-
Heroin used as cough medicine
There were a lot of drugs that were used in WW1. The main drug that was used was heroin. At the time they used heroin as a cough medicine. Many families would send heroin to their family members overseas and it would help them while they were in the trenches. The drug was later banned after the war because the FDA thought the drug was dangerous and addictive. -
Battle of Tannenberg
The 8th German army attacked the Russian 2nd army with lethal force. The battle was in east Prussia during the opening weeks of WW1. Russia intercepted a message from the Germans that revealed a surprise attack on Tannenberg. Overall 50,000 Russians died and 92,000 were taken as prisoners. The Russians were unsuccessful in this battle even though they intercepted the message. -
Battle of Ypres
The battle of Ypres was the first of three battles in this Belgian city. This city has fortifications guarding posts of the english channel. After the Germans took over Antwerp they wanted to take over another city. The Allies held off the germans for a long time but the battle was put to a halt once winter rolled around. Both sides suffered heavy losses. -
The Sleepless Man
Paul Kern was a Hungarian official and did not sleep for 40 years. Paul was shot in head during an incident in 1915. A Russian bullet penetrated his frontal lobe which was the cause of his injury. After the bullet was removed from his brain, he was then taken to Budapest for some intense research on his injury. Until Paul's death in 1955, he did not sleep -
Battle of Gallipoli
This battle is formally known as the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915-16. It was an unsuccessful attempt by the Allies to control the sea route from Europe to Russia. It first started with a naval attack by the british and french ships. The allies suffered heavy losses and later had to evacuate in December 1915. The battle was completed later in the following January. -
Sergeant Stubby
Sergeant stubby was born in 1916. He completed several missions and was a decorated dog. He could smell the poison gas and he would alert the sergeants, giving them time to get away from the gas. Sergeant stubby is one of my favorite war veterans because he is so cute and his story is so heartwarming. -
Battle of Jutland
This battle was fought off Denmark's north sea coast. There were a total of 250 ships and 100,000 men. There were two phases to this battle. Each side argues that they won the first phase but the second phase was clearly won by the Germans. The British lost 6,784 men but the Germans only lost 3,058 men throughout both of the phases. -
Battle of Passchendaele
This battle was also known as the 3rd battle of Ypres. The British just successfully attacked Messines Ridge so they thought they would try again with another battle against the Germans. The final battle lasted about 3 months. Over this 3 months there were 325,000 casualties on the Allies side and 260,000 casualties on the Germans side. -
Arthur Keller was enlisted in the Marines
Arthur Roland Keller was enlisted in the Marines at age 19, during the spring of 1918. At the time he was on a trip to Chicago and also this was when the U.S was replacing their fallen troops. He joined the Marines because he was, "tired of everyone asking why I wasn't joining yet." Arthur was then accepted into the U.S. Marines and went to boot camp on August 13th, 1918. -
France built a fake Paris
France built a "fake Paris" as a decoy to the German air force. The fake Paris consisted of many roads and even a fake eiffel tower to try and fool the Germans. The last attack that the Germans forced upon Paris left Paris in shambles and they had a lot of repairing to do. The decoy only lasted for a few short minutes before the Germans realized that the they were attacking the wrong Paris. -
Bird saves 198 army men
On October 2nd, 1918 a lonesome pigeon single handedly saved almost 200 men. Over 600 pigeons were flown to Germany's side and only one survived. Cher Ami, the lonesome pigeon, was shot and struggled to fly back to U.S. side with a message of the bombardment in that area. There is currently a stuffed figure of Cher Ami in a museum in Washington D.C.. -
Keller started living with a German family
On December 1, 1918, Keller started living with a German family. Along with 6 other men in the village they were stationed in the Germans home as guests of a family. Keller formed a heartfelt bond with the family he was staying with. They helped him learn German and helped him learn more about the German culture. -
Promoted to corporal
Keller received this promotion on April 1, 1919. Just a little over a year after being in the military. Shortly after keller was promoted he was later discharged in August. -
Honorable Discharge
Arthur received his honorable discharge on August 13, 1919. After the war ended several soldiers were discharged on the count of the ending of the war. During his time in the military he earned $111.90 and that money was sent back to his family in Fairfield, Iowa. -
Award of good conduct
This award was given to Keller on January 8, 1921. He was recognized for being obedient, sober, industrial, courageous, cleanliness, and his proficiency. He was also recognized for the work that he did while he was living with a German family. This was from his first enlistment from May 28, 1918 to August 13, 1919. Keller was one of many who received this award.
