WWI

Frank O’Brien was born in 1892 in Fargo. At 18, he began working at the Fargo Mercantile Company, a wholesale grocer. Like many young men of his time, Frank was drafted after the United States declared war on Germany in 1917. He was among the first draftees from Fargo and was inducted in September 1917. After arriving at Camp Dodge, Iowa, Frank wrote a letter to his former colleagues at the Fargo Mercantile Company, describing his training as a member of an infantry supply company.

While mobilizing for World War I, the United States government realized that women had many skills that could support the war effort. Consequently, the…

In 1919, farms and communities across the state had been drained of young men -- called into service during two years of war. Weekly casualty lists…

After claims that the Spanish sunk the USS Maine off the coast of Cuba in 1898, no North Dakota newspaper called for a retaliatory strike. But once the…

World War I transformed airplanes from a novelty into a deadly weapon. Pilots served as aerial scouts at first and then challenged enemy planes in…

Even though World War I ended the previous November, mail service from Europe in early 1919 remained slow. The mail from troops still had to go through…

On this date in 1914 war raged in Europe. America was not yet directly involved, but the conflict provided an economic opportunity. European imports would…

On August 27, 1896, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Jefferson welcomed a baby into the world. Earl Vincent Jefferson was born in the Steele County township of…

November 18 at 5pm: Featuring the popular poetry of the time before and during the Great War: the Music Hall songs; the songs the soldiers sang; the poems…

Slightly over one year after the First and Second Regiments of the North Dakota National Guard departed from the State, the war was over. An announcement…