A Century Later:
“The War to End All Wars”
Written by Justin D. Lamb
It was called the “War to End All Wars” and it ushered in a century of American dominated global leadership that led to a contentious world stage that eventually led to World War Two and the Cold War. What began as a European struggle following a period of hyper-nationalism and the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, quickly spread to a global conflict which saw the United States’ entry into the war in April 1917 following the sinking of the Lusitania.
According to The National Guard History Museum, a total of 84,172 people from Kentucky served during World War I. This total included 80,009 enlisted men, 3,747 commissioned officers, 241 nurses, 153 army field clerks, and 22 United States Marine Cadets. Nearly every family in Marshall County had a relative or friend that served in the war effort. War bonds and liberty loans were sold in each community to bolster support for the Allied forces overseas. A chapter of the American Red Cross was established in Marshall County to aid humanitarian efforts and with starvation and food shortages becoming a problem in Europe, rationing was encouraged on the home front and the U.S. Food Administration was established to manage the wartime supply, conservation, distribution and transportation of food.
The war finally ended with an Allied victory on November 11, 1918 after claiming the lives of more than 9 million soldiers and nearly 10 million civilians. The names of the war dead from Marshall County are forever enshrined on the war monument at the Marshall County Courthouse. Here is a look back at the images from Marshall County during the “Great War:”
Two brothers Daniel Ruben “Rube” Lovett and Grover Cleveland “Cleve” Lovett (seated above) of the Olive community would make the trip overseas to do their part in World War I. The Lovett family still owns the gas mask Cleve Lovett used during his service in France.
W.C. Travis of Birmingham served in World War I and following the war returned home to become a prominent physician.
Herman M. Holland of Benton served with the 12th Balloon Company in France during the First World War. Holland grew up in Birmingham and served a year as Circuit Clerk of Marshall County before his tour of duty.
Archie Clark served in the 35th Field Artillery which took part in the Battle of the Argonne Forrest from September 1918 to November 1918. The Battle of the Argonne Forrest was the largest in U.S. military history and was one of a series of Allied attacks as part of the Hundred Days Offensive, which brought the war to an end
Dr. Ernest Darnall served as a medical officer during the war.
Unidentified group of Marshall Countians in Calvert City show their support for the war effort in 1918.
Ruth Anna Malcolm served as a nurse in France and was the only female from Marshall County to serve overseas during the First World War.
Doughboy Frank Cooper Watson of Benton (third from left) reports for duty overseas, 1918.
School children at Sanders Ridge School near Altona display their patriotism in 1917.
If you have any images from World War I you would like to share, please send them to jlamb@murraystate.edu.