A Real Michigan Welcome

By Charles Cusack, Archives of Michigan | November 10, 2009

Post Card of Michigan Soldiers and Sailors Headquarters, Circa 1917-1918

The above comment, written by Corporal Emil B. Davis of Adrian, sums up the mission of the Michigan Bureau of Military Relief. The Bureau of Military Relief was established by the Michigan War Preparedness Board to extend aid, comfort and relief to all Michigan servicemen during World War I. This effort was centered in the Michigan Soldiers and Sailors Headquarters on West 40th Street in New York City. The office attempted to answer inquiries from family members and friends regarding servicemen and provided aid to sick, injured or wounded men. It also offered a clubroom where Michigan servicemen stationed in the New York area or in transit through New York City could visit for a meal and enjoy a touch of home. The headquarters also served as a meeting point and message center for servicemen who wished to contact other soldiers or sailors in New York.

The Guest Register: Name Index

Today, the guest register that all visitors to the clubroom were requested to sign is in the collection of the Archives of Michigan. This volume, which is part of the records compiled by the War Preparedness Board (Michigan Department of Military Affairs), lists the name, home residence, organization, station, next friend and a remarks column.

To access a name index of this register, click one of the following links.

Aarbert, Louis – Bryan, Mark

Byron, Marcus – Dunton, Orley

Dupas, Clifford – Harper, Thomas

Harper, Wilbur – Kirkpatrick, A.

Kirkpatrick, H. – McReynolds, William

McTaggart, D. – Peterman, Dan

Peters, E. – Shea, Jas.

Sheafer, Harley – Wagner, Ernest

Wagner, Ervin – Zzz, Zzz

Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Comments

The roster’s comments column offers an informative, sometimes amusing and often touching overview of the activities and emotional state of servicemen from every branch of the armed forces. The exuberance of Edward F. Lange, who writes he is homeward bound and will have Christmas dinner in Detroit, and Sidney Miller, a discharged Grand Rapids sailor who notes that it is the “Tall pines for me,” is balanced by the somber assertion of Angus M. Burkam of Benton Harbor, a seaman on the USS DeKalb, that he has made twelve trips to France, or others who write that they “sail for France in the morning.” Myron E. Pomery of Allen wanted the world to know he had “married a Coldwater girl.” There are dozens of young men anxiously waiting to return to University of Michigan, the Michigan Agricultural College (present-day Michigan State University) or other colleges. There is also Gertrude H. Merrill, formerly of Mount Pleasant, a member of the Salvation Army who would like to “see anyone from Central State Normal School” (present-day Central Michigan University). Gunners Mate 3rd Class Bruce Catton, the future Pulitzer prize-winning historian from Benzonia, left messages for friends to contact him on board his receiving ship in New York harbor.

Military pay, or lack thereof, was a frequent topic. If not totally “broke” many were like Leslie Wirtz of Hubbell, “not broke but badly bent.” Even worse was the plight of John D. Later of Grand Rapids who gave his next friend as, “Paymaster,” adding that he was “still broke.” Paul W. Donnell of Menominee offered the tongue in cheek advice to “Join the Navy” for “Trips to France.”

In April 1919 Seamen Carl J. Trese of Port Huron voiced the sentiments of thousands of returning servicemen when he wrote, “Till the Sun Sets Forever – Michigan.”

NOTE:

This article originally appeared in Michigan History magazine, vol. 85, number 3 (May/June 2001), pg. 47

For more on Michigan History magazine, click this link: Michigan History magazine

Unidentified American Soldiers in France, Circa 1917-1918