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Archduke Assassination
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo. His death is the event that sparks World War I. -
Russia Mobilizes
Russia releases its huge army to interrupt against Austria-Hungary in to help, Serbia. This move starts a chain reaction that leads to the mobilization of the rest of the European Great Powers, and inevitably to the outbreak of hostilities -
World War I Begins
Germany invades Belgium, beginning WWI. -
Germans Fire
The Germans fire shells filled with chlorine gas at Allied lines. This is the first time that large amounts of gas are used in battle, and the result is the near collapse of the French lines. -
Lusitania Sinks
A German submarine sinks the ship Lusitania. The ship carried 1,198 people, 128 of them Americans. -
Germany Limits Submarines
Reacting to international outrage at the sinking of the Lusitania and other neutral passenger lines, Kaiser Wilhelm suspends unwanted submarine warfare. This is an attempt to keep the United States out of the war, but it severely hampers German efforts to prevent American supplies from reaching France and Britain. -
Brigadier General Kendall Jordan Fielder Ancestry
The Fielder family came to America from England and settled in Virginia. Kendall's great great grandfather James Fielder was born about 1750. He fought in the revolutionary, and married Sally Benge from Virginia in 1781. -
Brigadier General Kendall Jordan Fielder Family
Kendall's parents were William Kendall Fielder and May Jordan, his father was a lawyer, the solicitor general of the Tullahoma Circuit, and a prominent leader in his community. The couple had six children, three boys and three girls. -
Brigadier General Kendall Jordan Fielder
Kendall Jordan Fielder led an extraordinary life as an athlete, a general officer in the US Army, a military technical adviser to award winning movies, a spokesman for Hawaii statehood but most importantly his involvement in the war. -
First Tanks
The British employ the first tanks ever used in battle, at Delville Wood. Although they are useful at breaking through barbed wire and clearing a path for the infantry, tanks are still unreliable and they fail to be the decisive weapon, as their designers thought they would be. -
Zimmerman Telegram
British intelligence gives Wilson the Zimmerman Telegram, a message from Arthur Zimmermann proposing that Mexico side with Germany in case of war between Germany and the United States. In return, Germany promises to return to Mexico the "lost provinces" of Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest. Mexico declines the offer, but the outrage at this interference in the Western Hemisphere pushes American public opinion to support entering the war. -
U.S. Enters War
Congress authorizes a declaration of war against Germany. The United States enters World War I on the side of France and Britain. -
Brigadier General Kendall Jordan Fielder
Kendall Jordan Fielder led a pretty nice life as an athlete, a general officer in the US Army, a military technical adviser to award winning films, a spokesman for Hawaii statehood and humanitarian. Most importantly, he was a man of leadership, wisdom and courage at the beginning of the United States involvement in WWI. -
Wilhelm Abdicates
Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates, ending all German hope for a victory. He and his retinue quietly slip over the border into the Netherlands where he lives out the remainder of his life in relative peace and writes a self-promoting memoir defending his actions in the war. -
Brigadier General Kendall Jordan Fielder Retirement
Fielder kept active in the community in several capacities following his retirement. He was president of the Hawaii Chapter of the Association of the US Army, board member of the American Red Cross. Retirement also meant time for his hobby as an amateur magician. -
Brigadier General Kendall Jordan Fielder Death & Legacy
On April 13, 1981, Fielder died at Tripler Hospital in Honolulu at the age of 87. He was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl, April 20, following funeral services at St. Andrew's Cathedral.
