Above: Advertisements from the Alma Record and Gratiot County Herald, 1917.

     They served Gratiot County as well. They most likely had names, they were born and raised here, however, we know little about them, where they went, or what ultimately happened to them. These animals were the numerous horses who went off to the Great War in the spring and summer of 1917 from Gratiot County.

     What is known about horses in World War I is that they were used for men to ride, for transportation, to haul food, guns, ammunition, and to transport the sick during the war. Over one million horses and mules were sent to Europe as part of the American war effort in World War I. Approximately 200 returned home.

     Eight million horses and mules died during the Great War. Two-thirds of the horses used by the British and French Armies during the war came from North America.

      For many, their dead bodies often appeared in pictures and photographs depicting the barbarity and severity of warfare on the Western Front. Yet, they often served their masters faithfully.

     Just how many “war horses” were taken from Gratiot County is uncertain. Were they only sent to army camps here in the United States? Did any make it to Europe? Did any of them return to Gratiot County? We do not know the answers to these questions, however, these horses (and possibly mules) also served somewhere in the war effort in World War I.

Copyright James M Goodspeed 2017

Above: images from the Library of Congress.

Asher Birmingham was born November 2, 1923, to Frank and Nina Birmingham of Alma. Asher served in the Navy during World War II in the South Pacific as an electrician. After the war, he married his wife Joyce and they had three children. Asher was employed for many years at Alma Products. He greatly enjoyed bowling, even bowling at the end of his life with the use of a cane. He actively volunteered by delivering meals for senior citizens, serving at the Student Activity Center (SAC) at Central Michigan University, sketching, making rugs and participating with the Pathfinders. Asher died on August 3, 2001 and he is buried in the Ithaca Center Cemetery. Asher Birmingham is one of many Gratiot County veterans who served our county, state and country during a time of war.

Harold E. Watson was born May 6, 1939, the son of Harold and Lola Watson in Illinois. During the Cold War, Harold served his country at Moody Air Force Base near Valdosta, Georgia. He married his wife Yvonne, returned to Michigan and they had two sons. For 39 years Harold drove a truck for Wolverine Shoe Factory. Harold died on October 7, 2010, and is buried in the Ithaca City Cemetery. Harold E. Watson is one of many Gratiot County men and women who served our county, state, and country.

Jody J. Bloss was born in Carson City, Michigan on January 8, 1969, to Alvin and Laureen Bloss. He was a 1987 graduate of Ithaca High School. Jody faithfully served his country in the United States Marine Corps. He later worked at Bandit Industries in Remus and lived most of his life in the Ithaca area. He died on September 5, 2013, as a result of a motorcycle accident. He left behind his parents, three sons and several family members. Jody is buried in the Ithaca City Cemetery. Jody J. Bloss is one of many Gratiot County men and women who served their county, their state and their country.

Erschel H. Duke was born October 14, 1915, in Savannah, Tennesee to Benjamin and Sarrah Duke. During World War II, Erschel served in the Army Air Corps. On August 12, 1950, he married his wife, Wanda (Coston) and they lived much of their lives in the Harrison, Michigan area. Erschel died on September 22, 1987, and he is buried in Emerson Township Cemetery. Erschel H. Duke is one of many Gratiot County men and women who served their country during a time of war.

     Louis F. McKinley was born August 23, 1936, near Alma, Michigan to Henry and Hazel McKinley. He was one of eleven children. As a young man, Louis enlisted in the Army to serve his country during the Korean War. After the war, he lived in the Saginaw and Bay City area and worked in construction and landscaping. At the end of his life, he moved to Ithaca and lived his last years with his sister, Julia Tinson. Louis died July 18, 2009, and he is buried in the Ithaca City Cemetery. Louis F. McKinley is one of many Gratiot County men and women who served their county, state, and country during a time of war.

Above: War time poster from the National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Note: This article first appeared in the December 7, 2016 issue of the Gratiot County Herald.  

      Seventy five years ago on December 4, 1941, it was a “Window Night” in Gratiot County, which marked the start of the Christmas shopping season in the towns of St. Louis, Alma, and Ithaca. Businesses stayed open late with lighted store windows.  That weekend at the Strand Theater in Alma, viewers watched a musical movie entitled “Chocolate Soldier.” Over at St. Louis, the Boy Scouts helped the national defense effort by hosting a paper drive.  A representative from the Public Works Reserves explained to the St. Louis City Council how they could eventually adjust from wartime to a peacetime economy. These events all took place in Gratiot County just days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After December 7, the county, like the rest of America, was never the same.

                As news of the attack arrived that Sunday, “general indignation” best described residents as they discussed what they had learned. Within hours of the attack, a previously scheduled group of 46 selective service men left for induction at Fort Custer near Battle Creek. Starting December 8, the telephone at the draft office in Alma rang repeatedly. Men who had previously changed their addresses now notified the office about how they could be found to join the military. Some men above the age of 28, who had been previously excluded from selective service because they were too old, now wanted to know how to enlist. In the first wave of men who immediately volunteered through the Alma office, fifteen joined the Navy, twelve went into the Army, while others headed to Lansing and Saginaw to enlist there. The Gratiot County Red Cross announced the week after the attack that the county needed to raise $5,100 for the national fund. Women wanted to sew and knit for soldiers and servicemen at the Alma Red Cross office.

      Local families worried about the fate of their sons in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. One of these involved Mervin DeMott of Pompeii, who was stationed aboard the US Dunlap. Within a week of the attack, DeMott wrote to inform his family that he was safe but he could not say more. Also, his Christmas presents had been mailed home. Marine Corporal Dale L. Peters of Breckenridge was stationed at Wake Island during the Japanese attack, along with former Ithaca resident Private Charles D. Sagash, who was at Corregidor.

                Gratiot County readied itself throughout December. Leonard and Mid-West Refineries hired extra guards and put up fences around their plants to protect against sabotage. For further protection, the companies required fingerprints and photo identification buttons for employees. The Gratiot County clerk announced a huge demand of birth certificates took place in Ithaca because those wanting work in industrial plants needed one in order to apply for a job. Amateur short wave radio operators in the county had their licenses suspended for fear of sending messages to the enemy. County firemen underwent defense training for handling bombs and volunteers throughout the county learned how to provide basic Red Cross first aid. Lobdell Emory announced that it had received subcontracts for the defense effort, but for security concerns could not acknowledge exactly what it would be producing.

                As December ended, citizens continued united in their response to the Pearl Harbor attack. The St. Louis City Council purchased $20,000 in Defense Bonds. In Alma, twenty county men quickly joined the National Guard Unit. By Christmas, one of the first painted “V” for Victory Signs appeared in the east window of the Alma Main Cafe.

Copyright James M. Goodspeed 2016

      Duane Carl Dancer was born July 13, 1919 to LeRoy and Clementine Dancer in Breckenridge, Michigan. Duane grew up in a large family near Wheeler with eleven other siblings.  On Christmas Eve, 1941, Duane was one of 35 men who left Alma by bus for induction into the Army at Fort Custer. Before each man got onto the bus, members of the Gideons gave them a copy of the New Testament.  By the time the United States invaded North Africa Duane was in the Coast Artillery. He then was transferred to the Italian war theatre. By October 1943, word came to Duane’s wife, Virginia, that he had been wounded somewhere in Italy. He went on to serve honorably in the 5^th Army and was discharged in 1945.

     After the war, he owned his own milk hauling business and operated the family farm in Arcada Township. He also worked for over 25 years for the Cooper Chevrolet dealership in Ithaca and retired from there in 1989. Duane served many years as a trustee for the Beebe United Methodist Church and he was also a member of the American Legion Post #256 in St. Louis. He and his wife had two children. Duane passed away on September 1, 2007 and is buried in Emerson Township Cemetery.  Duane C. Dancer is one of many Gratiot County men and women who served their county, state and country during a time of war.

Above: Headline from Gratiot County Herald, July 5, 1917

     In July 1917 Gratiot County could no longer talk about its participation in the Great War. It was a time for action.

     The talk of the county that month, as it was across the United States, concerned the first draft since the Civil War. On June 5, men were ordered to register for the draft and those who did not found themselves in trouble with the law. Names were published in county newspapers of those men who failed to comply with the draft. A new title was assigned to each one: “slacker”. Walter Dorman of Reed City and William Hoover were arrested for failing to comply with the draft (three men had been arrested so far as of early July).  However, the overwhelming majority of Gratiot men did their part in registering for the draft in June. The Alma Record remarked that “It proves that the young men of the country are not slackers, and having lost in the game of chance in the lottery they will go forth, many not to return.”

     The goal in Washington was to register approximately 10,000,000 men between the ages of 21 and 30. Each was assigned a serial number for their registration card and a selection was planned to start September 1, 1917, with a goal of drafting 675,000 men. Local draft boards, like the one in Gratiot County, still did not know the specifics about how the draft was to operate. Their first job dealt with the issue of exemptions. Initially, over a dozen reasons were accepted for an exemption. These included: men who were vital to war industries, men whose families were dependent upon them, members of religious sects that were unable to bear arms, political office holders, and aliens who were not citizens and who were subjects of Germany. All were the start of exemptions. The draft board had to hear and make a decision on all draft exemptions within three days of the claim. Those who wanted to be exempted had to provide two supportive affidavits by heads of families. Appeals for those who were initially denied claims were ruled on by the board within five days. Many of them had their final status determined by the district board in Lansing. Not all who applied for exemptions were accepted.

    The first lists of registered men were published in newspapers but they created confusion. The first registration lists contained approximately 80 men from each township and the long lists of names covered several pages. According to officials in Washington, D.C., the numbers assigned to each man had been pulled from sealed capsules and were drawn by twenty different men. Each number was recorded in the order it was drawn. The first name by order of township was C.R. Andrew from Arcada Township. On still another list, Manual Amos Chapin of Bannister was the first man listed. The actual numbers assigned to the registered men in Gratiot County ended with number 2480 and belonged to C.C. Orcuitt of Alma Number Two. When readers looked at the registration lists by township they saw each name in alphabetical order. Regardless of the confusion, the government informed Gratiot County that its first quota would be 276 men. Because 21 men had already volunteered the previous month and had already left the county, 255 men would be sent on the first call with 550 men appearing for the first examination. Later in the month, the number dropped to 224 as more men enlisted.

    Once the men were chosen for the first call, the draft board had some responsibilities to get the men to their camp. If necessary, a draft board had to make sure that each man had meals provided for him and a place to stay prior to their arrival at camp, unless the men were allowed to stay at home until called. For many of these Gratiot men, it would be Camp Custer near Battle Creek, Michigan. Initially, these men were told to only take light baggage on their trip. While the Quartermaster Corps looked for men who would serve on the battlefield, in July 1917 it also sent out a call at that time that it was looking for bakers, cooks and even veterinarians (an Ithaca man, Dr. McNabb, served as one).

     Other things with civilians also were happening in the county. The Red Cross continued its drive to recruit more members and raise money for the war. By mid-summer, well over 3,000 Gratiot residents had joined the Red Cross and donated time and money to the war effort. Branch chapters sprung up around Gratiot County , even in the smallest of communities. Over in Middleton, 290 people joined the chapter and raised $131.50 in a short period of time.  Counting all of the county’s memberships, over $9000 (valued at $18000 today) would be raised in Gratiot County by the end of July.

     Some helped the Red Cross in other ways. Historian Willard D. Tucker reduced the price of his newly written history of Gratiot County to $2.00 and gave forty cents of each sale to the Red Cross. Over at the Idlehour Theatre in Alma, the proceeds on one day from the play “Snow White”, starring Marguerite Clark, a  well-known stage and silent screen actress, were donated to the Red Cross.

    However, there more serious issues that summer. Farmers begged for help in the fields. The summer wheat harvest was being delayed in Gratiot County due to heavy rains. The county asked men who had time and who were not employed in factories to help local farmers with the harvest. Local newspapers, like the Gratiot County Herald,  offered to connect willing workers with farmers in need.

    The tone of the county gradually would turn to the seriousness of the war. A voice from Newark Township lamented, “There are many sad people in this neighborhood on account of the draft. It has touched nearly every family in this community. We all earnestly hope that this dreadful war may stop before any of our boys are called to leave the dear old U.S.A.” It would not happen.

Copyright 2017 James M Goodspeed