It was the “war to end all wars” and, even though it ended almost a century ago, American boys keep coming home for this epic struggle.
This past weekend, Army Private Henry A. Weikel was laid to rest at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. A resident of Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania (Northumberland County), Weikel was one of the first eighty-eight men from his area drafted for service during the "Great War". A story in the local paper described the 28-year-old as a "fine young fellow." About a year later, Weikel would be killed during an artillery barrage of his unit’s position in the woods of Bois de Bonvaux, near Jaulny, France, along the Western Front during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. His remains were temporarily buried with a wooden marker and then lost track of as the battle lines shifted elsewhere.
Ninety-two years later, the World War I doughboy has come home to a hero's welcome. The unmarked grave was re-discovered in September of 2006 by French artifact hunters. The American embassy was notified and task force from the POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), a task force from within the Department of Defense whose main mission is to account for United States military personnel listed as “prisoners of war” or “missing in action” from all past wars and conflicts, arrived on the scene to investigate. Though no database existed for American servicemen listed as “missing in action” for the First World War, Weikel’s identity was traced to dental records that are still on fine at the Department of Defense. (To read more about this story and to see video from the burial ceremony via PennLive.com, click here)
“It's very unusual," said Weikel's great-niece forty-eight year old Debra Coleman from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. “I couldn't believe it. I was shocked. It's amazing what they were able to do to identify [missing soldiers] after all this time.” The Weikel family had given up almost all hope of finding their lost relative following a fruitless trip by Weikel’s mother, Eliza, in 1931 to France to try and find her son’s grave with a group of other mothers who had lost sons during the war. Thankfully now, the Weikel family can finally rest in peace knowing that their lost relative is found and home for good.
Though it is seldom talked about, the Commonwealth has a deep history when it comes to the First World War. Like the contributions of the mid-state during World War II, Pennsylvania was a major supplier of foodstuffs, manufacturing goods, and manpower to the Allied cause when the United States entered the conflict in 1918. One such American soldier from the Commonwealth, who gained valuable combat experience during the First World War that would serve him well as a commander of American air power during the Second was General Carl Spaatz.
Born in Boyertown, Pennsylvania (Berks County) in 1891, Spaatz seemed destined for great things. His father was a United States senator who helped his son gain admittance to West Point Military Academy, from which Spaatz graduated in 1914 as an infantry officer. Fascinated by the new technology of airplanes, Spaatz transferred to the fledging Air Service of the Signal Corps in 1916 and took part in the American “punitive expedition” alongthe Mexican border to try and capture the Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa who was raiding American border towns. When America entered the First World War, Spaatz, was sent to Europe to train American infantrymen. Disgusted with his assignment, Spaatz requested a leave from the U.S. Army and joined a unit of the fledgling British Royal Air Force. In a single dogfight, Spaatz downed two German planes and then barely had enough fuel to make it back to his base. For his bravery and cool head under fire, the British awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross for this action, but Spaatz's original orders still stood and he was soon back in the American army training pilots as the Officer in Charge of the American Aviation School at Issoudun, France.
Though Spaatz would continue to be a major supporter of air power between the World Wars, he would eventually be elevated to the rank of Brigadier General in 1940 and, upon America’s entry into World War II, would command the U.S. 8th Air Force and the U. S. Strategic Air Forces during the European campaigns of 1944 and 1945 that helped to destroy Germany’s will and ability to fight. In June 1945, Spaatz was reassigned to command the American bombing offensive against Japan. In this capacity, he was in charge of the destructive firebombing raids on Tokyo and other major cities, as well as the employment of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that helped to bring about the Japanese surrender in August of 1945.
Following World War II, Spaatz became the first chief of staff of the new U.S. Air Force, serving in this capacity until his retirement from the military in 1948. After his retirement, Spaatz continued to stay active worked as a correspondent for Newsweekand serving as chairman of the American Civil Air Patrol. He also assisted in choosing Colorado Springs as the site for the new Air Force Academy. (To visit the Air Force Academy's website, click here)
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