Sally Furniss
Well-known member
By Rich Lara, NTC staff writer
.....By most accounts, the plague (and that's what it was, probably the most vicious in history) began at Camp Funston, Fort Riley, Kansas. In March of 1918, a single soldier, Albert Gitchell, reported to sick call in the morning. By day's end, there were nearly a hundred soldiers ill.
Within months, it had swept the world in a whirlwind of destruction. They called it "The Spanish Influenza; La Grippe; and other names. Ironically, American soldiers and Sailors who were being sent to save democracy and lives probably spread it. Over the course of a year, three waves of the Flu hammered humanity. Upwards of 50 million people died; more than 700,000 in the United States alone.
I know it's almost unbelievable, and partly because most Americans today know little or nothing about the calamity. Three quarters of a million Americans died, but it doesn't stand out in the history books. Part of the reason is human nature. War is one thing. It involves warriors fighting against each other. No matter what weapons they use, the phenomenon is within our area of understanding.
Not so with plagues. Too small to see, too deadly to comprehend, too much for the heart and mind to accept, their memory is psychologically repressed by the survivors. It has happened before in history. After a plague goes away, people go on with their lives, and put the memory out of their minds. It is said that in the United States, after it was over, most people simply refused to talk, or even think about what happened. Such protective devices help us cope.
Great Lakes was affected by the pandemic (a worldwide epidemic), but not as badly as one would expect. We had nearly 50,000 Sailors here at the time, training for the Great War, brought together in relatively confined areas and spaces. That was the Flu's playground.
However, under the watchful care of Admiral Moffett and his staff, especially his medical staff, Great Lakes managed to keep our losses to a minimum. As I searched through our magazine of the time, Great Lakes Recruit, there is barely a mention of the Flu. The Great Lakes Bulletin of 1918 and 1919 keeps the story straight, but short.
Here are a few excerpts from the time. 19 September, 1918. "Although several additional cases of the Spanish influenza were reported on the Station yesterday, many of the first victims of the disease were pronounced cured[said] Surgeon Owen J. Mink, Senior Medical Officer This is due, it is believed, to the excellent cooperation on the part of officers and enlisted men to check the disease."
21 September. "Lieutenant Commander Mink said that it is imperative for the men on the Station to wear warm clothing, and not to take any chances of contracting cold during the present cold wave."
23 September. Official statement by Commandant Moffett. "To dispel alarming and often exaggerated accounts that have been circulated The total population of the Station is 45,000. There are about 4,500 cases of Spanish influenza precautionary measures [are] reducing the number of cases and the number of deaths. The situation in general is much improved."
26 September, Captain Moffett: "Great progress is being made in the fight against influenza."
27 September. A letter from the parents of Seaman Roy Mendelsohn, "who succumbed last week to pneumonia ... our sincere thanks to the doctors and nurses of the Naval Station. We know that our boy was given the utmost care and consideration."
2 October. "Lieutenant (j.g.) A.R. Haynes Dies On Eve of Promotion."
11 October. "Dr. Mink warns agains a let-up in precautions against influenza".
28 October. "Tars give blood to aid pneumonia patients."
29 October. "Good shoes guard against flu says doctor."
31 October. "Flu Romance Culminates In Navy Wedding LTJG Frank M. Cannon [married] Miss Datherine McGovern a Red Cross nurse."
13 November. "Commander Mink tells of sacrifices made to fight pneumonia health report is good."
23 November. "[Seaman Second Class] Wayne E. Kaufman labors to very end for sake of others."
14 December. "Flu again halts several parties."
14 December. "Warning sounded against return of flu Dr. Mink urges precautions" 1 January 1919. "Sickness decrease 40 percentCamp Barry first in health for last week."
15 January. "Slight increase in illness. Commander Mink issues a warning."
By that time, the waves of Spanish Flu were receding, as quickly as the traumatized survivors managed to put the memory behind them. But there was a group of Sailors * musicians * who toured the United States during the worst of the pandemic. They were from Great Lakes, and led by the world famous band leader and composer John Philip Sousa.
Their tour began on Columbus Day, 1918, in New York. Sousa volunteered his services to the Navy, following long service as leader of the United States Marine Band, and later as the leader of his own band. It was the most popular musical act in the world for decades, and reaped enormous revenues. Though he was 62, well over the age limit, Sousa took Captain Moffett's challenge when America entered the Great War, and became Bandmaster of Great Lakes.
At one time at Great Lakes, Sousa led 1,500 musicians, who were assigned to "Regimental Bands", smaller groups, and the elite, "Band Battalion" * which made an epic Liberty Bond drive that started in New York, and made its way across the country.
Sometimes, they marched and played three times a day, in three different towns. Sousa's Band Battalion raised a billion dollars for the war effort, and other bands from Great Lakes covered the country bringing patriotic music, a sense of pride in America, and good cheer to all. Former President Roosevelt responded to Sousa's Battalion rendition of "The Stars and Stripes Forever". He said, quote, "Bully!"
It is a tribute to their courage that the Battalion kept going bravely from town to town, on fast railroad trains. They knew what was happening in the country, with every community reeling from the flu whirlwind. And yet, the band played on, and flu survivors (and future victims) came out to see them in tens of thousands. It was miraculous Not a single one of Sousa's men was lost. Sousa himself became gravely ill, but recovered.
With today's medical knowledge, such a trip during a pandemic would never happen. It brought thousands of people together and they infected each other. However, neither Sousa's Sailors, nor the Americans who loved them, were daunted. Life went on. America went on. Great Lakes kept at its mission.
We may be fragile creatures, at the mercy of hostile men, and microbes. True enough. But Americans, and humanity itself, has the heart to endure, the soul to dream, and the will to go on....
http://www.nsgreatlakes.navy.mil/history/index8.html
.....By most accounts, the plague (and that's what it was, probably the most vicious in history) began at Camp Funston, Fort Riley, Kansas. In March of 1918, a single soldier, Albert Gitchell, reported to sick call in the morning. By day's end, there were nearly a hundred soldiers ill.
Within months, it had swept the world in a whirlwind of destruction. They called it "The Spanish Influenza; La Grippe; and other names. Ironically, American soldiers and Sailors who were being sent to save democracy and lives probably spread it. Over the course of a year, three waves of the Flu hammered humanity. Upwards of 50 million people died; more than 700,000 in the United States alone.
I know it's almost unbelievable, and partly because most Americans today know little or nothing about the calamity. Three quarters of a million Americans died, but it doesn't stand out in the history books. Part of the reason is human nature. War is one thing. It involves warriors fighting against each other. No matter what weapons they use, the phenomenon is within our area of understanding.
Not so with plagues. Too small to see, too deadly to comprehend, too much for the heart and mind to accept, their memory is psychologically repressed by the survivors. It has happened before in history. After a plague goes away, people go on with their lives, and put the memory out of their minds. It is said that in the United States, after it was over, most people simply refused to talk, or even think about what happened. Such protective devices help us cope.
Great Lakes was affected by the pandemic (a worldwide epidemic), but not as badly as one would expect. We had nearly 50,000 Sailors here at the time, training for the Great War, brought together in relatively confined areas and spaces. That was the Flu's playground.
However, under the watchful care of Admiral Moffett and his staff, especially his medical staff, Great Lakes managed to keep our losses to a minimum. As I searched through our magazine of the time, Great Lakes Recruit, there is barely a mention of the Flu. The Great Lakes Bulletin of 1918 and 1919 keeps the story straight, but short.
Here are a few excerpts from the time. 19 September, 1918. "Although several additional cases of the Spanish influenza were reported on the Station yesterday, many of the first victims of the disease were pronounced cured[said] Surgeon Owen J. Mink, Senior Medical Officer This is due, it is believed, to the excellent cooperation on the part of officers and enlisted men to check the disease."
21 September. "Lieutenant Commander Mink said that it is imperative for the men on the Station to wear warm clothing, and not to take any chances of contracting cold during the present cold wave."
23 September. Official statement by Commandant Moffett. "To dispel alarming and often exaggerated accounts that have been circulated The total population of the Station is 45,000. There are about 4,500 cases of Spanish influenza precautionary measures [are] reducing the number of cases and the number of deaths. The situation in general is much improved."
26 September, Captain Moffett: "Great progress is being made in the fight against influenza."
27 September. A letter from the parents of Seaman Roy Mendelsohn, "who succumbed last week to pneumonia ... our sincere thanks to the doctors and nurses of the Naval Station. We know that our boy was given the utmost care and consideration."
2 October. "Lieutenant (j.g.) A.R. Haynes Dies On Eve of Promotion."
11 October. "Dr. Mink warns agains a let-up in precautions against influenza".
28 October. "Tars give blood to aid pneumonia patients."
29 October. "Good shoes guard against flu says doctor."
31 October. "Flu Romance Culminates In Navy Wedding LTJG Frank M. Cannon [married] Miss Datherine McGovern a Red Cross nurse."
13 November. "Commander Mink tells of sacrifices made to fight pneumonia health report is good."
23 November. "[Seaman Second Class] Wayne E. Kaufman labors to very end for sake of others."
14 December. "Flu again halts several parties."
14 December. "Warning sounded against return of flu Dr. Mink urges precautions" 1 January 1919. "Sickness decrease 40 percentCamp Barry first in health for last week."
15 January. "Slight increase in illness. Commander Mink issues a warning."
By that time, the waves of Spanish Flu were receding, as quickly as the traumatized survivors managed to put the memory behind them. But there was a group of Sailors * musicians * who toured the United States during the worst of the pandemic. They were from Great Lakes, and led by the world famous band leader and composer John Philip Sousa.
Their tour began on Columbus Day, 1918, in New York. Sousa volunteered his services to the Navy, following long service as leader of the United States Marine Band, and later as the leader of his own band. It was the most popular musical act in the world for decades, and reaped enormous revenues. Though he was 62, well over the age limit, Sousa took Captain Moffett's challenge when America entered the Great War, and became Bandmaster of Great Lakes.
At one time at Great Lakes, Sousa led 1,500 musicians, who were assigned to "Regimental Bands", smaller groups, and the elite, "Band Battalion" * which made an epic Liberty Bond drive that started in New York, and made its way across the country.
Sometimes, they marched and played three times a day, in three different towns. Sousa's Band Battalion raised a billion dollars for the war effort, and other bands from Great Lakes covered the country bringing patriotic music, a sense of pride in America, and good cheer to all. Former President Roosevelt responded to Sousa's Battalion rendition of "The Stars and Stripes Forever". He said, quote, "Bully!"
It is a tribute to their courage that the Battalion kept going bravely from town to town, on fast railroad trains. They knew what was happening in the country, with every community reeling from the flu whirlwind. And yet, the band played on, and flu survivors (and future victims) came out to see them in tens of thousands. It was miraculous Not a single one of Sousa's men was lost. Sousa himself became gravely ill, but recovered.
With today's medical knowledge, such a trip during a pandemic would never happen. It brought thousands of people together and they infected each other. However, neither Sousa's Sailors, nor the Americans who loved them, were daunted. Life went on. America went on. Great Lakes kept at its mission.
We may be fragile creatures, at the mercy of hostile men, and microbes. True enough. But Americans, and humanity itself, has the heart to endure, the soul to dream, and the will to go on....
http://www.nsgreatlakes.navy.mil/history/index8.html
