Radium Girls

 In 1917 hundreds of young women supported the war effort by working for the United States Radium Corporation.  The company produced watch dials for soldiers in the trenches of Europe.  The girls were paid well for dial painting and unaware of the damage they were causing to their bodies.  The long-term suffering these young women endured was horrific.  Read about the physicist Elizabeth Hughes who proved the dangers of radium.  Hughes was the unsung heroine for the Radium Girls.

Joseph Oklahombi

The United States government has a long history of treating Native Americans with disrespect.  While it is always important to highlight these actions, it is also important to include Native Americans in different historical contexts.  While the World War II Navajo Code Talkers are often discussed in the classroom, the World War I contributions of the Choctaw Nation are often overlooked. 

Joseph Oklahombi was a member of the Choctaw Nation and a Oklahoma native.  He walked twenty two miles to enlist in the Army during World War I.  Oklahombi was a pioneer Code Talker who traveled with the 141st, 142nd,  and 143rd Infantry regiments on the Meuse Argonne campaign to prevent further German aggression. He was one of the many Native Americans who used their unique native language to protect important military communications in France. After being separated from a regiment Oklahombi and twenty three other Choctaw strayed into a large German regiment.  They ran over two hundred meters and took control of a German machine gun post. He turned the captured machine gun against the German enemies and held out for four days without food or water.  His actions led to the capture of one hundred and seventy one prisoners.           

Bilingual Wire Experts

In 1914 the first world war began between the French and Germans.  The war created a stalemate that lasted three years.  In 1918, the stalemate was finally broken when twenty five thousands of American soldiers joined the French side.  Among the American troops were two hundred and twenty three volunteer women called the Army Signal Corp.    

These French and English speaking switchboard operators sent messages along radio wires to help maintain contact with troops scattered over hundreds of miles. The Signal Corp decoded and transmitted top secret information directly to the battlefields. The switchboard operators were efficient and courageous working under terrible  conditions.  .       

These soldiers worked twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.  It is estimated that one hundred and fifty thousand messages were sent daily and twenty six million messages were sent by the end of the war. 

Merle Egan Anderson was an advocate for the Signal Corp officers after the war. During the war she helped train newly arriving officers while completing her own responsibilities.  After the war she fought for veteran status for all Signal Corp officers. Without veteran status, officers were not entitled to war medals and benefits.  Nearly sixty years later her persistence paid off when the United States  government gave them full veteran status in 1977.

Marcelino Cerna

In times of war courageous soldiers often rise up in the face of certain defeat.    Marcelino Cerna is a great example of one of these soldiers.  U.S. Army Pvt. Cerna was recently honored by President Obama and awarded various military honors.  His WWI experience is a great story to read.    This Mexican Immigrant fought for freedom and liberty.

Historic Buffalo Soldiers

Buffalo soldiers were a very important part of American history.  They were African American soldiers who were historically not treated equally and under appreciated.  The phrase "Buffalo Soldier" was developed from Native American Indians who fought against them during the Indian Wars.  Buffalo soldiers served in the Indian Wars, Spanish American War and World War I.

Augustus Walley: He was born into slavery and freed as a result of the Civil War.  He was twenty when he enlisted as a soldier.  His courage under fire and strength led him to rescue troops on the plains during the Indian Wars.  Second, he fought along side Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders at the Battle of San Juan Hill during the Spanish American.  Last, he was promoted and selected to train troops during World War I.  He dedicated his life to protecting and serving the U.S. 

Cathay Williams  was born as a slave and freed as a result of the Civil War. Williams was the first African American to enlist in the U.S. Army.  In order to fight she disguised her gender.  She was a true pioneer.

American Warriors: Courage in WWI and Vietnam

In times of war courageous soldiers often rise up in the face of certain defeat.  During the Vietnam War and World War I two soldiers rose to such occasion. 

World War I: Abraham Krotoshinsky 

In November 1918 a regiment of approximately 500 Allied soldiers found themselves trapped and outnumbered by a German army in the Argonne Forest. With supplies and hope dwindling a volunteer stepped forward to relay a message of desperation to prevent surrender.  A Russian immigrant named Abraham Krotoshinsky saved the "Lost Battalion."  He is a great Hero to study.

Vietnam War: Col. John Ripley

In April 1972 a regiment of approximately 20,000 North Vietnamese soldiers were attacking a smaller and less prepared North Vietnamese regiment supported by American Marines.  With the North's imminent invasion approaching one Marine stopped them ALL in their tracks.  In order to prevent surrender John Ripley diagonally placed 500 pounds of explosives across and below the Dong Ha Bridge to halt the onslaught.  John W. Ripley's strength and courage should never be forgotten.

Walter Waters

                                                                   Walter Waters

At the end of World War I a Bonus Army of World War I veterans converged on Washington.  They came from all over America seeking their wages.  Textbooks usually mention this event, however, the complete story of the march and events prior to it are usually overlooked.  I encourage social studies teachers to read about the emotional roller coaster that was the Bonus Army March.  It begins with a caravan of hope and ends with a melee.

Walter W. Waters was an inspirational American hero.  In the face of complete defeat, Waters shouted to the crowd: "Sing America!"  Walter W. Waters should be in every textbook!