW 1. I always admired the beautiful statue of a WWI soldier or “dough boy†in my city. Funny thing about our statue, this “dough boy†has been moved to 3 different locations during my life time. Our WW1 “soldier†continues to move to less prominent locations. This cast bronze statue is one of dozens of memorials produced in the 1920s by sculptor John Paulding. Our statue is titled “Over the Top.â€
I am a volunteer with a local Veterans group. I am learning about our current war stories. As I worked on my family tree, I learned that it was NOT my great Uncle Ed who served in WW 1 but, but his brother, Andrew. My older brother would say to me “Don’t you remember Uncle Ed? He had the shakes because he was exposed to the mustard gasâ€. As per the USA Veteran’s information, Uncle Andrew was a “Horse Shoer†Branch: Army, Troop L, 2nd Cal. Uncle Andrew served from May 1917 to July 1919. He entered the Service at the age of 26. Discharged at the age of 28. Married at the age of 36 years old. He passed over at the age of 57 years old.
As I worked on Mr. Fish’s family tree, I discovered that his great Uncle Tom had served in the Champagne-Marne Offensive, July 1918. He was one of the few soldiers who survived. He was one of the "Men of Iron.†No one in Uncle Tom’s current family realized that “Great Uncle Tom†was a man of “Ironâ€. He entered the Service at the age of 17 years old. He served from August 1917 to May 1919. He was “gassed†on August 8th, 1919. He returned home, never married and died at the age of 46 years old. He had nine siblings.
As you can see, I have been learning about WW 1, so your thread is part of my learning and understanding our history… and the rest, as they say, is history.
Photo: Men of Iron by Don Troiani
https://laststandonzombieisland.com/tag/history-art-don-troiani-us-army-military-war-military-history-ww1-wwi-ww-1-ww-i-world-war-i-world-war-1-world-war-one-first-world-war-great-war-the-great-war-1910s-battle-of-st-mihiel-hundred-days-wes/