1918: CONSCRIPTION IN WORLD WAR I

"Over there, over there, send the word, send the word over there,
that the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming,
the drums rum-tumming everywhere,
So prepare, say a prayer, send the word, send the word, we'll be there,
We'll be over, we're coming over,
and we won't come back 'til it's over over there!.."

That old WWI patriotic song was brought back to us some 22 or 23 years later as we marshaled our armed forces for still another "war to end all wars." I can remember my father playing that oldie on our piano and all of us proudly singing it.

On the right side of the page are pages one and two of a 1918 conscription notice which notifies all able bodied American men to register for conscription into what was then known as "the war to end all wars." Most of our WWI heroes have passed on, even as many WWII veterans are leaving us daily at a very alarming rate. The graphic on the left was found on the web at a site that I inadvertently closed and cannot find in order to give credit.