October 16, 2021

World War I and Hoosiers: their diaries and letters

The soldier who fired the first American shot during World War I was a Hoosier. Because initial reports from France did not include the soldier’s name, they only indicated that he was from South Bend. A media frenzy ensued in October 1917 to determine his identity, with widespread misinformation that was repeated for years.

Also in 1917, a nurse who had been born on a farm near Elkhart signed up with the American Red Cross to treat wounded soldiers at a military hospital in France. She became accustomed to nursing soldiers who had been injured by gas, a new form of warfare in World War 1. About 60 percent of the hospital’s patients suffered from gas-related injuries; in many cases, their lungs and respiratory systems were barely functioning.

The compelling stories about Alex Arch, the soldier from South Bend with the historic distinction, and Maude Essig, the nurse from the Elkhart area who worked in a base hospital that became overwhelmed with casualties, will be explored during our show. Nelson’s guest will be Dawn Bakken, the editor of a new book, Fighting Hoosiers (I.U. Press), that draws on the diaries, letters and memoirs of men and women from Indiana who served during what initially was known as "the Great War". Dawn is the associate editor of the Indiana Magazine of History, which has an archive filled with diaries, letters and memoirs.

A memoir written by Maude Essig, the nurse, was not discovered until after her death at age 96 in 1981. In addition to tending to soldiers injured by gas, she had to treat many who were suffering from the Influenza Epidemic of 1918. Dawn and Nelson will discuss the impact of that pandemic on base hospitals during the war. Hoosier History Live has done several previous shows about the 1918 epidemic, most recently a program in 2020 that focused on its second and third waves, which were unexpected.

In a diary excerpted in Fighting Hoosiers, Guy Connor, a sailor from northeastern Indiana, writes about the challenges of dealing with influenza outbreaks on convoy ships. Connor, a radio operator and telegrapher on a battleship, also discusses the challenges with receiving and sending radio signals. So Dawn and Nelson will explore how technology changed during World War 1.

They also will discuss the diary of Rochester Indiana, native Kenneth Baker, a private in the Army Signal Corps who was responsible for installing telephone lines in France. As Dawn puts it in Fighting Hoosiers, Baker describes "crawling across fields in all kinds of weather and at all times of night to replace circuits and relay bales of telephone wire."

In addition to his World War I service, Baker became an officer in World War II. Fighting Hoosiers includes letters and other accounts from both world wars, but we are focusing on World War I because, during several previous shows, World War II veterans from Indiana have been studio guests. They have included a show in 2018 with South Bend native Jim Powers, a radio operator on a B-24 bomber who became a well-known basketball coach after the war.

South Bend was the adopted hometown of Alex Arch, who eventually achieved fame for firing the first American shot in World War 1. Before the war, he had immigrated to Indiana from Hungary. After he returned from the front, Arch was used to sell war bonds, called Liberty Loans. A street in South Bend was named in his honor.

Hoosier History Live has explored other Indiana connections to World War I during previous shows. They have included a program in 2017 when Nelson was joined by board members of the Indiana World War 1 Centennial Committee.

Roadtrip: The Carnegie Center in New Albany

Nelson Price, host and historian
Molly Head, producer/general manager, (317) 506-7164 
Ryan DeRome, associate producer

Cheryl Lamb, administrative manager
Richard Sullivan, senior tech consultant
Pam Fraizer, graphic designer
Garry Chilluffo, consultant

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