Allen County residents sacrificed for World War I.
Allen County residents made significant contributions to and sacrifices for World War I, Allen County Museum Executive Director Patricia Smith said Monday.
The museum and Allen County Historical Society is marking the 100th anniversary of World War I with a large exhibit, Smith told the Lima Rotary Club. The exhibit will be up through the anniversary of the War’s end, the Armistice, Nov. 11, 1918.
Even though the United States did not enter the war until its last year, more than 116,000 U.S. soldiers and sailors died in the effort, including 150 from Allen County. The first from the county to lose his life, Corp. William Paul Gallagher, is the namesake for the Lima American Legion post. He was killed in France, and his body was buried not far from where he was mortally wounded, Smith said.
World War I was also a time of great paranoia and patriotism run amok that turned into anti-German sentiment, Smith said. Allen County was not exempt. Before the war, German immigrants were well-regarded and had integrated successfully into American society. The war changed that dramatically. The region had its share of secret societies that rounded up young men who didn’t have their draft cards with them. German was no longer taught as a foreign language in school, and German textbooks were burned. The news includes multiple accounts of mobs making residents prove their American allegiance with public demonstrations, such as being made to kiss the flag on the public square. American Township is so named today because its original name, German Township, was changed.
However, Allen County also contributed to other efforts, including buying war bonds and making and sending bandages and other wound dressings overseas. Dozens of groups got involved, including churches, Lotus, Red Cross, YMCA, Boy Scouts, Rotary, Masonic Lodge, and the chamber of commerce.
Allen County’s most famous contribution came in the form of the Liberty Truck. The truck was a solution to a problem on the front: When a vehicle broke down (this was the first mechanized war), it could not be fixed, because all the vehicles were different. The Liberty Truck was a single design and its parts could be swapped. In all, the Allen County manufacturer sent 5,000 trucks overseas, Smith said.
In other Rotary business:
- Lima Memorial Health System CEO Mike Swick presented the Lima Rotary Foundation with a check for $10,484, proceeds from the fall Blood Clinic.
- Dan Bucher and Mike Swick were recognized as Paul Harris fellows plus one.
- Rich Dakin earned his blue badge and turned in his red badge.
