黑料福利社

鈥淗onor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country鈥檚 cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause.鈥�

鈥� Abraham Lincoln

After the end of World War I, a Yakima newspaper proposed creating a memorial recognizing the efforts of the Valley鈥檚 soldiers during what was hoped to be 鈥淭he War to End All Wars.鈥�

But rather than proposing a monument of stone or bronze, the Yakima Independent suggested a literary monument: A book listing the names of everyone from the Valley who served in the military during the war.

The end result was 鈥淗onor Roll of Yakima County, 1917-1918-1919鈥� which lists thousands who served in the war. It also contained accounts of Yakima County鈥檚 support for the war on the homefront.

The war, which was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire鈥檚 throne, had raged on for nearly three years by the time the United States declared war on Germany.

By the time of the Nov. 11, 1918, armistice, which halted fighting while a treaty to end the war was negotiated, 8.5 million soldiers on all sides were dead, 21.2 million wounded and 7.7 million either taken prisoners or considered missing in action. Other casualties included the 13 million civilians who died from starvation, exposure, disease, military action or massacres, including the Armenian genocide.

Of those who served from Yakima County, 122 died either on the battlefield or from disease, including the 1918 influenza pandemic.

German Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg said America鈥檚 entry into the war sealed Germany鈥檚 fate, as fresh American troops overwhelmed the battle-worn Germans.

It was a war that saw the end of the German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and Russian empires, sowed the seeds for the eventual dissolution of the British Empire, saw the United States take its place on the world stage and left repercussions in geopolitics that are still being felt today.

The Yakima Independent, a rival to the Yakima Morning Herald and the Yakima Daily-Republic, announced in its editorial page that it was planning to create a memorial to recognize the Valley鈥檚 World War I veterans.

While there were discussions from others about memorials such as a hall or other monument, the Independent proposed one that could fit in every home in the Valley rather than an imposing edifice that few would be able to see.

鈥淔or the whole county 鈥� for farm dweller as well as city dweller, for the fireside as well as for library and school and fraternity center 鈥� there is nothing to compare with our HONOR ROLL,鈥� the editorial said. 鈥淚n this book will be gathered the picture and war data of every soldier of Yakima County, obscurest as well as most famous; and nothing will prevent the completeness of the record except the lack of response and assistance from those who know the facts.鈥�

The Independent gathered the information by publishing forms people could fill in and return. It also took out advertisements in 10 newspapers in the Valley and displayed as trailers in movie theaters.

The paper also sent letters to veterans they knew and dispatched people to go door-to-door to find those to put in the paper.

Not all the veterans were able to be included. Some procrastinated, others could not be found and some were hostile to the idea. It is not uncommon for some veterans to not talk about their service as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder.

But, by the Independent鈥檚 estimate, close to 3,000 people did respond and provide information, including photographs, that were published in the book.

Among the veterans listed in the book are Curtiss Gilbert, the patriarch of Gilbert Orchards; Fred G. Redmon, who would become the first chairman of the state Transportation Commission, and future U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas.

Gilbert and Redmon both served in Europe, while Douglas was a sergeant in the Student Army Training Corps, a forerunner of the Reserve Officer Training Corps found on college campuses today.

Along with a history of the war and pictures of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, who commanded the Allied forces, the book also detailed the work of groups such as The Salvation Army and the Knights of Columbus in helping support the troops in the trenches.

It also chronicled the 鈥淔our-Minute Men,鈥� a cadre of speakers who could give short speeches on supporting the war effort at movie theaters, club meetings and other gatherings.

The cover of the book features an embossed representation of the Statue of Liberty.

There are several copies of the book at the 黑料福利社 Library and in the 黑料福利社 Museum鈥檚 collections.

It Happened Here is a weekly history column by 黑料福利社 reporter Donald W. Meyers. Reach him at dmeyers@yakimaherald.com or 509-577-7748. Sources for this week's column include the 黑料福利社 Museum, “Honor Roll of Yakima County”, “Witness to a Century: Encounters with the Noted, the Notorious and the Three SOBs” by George Seldes and the archives of the 黑料福利社.