Save Your Nut Shells For Gas Masks

From the October 10, 2018,


1918, 100 Years Ago.

"Save you nut shells,  and pits, stones and seeds from fruits, is the request sent out from the Illinois Food Administration.  Peach stones, date seeds, peach, prune, cherry, apricot, olive and plum pits, and Brazil nut, walnut and butternut shells are all needed for making the charcoal for gas masks for our army.

"Wood charcoal has proved to be deficient, so the government is sending out a plea to save every available fruit stone and pit and nut shell."

--Cooter

Collecting Nut Shells and Pits for Gas Masks

From the November 14, 2018, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"Saturday afternoon the Star theatre gave a special matinee for the kids of the city and as an admission charged the youngsters were asked  to bring all the nut shells, pits, etc. they could find.  A large barrel was placed in the lobby of the theatre and it was necessary to hake the barrel several times to make it hold the pits and shells the kids brought.

"The barrel was filled before the afternoon show began and the manager of the local theatre  feels very well repaid for his efforts, as he has a barrel of material for carbon for gas masks to turn over to the government."

--Cooter

World War I Chronology, February 1918-- Part 2: U.S. Fighter Squadron Arrives

FEBRUARY  18--  The first U.S. fighter squadron, the 95th Aero (Pursuit), arrives in France.

FEBRUARY 23--  U.S. forces reinforce the French in the Chemin des Dames Sector.

FEBRUARY 26-  The first German gas attack launched U.S. troops on the Western Front results in a 95 percent casualty rate.

--Cooter

World War I Chronology, January 1918: Wounded Chevron and NOTS Established

From the April 2017 VFW magazine.

JANUARY 2--  U.S. Army authorizes new insignia -- the wound chevron --  to be awarded to men who are wounded in action and must be treated by a medical doctor, including those gassed.

JANUARY 3--  Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) is established to control the shipment of supplies to U.S. forces in Europe.

Of the more than 450 cargo ships in the service, only eight will be lost to enemy action.

--Cooter

Marine's Came of Age in World War I-- Part 4: Marines Met Every Challenge in Belleau Wood

Belleau Wood would be among the first large-scale battles involving American troops, and the enemy knew it would set the tone for how the Americans would see themselves.  They attacked hard.

What happened at Belleau Wood was nothing short of ferocious -- a close-range pitched battle, through dense woods, where troops from both sides were desperate to advance the line and succeed the mission.  Machine gun fire, poison gas, mortars, grenades and bayonet counterattaxcks were all inflicted with hellish delivery.

The Marines met every challenge, mounting major frontal attacks on the enemy six different times for nearly a month.


That Answers Whether the Americans Came to Fight Or Not.  --Cooter

33rd U.S. Infantry Division in World War I-- Part 3: Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. Willie Sandlin

The first two blog entries are on March 12, 2014.  Hit the 33rd Division label to go to them.

As we approach the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I next year.

Camp Grant, where the 33rd Infantry Division was inactivated was in Rockford, Illinois.  Its site is presently Rockford Airport.

MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER

Sgt. Willie Sandlin of Co. A, 132nd Infantry, 33rd Division, from Kentucky.

Single-handedly destroyed three German machine gun emplacements and killed 24 at Bois de Forges, France.

He died in 1949 of a lingering lung infection from a poison gas attack at the Battle of Argonne.  Sgt. Sandlin also fought in the War of 1812.

A Hero.

Ten Things You Might Not Know About World War I-- Part 4

9.  Approximately 30 different poisonous gasses were used .  Soldiers were told to hold a urine-soaked cloth  over their faces in case of an emergency.  By 1918, gas masks with filter respirators were used.  At the end of the war, many countries signed treaties banning the use.


10.  World War I also marked the first widespread use of machine guns.  Hiram Maxim patented the weapon in the U.S. in 1884.  His Maxim machine gun weighed 100 pounds, was water-cooled and could fire 450-600 rounds per minute.  Most of the machine guns used in the war were of Maxim design.

The Gas Mask Had to Be a HUGE Improvement.  --DaCoot

Ten Things You Might Not Know About World War I-- Part 3

7.  Submarines made their first major impact on this war.  German U-Boats operated mostly on the surface, but submerged to attack.  Germany's open submarine warfare was a major factor in the U.S. joining the war on the Allied side, especially after the RMS Lusitania was sunk.

8.  France, not Germany, was the first country to use tear gas against enemy troops.  In August 1914they fired the first gas grenade (xylyl bromide) against German troops

In January 1915, Germans used tear gas against Russian troops, but the gas turned to liquid in the cold air.  In April 1915, Germans fired off the first poisonous chlorine gas.

Two More to Come.  --Cooter