The 100th Anniversary of the End of World War I

by Bryan Whitledge

Sunday, November 11, 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the end of fighting in the First World War. Long-simmering tensions across Europe exploded into official declarations of war after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914. Approximately 20 million people - military and civilian - died as a result of the war and nearly 24 million service members were wounded because the conflict. The impact of war stretched far beyond the battlefields of Gallipoli, Verdun, or Flanders. Thousands of young men from Michigan enlisted and made their way overseas.

In an era before satellite phones and internet video calls kept members of the service in contact with their loved ones, hand-written letters were the way those on the front sent and received news to and from home. Some of these letters have been preserved over the past 100 years. They give us a glimpse of what life was like during the Great War.

Letter from R. Wiltenburg

Private Lake sent a letter to a friend in Brooklyn, NY dated November 1, 1918 that shows how much caution men on the front took with daily activities. He mentions his desire for leave time away from the front to a place with “electric lights” that can be used at night time. This was different from his experience at the front, where, “if you light a match at night here, you will hear something singing in the air (and it is funny music).”

Another letter comes from Rudolph Wiltenburg of rural Ottawa County, Michigan, who wrote to his brother in December of 1918, after the fighting had ended but before all of the troops returned back to US soil. He wrote about the rumors that he would be returning soon and his plans after he was done in the Army: “Sometimes I think of going back to farming, and if the opportunity looks good, perhaps will. […] We may have a chance to get a little farm close [to] home and, as we talked [about], work it together.”

Plans for the future are common themes in letters from Doughboys. Dreaming of the future didn’t necessarily mean after the War was over and everyone returned home. Some of the dreams are like those of Alex Bayne of Grand Rapids, who sent a letter to his father in July of 1917. Bayne was recuperating from an injury, but that did not lessen his ambition to join an aviation unit. He wrote to his father, “I feel very lucky and also greatly indebted to Coty for making me acquainted with most of the men in his escadrille. […] They are the nicest bunch I’ve ever met and I’m certainly going to try and make good in school.”

During the War, the speed of letters crossing the Atlantic was quite slow and news was infrequent. Many servicemen note this in their correspondence. Alex Bayne closes the letter to his father in July 1917, “Don’t be worried if you don’t hear from me real often – the boats are uncertain and no news is always good news.” Private Lake, writing to his friend on November 1, notes, “I just received your letter dated September 11.”

Letter from F. Sigourney

It wasn’t just mail that crossed the Atlantic slowly. Fred Sigourney of Gratiot County, Michigan wrote a letter to his family chronicling his journey from New York to the front. He was aboard a ship for two weeks to reach French soil. Once on dry land, Sigourney traveled by rail and by foot through different parts of France for three months in preparation for combat. Only then did Sigourney’s unit start their march to the front. They arrived at the front on November 4, 1918, just one week before the armistice ending the fighting was signed. As Sigourney notes, the Armistice was a big deal for everyone – military and civilian alike: “We got news that the Armistice was signed and they rang the church bells enough to break them. Miss Margaret Wilson gave an entertainment in the opera house that night.”

100 years after Fred Sigourney witnessed the bells of the church in Domgermain, France break, we take a moment to reflect on the legacy of the Great War and the lives of all who were affected by it.

World War I Remembrance

Panel led by Professor Hope Elizabeth May
 

On the one hundredth anniversary of Woodrow Wilson’s request to Congress that war be declared against Germany the Clarke Historical Library, in conjunction with the CMU Veterans’ Resource Center and the Center for International Ethics, sponsored an evening focusing on the meaning of patriotism. In particular four veterans as well as Professor Hope Elizabeth May spoke about service to America.

The evening’s honored guests were World War II veteran Staff Sergeant Earl Wickman, Korean War veteran Sergeant John Schuling, Vietnam War veteran Sergeant Larry Ashley, and Staff Sergeant T.J. Pierce, who served in Afghanistan. Each gentleman spoke on what service meant to him. Hope Elizabeth May expanded the discussion of service by sharing how individuals like Central President E.C. Warriner, who had been deeply involved in the Peace Education movement of the early twentieth century, reacted to the war, as well as how Woodrow Wilson, following the logic that led him to ask America to enter the war, came to ask Congress to support the constitutional amendment allowing women the right to vote.

Duane Kleinhardt, director of the Veterans’ Resources Center, set the context for the day’s remembrance by reading from a note found on the body of Owen Barrett, the first Central student to die in World War I:

“Somewhere in France, about to go over the top.

Dear Mother and Sisters: I know you will be surprised to hear this news but I ask you not to cry as I have died for the sake of democracy’s freedom for all.  I am glad to think that I have had a chance to sacrifice my life for something worth wile. The Redeemer has given me life and it is His right to call me back again at His will.  I will see you all in the great hereafter.  Love and kisses. Good-bye.”

Two other Central students died in the Great War, along with more than 11 million soldiers, of which more than 116,000 were Americans.

Introductions by Frank Boles

Frank Boles shared how Woodrow Wilson framed the reasons for this loss of life in his request for a Declaration of War. He made it clear this was not a war against the German people.

 “We have no quarrel with the German people. We have no feeling towards them but one of sympathy and friendship. It was not upon their impulse that their Government acted in entering this war. It was not with their previous knowledge or approval.”

Even though he blamed Germany’s leaders for beginning the war, nevertheless the war was not really about striking back at those leaders. 

“Our motive will not be revenge or the victorious assertion of the physical might of the nation, but only the vindication of right, of human right, of which we are only a single champion.”


Wilson defined “the vindication of right” by clarifying what the world that America would go to war to achieve, would look like:

“We are at the beginning of an age in which it will be insisted that the same standards of conduct and of responsibility for wrong done shall be observed among nations and their governments that are observed among the individual citizens of civilized states.”

The evening’s remembrance also included a rendition of Taps by Morgan Lillie, which preceded moment of silence for those who had died, and closed with the singing of the Star Spangled Banner by the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a CMU student group.

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia

Thinking about World War I in the context of broadly defined patriotism is an important way to help all of us not only honor those who served, but thoughtfully examine the meaning of service in a democratic nation. CMU will continue to recall the momentous events of 100 years ago, and discuss more current history, later this week.


We will remember the day President Wilson signed the Declaration of War, on April 7, by a flag raising ceremony at 1:15 p.m. at the flagpole directly in front (north side) of Warriner Hall.  The flag raised will be the Pro Concordia Labor peace flag which was designed in 1897 and envisioned by its creator as a universal symbol of peace.  You can read more about the flag at http://www.proconcordialabor.com/Flag/. 

After the flag raising, beginning at 2:00 p.m. a discussion will be held in the Park Library Auditorium regarding the legal response to the Rwandan Genocide, which began April 7, 1994. The speaker will be Professor Jennifer Trahan, from New York University, who will share how the international response to the atrocities in Rwanda has influenced international law, including the creation of the historic International Criminal Court. For more information about the presentation please visit https://www.cmich.edu/colleges/chsbs/Abel/Speakers/Pages/Spring-2017.aspx.

 

 





Clarke Spring Speaker Series

The Clarke Historical Library's upcoming speaker series has been announced. All of our presentations are free and open to the public. The programs begin at 7:00 pm in the Park Library Auditorium with a reception immediately following in the Clarke Historical Library. If you have questions or need accommodations, please contact us at 989-774-3352 or clarke@cmich.edu.

We are looking forward to an exciting lineup that includes:

Thursday, February 23
Exhibit Opening: The Soo Locks

​Michelle Briggs, Director of the United States Army Corps of Engineers Soo Locks Visitor Center and award-winning photographer, will discuss the Locks.​​

Monday, February 27​
Jack Deo: The Gems of Lake Superior: Brainard Freemont Child’s 3D Voyage in 1870 Lake Superior Views

B.F. Childs was one of the most prolific photographers of the Lake Superior region. Photographer and collector Jack Deo will travel back in time to present a 3D slide show of historic Lake Superior scenes including Native Americans, copper and iron mining camps and towns, lake transportation, and the beautiful scenery. 3D glasses will be provided.

Thursday, March 16​
Sally Howell​: The History of Islam in Detroit

Author of Old Islam in Detroit: Rediscovering the Muslim-American Past (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014)​ to speak about her research.

Monday, March 20
Readings from African Fairy Tales ​

This program is presented in partnership with the African Humanitarian Educational Research Organization (AHERO), a Central Michigan University student organization.

Sunday, April 2 
Commemoration of U.S Entry into World War I​ ​

On April 2, 1917, Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany. This remembrance is presented in cooperation with Central Michigan University’s Center for International Ethics.

Professor Hope May: CMU President Warriner and WWI Peace Movement

by Frank Boles

On February 25, Professor Hope Elizabeth May spoke on the subject “CMU President E.C. Warriner and his involvement in the pre-World War I Peace Movement.” Professor May, who holds a doctorate in philosophy as well as a law degree has long been interested in the effort in the years prior to World War I to create a legal framework between nations that would solve disputes as an alternative to armed conflict. The mass movement eventually resulted in The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), which was established by the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, concluded in The Hague in 1899 during the first Hague Peace Conference.

Professor May sharing Warriner's documents
with staff of the Peace Palace Library

Although the peace through law movement was international, the United States was considered particularly important to its success. This was so because American educators took up the cause as one aspect of social reform and worked to incorporate a peace studies curriculum into K-12 schools throughout America. The principal American organization promoting this idea was the American School Peace League.

The peace curriculum that was embraced was more than simply endorsing the absence of war. Rather, the curriculum was designed to re-orient public education from a “war setting” to encourage the study of “peace heroes” and provide for a comprehensive program in the areas of moral, social, and intellectual development. The curriculum was less interested in teaching children about the Battle of Lake Erie, fought during the War of 1812, and far more concerned that they learned about the Rush-Bagot Treaty, which demilitarized the Great Lakes in 1818.

The movement also proposed schools annually celebrate “Peace day” on May 18, the date that the first Hague Peace Conference had been convened in 1899. The day was widely recognized, and the United States government, through the Department of the Interior (in which the Bureau of Education was then located) actively promoted the day.

Eugene C. Warriner, who was an educator and the superintendent of the Saginaw Public Schools between 1896 and 1918 became a firm believer in the peace through law movement and the integration of its principles into public education. As school superintendent, he was clear in directing the teachers in Saginaw to make sure peace through law was taught to children at multiple grade levels.

Speech, "Universal Peace and the School,"
by E. C. Warriner

Warriner also became very involved in the organizations’ state affiliate. He served as president of the body in 1910. Interestingly Charles Grawn, who preceded Warriner as Central's president, was also involved in the organization as vice-president.

The American peace through law movement faced a crisis when the United States entered World War I. Some members of the group continued to support peace and thus were very sympathetic to conscientious objectors and others who refused to participate in the war effort. Others, like Warriner, came to the conclusion that their duty to their country was more important, and supported American involvement in the War. The division essentially ended the peace through law movement in the United States, although not many of the educational ideas it espoused. After World War I, education for “good citizenship” continued many of the curricular ideas introduced by the American School Peace League.

Warriner’s involvement in the Peace Movement has been documented by Professor May through the insertion of several documents written by Warriner into Europeana 1914-1918 – Untold Stories & Official Histories of WW1. Europeana is an online consortium of over 150 European Union institutions and websites, dedicated to bringing online a wide range of culturally significant material largely available for use without copyright restriction. Warriner’s material can be found at http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en/collection/search?q=warriner&qf[index][]=a&utf8=%E2%9C%93.

E.C. Warriner Material Included in Online European World War I Collection

by Frank Boles

CMU President Eugene C. Warriner (1918-1939) was notable for many reasons, among them his support of the pre-World War I Peace Movement. On November 15, Professor Hope May of the CMU Department of Philosophy and Religion and a group of CMU students participated in a ceremony at the Peace Palace Library in the Hague, Netherlands, where many of Warriner’s documents regarding his beliefs about peace were added to European based website, “Remembering the First World War.” The website is found at http://www.europeana-collections-1914-1918.eu/.

The original documents scanned into “Remembering the First World War” came from the CMU Archives, housed in the Clarke Historical Library.

For more information about the Warriner papers carried to Europe, and a photo of Professor May and the students assisting in placing the material into the database, visit the Peace Palace Library blog at http://www.peacepalacelibrary.nl/2014/11/europeana-1914-1918-collection-day/. To learn more about President Warriner’s Papers in the Clarke, view the online finding aid. 

How Mount Pleasant Celebrated the End of the Great War...Twice

by Bryan Whitledge

Until 1954, November 11th was recognized in the United States as Armistice Day, marking the anniversary of the end of the First World War. Sixty years ago, Americans decided to expand the scope of the day to honor all veterans of the military as part of a Veterans Day. But across Europe, November 11th holds a special place to remember the bloody, world-changing event that was supposed to be “the war that will end war.” In November of 1918, when the War was coming to end, reflecting upon the horrors of the War was not what people were doing to mark the end of combat, they were celebrating.

November 8, 1918 Isabella County Enterprise headline

4,000 miles from the front, in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, the end of the War brought about celebrations, just like in cities across the country. The November 8, 1918 Isabella County Enterprise (p. 4, col. 2) reported that “the Liberty Band appeared on the streets and played a 'Hot Time' on all the down town streets. A platform was built on the corner of Main and Broadway, and in the evening a regular old-fashioned jollification was held. There was lots of music, red hot speeches, and everybody rejoiced.” There was only one problem – On November 7, incorrect reports of the signing of an armistice spread across the United States and the victory celebrations were four days too soon.

SATC Lieutenants at
Central, ca. 1919

While many Americans here at home prematurely popped the corks on the celebratory champagne*, the War raged on another four days. Casualties continued to mount until just moments before 11:00 am, November 11, the time when the armistice took effect. Word that the armistice was truly agreed to quickly spread across the Atlantic. When the news hit American shores, the celebrations began for a second time. As the Isabella County Enterprise of November 15 (p. 1, col. 2) noted, “Monday [November 11] the real thing happened and again the town [Mount Pleasant] went wild.” The hearty souls in Mount Pleasant had it in them to celebrate two times in four days.

November 15, 1918 Isabella County
Enterprise story

The second celebration was turned into an event that went on for multiple days. Wednesday, November 13, an ox roast was held and “not hundreds – but everybody – came to the barbecue.” The students from Central, including those in the Student Army Training Corps (SATC), joined in a parade with many other citizens and groups from Isabella County. The parade wound through Mount Pleasant to Island Park, where a band played and whoops and hollers filled the air. Professor Pearce gave a speech followed by the testimony of Howard Petoskey, who served in the Second Battle of the Marne.

Like many November days, November 13 was a “cold, uncomfortable day,” but the miserable weather could not stop the revelry. The end of the War meant many young men would be coming home. The armistice also raised the hopes of many for a lasting peace. As the Enterprise noted in closing, “Never in the world’s history of mankind has there been an occasion for such a celebration.”

*The champagne flowing in Mount Pleasant could have been sparkling grape juice considering that Michigan had enacted prohibition beginning May 1, 1917.

The Importance of Archives and the Les O. Carlin Collection

by Marian Matyn

October is American Archives Month! It is a time for archivists to highlight what we do to link the present to the past. This means finding, acquiring, organizing, describing, learning about, and making accessible materials and documents that could, one day, be invaluable to a researcher. Central Michigan University has a long history and preserving that history is one of the missions of the Clarke. The information that we hold can paint us a better picture of how students interacted with Central in the past.

For example, one of the collections I processed, created finding aids for, cataloged, and encoded the finding aids for (which should be Google-searchable in a month) this week was the Les O. Carlin collection, a CMU counselor for whom the Carlin Alumni House is named. You can see the CENTRA catalog record for more information about him and the collection.

One of the coolest things, in my opinion, in this collection is the Central State Normal School/CMU SATC photograph album, 1984, in the Carlin collection. The SATC (Student Army Training Corps) was active at Central from September 1918 to about November 20, 1918, shortly after the Armistice was declared. The entire company consisted of four platoons of 250 men. Private Carl W. Dalrymple (Central class of 1919) noted on one photograph that 200 of the 250 had “flu” at the same time, using the gym as a hospital. Whether they actually had flu or pretended to as a medical exercise is unclear.

There were SATC programs at other universities and colleges in the United States. These Central men were lucky that their training was delayed because they were in college, and then they were never sent overseas due to the Armistice.

The album includes mostly copies of portraits and some original group photographs of students enrolled in the SATC at Central practicing with guns, attacking targets, and one with a bugle. Three of the group photographs are laminated and identified as the entire company (four platoons of 250 men) and one image is of the 4th platoon.

These photographs are identified by Private Carl W. Dalrymple of the 4th Platoon. The album also includes two 1984 color photographs of senior men who were once SATC members. It is the largest collection of SATC images in the Clarke.

Here are some images from the photograph album:

 Target training and practice, 1918, and 1984 reunion

Laminated group image of 4th platoon

Unit in "mess hall" in the old gym

Individual portraits: one is a bugler, the others have guard duty

We have other Clarke collections with names of SATC men, or a few images of the Central SATC. They can be found via a CENTRA subject search for Central Michigan University Student Army Training Corps. For more information about the collection or anything archival, please contact Archivist Marian Matyn at marian.matyn@cmich.edu

Indian Regiment sent to battle in WWI

By Marian Matyn

An oversized scrapbook donated with some Vernon Township (Isabella County, Mich.) records includes an undated article and photograph labeled “20 Indian Boys From Government School at Mt. Pleasant Accepted for Service in Army and Navy.” This immediately peaked my interest! I identified the piece as being from the defunct Mount Pleasant Times(MPT), June 7, 1917, page 1. I wanted to know more about these men and searched online records as well as collections in the Clarke. Most of their names are spelled numerous ways and sometimes they are identified in the records as white, other times as Indian, Ojibwe, or Chippewa. This is common for Native American research.

There are records for many of the men in the census, death records, veteran burial record, Indian rolls, enlistment records, veteran hospital records, and school records.

Here’s a brief summary of some of the information I found on these men:

Eight men had some type of enlistment records and all enlisted in Mount Pleasant on June 2 or 4, 1917: Samuel Shananquitt, James Negack, Clifford Rice, Samuel Asher, Paul Mackey, Silas Bush, Charles Marksman, and Alex Kagebitang. Why June 2 to the 4? Registration Day in Isabella County for the draft was Tuesday, June 5, 1917. All males between 21 and 30, except for a few exceptions, were to register (MPT, May 31, 1917, p.1).

Three men listed in the article, Dewey Beauliu, Charles Shaw, and William Noquon, remained elusive.

Two brothers, Grover and Austin Mandako, wanted to enlist but were prevented from doing so by their parents.

Frank Mackey died in France of wounds from battle in August (must be 1918). He is the only man who died during the War.

L.[ouis] Gouthier is mentioned in the article, but not in other records.

Other men in the image who enlisted were: Floyd Curtis, Clarence Portman, Clarence Portman, W. Gesick (Wasso or Owosso Geshick?), Xavier Miott, Antoine Bonno (Antoine A. Bonneau?), and William Tyosh. Also listed was the athletic director “Chief” Nevitt.

The Clarke has an extensive amount of documents from WWI as part of our holdings. If you are interested in seeing original WWI propaganda posters for the U. S. Food Administration, buying Liberty Bonds, or donating books to the men on the front, check out the hallway exhibit case in the first floor corridor of the Park Library at Central Michigan University.