Hide Article Text (OCR)
Monday, claims the calendar by governmental act, is Veterans’ Day.Originally Armistice Day was celebrated each Nov. 11, marking the end of what the veterans of World War I always call “The Big War.’’ After World War II, Armistice Day was changed to Veterans’ Day to honor all service men of every war. Finally, in the effort to give everyone longer holidav week-ends, the date was moved to an October Mondav.Actually the day has lost most of its» *original significance and is not generally observed here, or elsewhere. More and more, Memorial Day has become the day when our former servicemen are honored, as more and more of them answer the last 1 “Roll Call.’’But to old timers in Rhinelander, the first World War is still a bright memory. It marked the end of isolationism for the rest of the globe by this nation. Boys whonever had been as far awav as Milwaukee*or Chicago found themselves in England, France, Germany. Their comrades in arms came from every state, although the famed Red Arrows came chiefly from Wisconsin and Michigan.Popular song of the times was ‘There’s a Long, Long Trail a-Winding,” and it was indeed a long, long trail that faced Rhinelander’s Company L when it boarded a special train at the North Western station in the early part of August, 1917, for CampDouglas. This was no summer encampment, this was federal mobilization for war. The platform at the station was densely packed as our troopers left home.At Camp Douglas, the 127th and 128th regiments merged into the 64th Brigade ofthe 32nd Division. They were not yet called• *the Red Arrows or Les Terribles, those names were to be earned on French Fields. On Sept. 25, former Badger guardsmen left Camp Douglas for Waco, Tex. Next stop was Camp Merritt, NJ., and they embarkedfor Bordeaux, France in February.* •The 32nd Division was under fire fromMay to November, 1918, with only 10 days in a rest area, fought on five fronts in three major offenses, vanquished 23 German Divisons, captured 2,153 prisoners, repulsed every counter-attack, never lost a foot of recaptured land, never retreated, led the Third Army to the Rhine and was the first on German soil. Then, with the war ended, the 32nd remained as part of the Army of Occupation in Germany. It was not until April, 1919, that the 32nd left Germany; most of the men were discharged in June, 1919, at Camp Grant, near Rockford, III.World War I made many changes in Rhinelander. Not the least of these was in our newspaper. The Rhinelander News, a weekly publication, converted to daily shortly after war was declared in April, 1917, so that home folks might have the war news quickly. Many stories from the men of Company L were printed. A special extra edition on Nov. 11 proclaimed end of the war to Rhinelander. And Publisher Morris H. Barton took military leave from his duties with The Daily News to serve in the armed forces, returning after the war. Few industries or stores in Rhinelander did not have one or more stars on their service flags. At St. Mary ’s Catholic Church, the Rev. Walter Beaudette stepped down from his pastorate to become a chaplain in the sprvice.A wave of patriotism such as the community never experienced before nor since, swept Rhinelander and Oneida County during World War I. On the home front, the war was backed 100 per cent, just as our troops from Hodagland pushed the conflict to victory on the war front.Company L still holds reunions, but the number appearing grows less each time. And Monday is Veterans’ Day, with no public observance planned, although the veterans and their service to this country are not forgotten by those who remember those days when Company L “packed up its troubles in its old kit bags.”
Newspaper Details
Rhinelander Daily News
Rhinelander, Wisconsin, US
Sat, Oct 20, 1973
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 05 Oct 2020
Other Publications Near Rhinelander, Wisconsin
The Northwoods River News
Rhinelander Daily News and the New North
Rhinelander Northern Lakes Advertiser
Rhinelander Daily News
Rhinelander New North
