World War I is known by many names: The Great War, The War to End All Wars. But none seems more appropriate than what historian George Kennan called “the seminal catastrophe of the 20th century.”
This war introduced the machine gun and the tank, the horrors of gas warfare and the sinking of surface ships by U-boats. World War I began in Europe in 1914, and three years later, in 1917, drew in the United States, profoundly affecting life both for the nation and close to home.
“In the borough of Newport, just northwest of Harrisburg, over 120 soldiers of Company F, 3rd Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard, trained on the current site of the Newport High School,” said Glenn Holliman, president of the Historical Society of Perry County. “They guarded Pennsylvania railroads and bridges while sharpening their military skills.”
To mark the centennial of U.S. involvement, the Perry County Bicentennial Committee this month will place a historical plaque at this site to commemorate these soldiers.
No Man’s Land
You can discover a wealth of information about World War I at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center outside of Carlisle. It opened its interactive exhibit, “Good-Bye Broadway. Hello France—America in the Era of WWI,” this past April.
“Rather than showing all the campaigns the U.S. Army fought in, we wanted our visitors to experience the war by meeting various soldiers through their artifacts, letters, photographs and their words,” said Curator Kaleb Dissinger.
The first section is titled, “From the Homefront to the Warfront,” and visitors can follow the journey of brothers George and Harry Record as they entered the army and began training. Both brothers survived the war, and you can read about the impact on them later in life.
David Pyle’s letters and artifacts are shown in the next section titled, “Training Under the Experts.” You’ll see his experimental tanker’s helmet, as well as examples of two types of gas masks American troops learned to use. The ”Behind the Lines” section shows how social organizations such as the Salvation Army and the YMCA carried out programs and established canteens to help make soldiers more comfortable.
“Evan Miller was an X-ray technician in Base Hospital No. 8, in Savenay, France,” Dissinger said. “You can read about his experiences as he documented the hospital’s role during the war. You’ll also see the German helmet, belt and bread bag Cpl. Swaim Pearson brought with him when he moved to the rear after raiding enemy trenches.”
Both the Allies and Germans used balloons as observation posts. In “Ordered to the Front,” you can stand in a balloon basket and see how observers looked for various enemy positions.
“Army engineers provided many key services, such as running phone and telegraph lines and repairing roads and rail lines,” Dissinger said.
Included in the exhibit are letters and photos from an engineer and an artillery soldier.
In the “From the First Line” section (the front was also known as the first line), you can sit on the
steps of a trench and watch the enemy through a mirror or peer through a periscope out over no man’s land.
“Because of machine guns and sniper rifles, it was often too dangerous to peek out over the trench because you might get shot,” Dissinger said. “So, soldiers sat with their back to the front and watched though angled mirrors. Also, they used well-concealed periscopes so they could see without being shot.”
Another section is devoted to African-American soldiers who served in the war. These infantry soldiers served proudly, but were assigned to French command, not American command. There also is a section on German weaponry captured by U.S. soldiers, showing the difference between types of weapons.
They Will Hold
The one campaign highlighted in the exhibit is the 2nd Division’s role at Chateau-Thierry from June to July 1918, in which the Americans blunted the last major attack of German forces.
“The Germans had struck through the French lines and pushed toward the Marne River, just 50 miles from Paris,” Dissinger said. “A French lieutenant general questioned whether or not the Americans who were sent to help could stop the German attack. Col. Preston Brown, who was the 2nd Division chief of staff, is quoted as saying, ‘General, these are Americans regulars. In 150 years, they have never been beaten. They will hold.’ And they did.”
The next section is titled the “True Nature of War.”
“We wanted visitors to understand the price of this war, or any war for that matter,” Dissinger said. “Some people may not want to look at these photos, but we should never forget the thousands of soldiers who died in this war.”
The U.S. Army began the war with about 200,000 men, but the numbers soon grew to more than 2 million. About 1.2 million Americans fought in the Meuse-Argonne campaign, which lasted from September to November 1918 and covered the entire western front. The Allied victory there helped end the war, but the casualties in the campaign cost the nation more than 26,000 soldiers’ lives.
One photo that especially caught my attention in the last section was titled, “Armistice, Occupation and Post War.” It was the Nov. 11, 1921, photo of the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. This photo, together with a poem by an Italian soldier, “Good Bye Italy, Hello States,” ends the exhibit.
Once you finish with the exhibit, I suggest you hike the 1-mile Army Heritage Trail on the grounds. Here, you will see the trenches that soldiers lived in for days or weeks, along with exhibits from many other wars.
“I hope your readers take time to view the exhibit,” said Outreach Coordinator Lindsay Strehl. “I think it will help them understand the true nature of World War I.”
The U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center is located at 950 Soldiers Dr., Carlisle. For more information, call 717-245-3972 or visit www.usahec.org.
