HUBERT R. WENTORF PHOTO COLLECTION. Men left the C&NW depot at Two Rivers on September 22, 1917 for duty in World War I. Note a few horse-drawn wagons among the many automobiles and trucks.
As we observe Veterans Day and honor all living and deceased U.S. military veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces (wartime and peacetime), we remember the Manitowoc County men who left for service in World War I.
The war was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, which activated a web of European alliances and declarations of war.
The United States pursued a policy of strict neutrality for nearly three years. The unrestricted German submarine sinking of merchant and passenger ships, intercepted communications and economic ties to the Allied powers finally prompted the United States to enter the war on April 6, 1917, after President Woodrow Wilson appeared before a joint session of Congress and asked for a formal declaration of war against Imperial Germany.
With the passage of the Selective Service Act on May 18, 1917, all men between the ages of 21-30 registered for service on June 5, 1917. More than 4,000 Manitowoc County men registered for the draft. In August 1918, Congress expanded the eligible age range to include all men aged 18 to 45.
Eighteen men comprised the first body of conscript soldiers who left Manitowoc County on September 5, 1917. Others soon followed.
On Saturday morning, September 22, 1917, 148 men left on a special train from the Chicago and North Western depot at Manitowoc for Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan, one of several military training bases established during World War I. Two coaches carried 75 District 1 men, who assembled at Manitowoc. Two more coaches had 73 District 2 men from the county, who boarded at the Two Rivers depot. Extra coaches were added at Sheboygan and Port Washington as more detachments were picked up along the lakeshore. A baggage car carried their belongings.
In Two Rivers, several thousand persons were at the depot to cheer, wave and bid farewell to the men from District 2. A band played patriotic songs and every whistle in the city was blown as the train pulled out, arriving in Manitowoc at 7:30 a.m.
The selected men were farmers, tradesmen, office clerks, factory workers, shop keepers and men from all walks of life.
Before leaving Manitowoc, the Aluminum Goods Manufacturing Company presented each of the men with an aluminum shaving and toilet set. The Woolworth store furnished towels and soap.
Businessmen and others provided cigars, cigarettes, tobacco and candy for the trip to camp.
The Marine band played and a crowd of 5,000 from all over the county gathered at the Franklin Street tracks to say good-bye. Stores were closed so family, friends and others could attend the send-off. Factory plant whistles and car horns sounded as the train left the depot.
Arriving at Camp Custer that night, the men were assigned to quarters where they started their training to become soldiers. About five months later, the men were ready for departure across the Atlantic Ocean to join “Fighting Jack” Pershing’s American Expeditionary Forces and the Allied powers on the battle fronts of Europe.
The fighting on the Western Front, particularly in the forests of France, was intense, involving trench warfare, counterattacks across desolate “no man’s land,” artillery barrages, machine guns, tanks, blistering mustard gas and aerial bombing.
Approximately 4.7 to 4.8 million Americans served in the U.S. military during World War I.
Manitowoc County and its people supported the war effort on the hone front through food canning and manufacturing plants, shipbuilding industries, Liberty Bond drives and Victory gardens.
On November 11, 1918, an armistice was signed at 11:00 a.m., ending the fighting of World War I (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month).
The human cost of the global war resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million deaths.
According to the booklet “Manitowoc County Historical Markers and Memorials,” 2,300 men from Manitowoc County served in World War I. Of this total, 87 died – 32 were killed in action and 55 died of other causes. More than 100 were wounded.
Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954. On this day and every day, remember to thank a vet for their service.
