Men in WWI-era military uniforms take part in a remembrance ceremony at Meuse-Argonne cemetery in northeastern France. As ceremonies are held around the world to mark the 100th anniversary of the war’s end, two Arkansas-based U.S. Army Reserve officers have been sent to France for centennial events.

Reserve officers from Arkansas hail vets of WWI 

By Alex Gladden
via the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper web site

It's been 100 years since World War I.

In France, volunteers read the names of soldiers aloud and placed candles by their graves Sunday, honoring the 26,000 Americans who died in the Muese-Argonne offensive, which helped bring an end to the war. Despite the rain and strong winds, the people gathered for the ceremony in the Muese-Argonne cemetery, the largest American cemetery in Europe.

The celebration is one of many events around the world commemorating World War I.

The U.S. sent two Army Reserve officers, both based in Arkansas, to World War I centennial events in France.

The officers, Col. Daniel Hershkowitz and Command Sgt. Maj. James Hopkins, left for Verdun, France, on Sept. 18 and will return Tuesday. They are members of the 90th Sustainment Brigade, which was founded during World War I as the 90th Infantry Division, and are representing their group at the ceremonies.

"The big thing is to never forget some of these historic battles that took place in the name of freedom," Hershkowitz said.

Both U.S. Sen. John Boozman's maternal and paternal grandfathers fought in the war, as did his great uncle. His maternal grandfather was gassed and later died of complications from exposure.

The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies located in the Arkansas Studies Institute recorded 71,862 Arkansas soldiers who served in the war; of those, 2,183 died. But as an indirect result of war, approximately 7,000 Arkansans died of the flu in 1918.

"It really is something that had an impact on Arkansas," Boozman said.

Read the entire article on the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette web site here:

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