News From "Over There"

October 24, 1918, Menasha Record

With this being the centennial year of the end of World War I (or "The Great War" as it was once known until World War II came along) I find myself now feeling somewhat regretful that I didn't do more to inform the blog readers as to what Menasha was up to during that time.  The article above is of a letter received from a service member in France during that time.  Of special interest to me was that he had no discernable rank like Private or Sergeant, but maintained the technical title of "Mechanic" which, I learned, came somewhere between Private and Private First Class.  With the draft, special trades and occupations could be accessed into the Army more simply and with no pretense and our correspondent here seems to have fit the bill as a mechanic.  For our non-German speakers, the phrase on the belt buckles he was railing against in his letter translates to "God Is With Us," a trend which was carried over into the Second World War by Nazi Germany and I'm sure raised the ire of our service members then as well.