A century ago, Mainers marched to war to make the world safe for democracy

By Jonathan Bratten and Earle Shettleworth Jr., Special to the BDN

Posted April 02, 2017, at 10:16 a.m.

One hundred years ago this spring, on April 6, 1917, America entered World War I. The European nations had been in conflict since summer 1914, but the United States remained neutral until 1917, when German U-boats began sinking American ships in the North Atlantic and Germany sought a military alliance with Mexico. At that point, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war.

With the same patriotic fervor that Maine had responded to a call for troops in the Civil War, more than 35,000 men and women across the state joined the military in 1917 and 1918 to fight the “war to end all wars” to “make the world safe for democracy.” The entire University of Maine Band joined the 103rd Infantry Regiment, as did a squad of warriors from the Passamaquoddy Nation, including the chief’s own son, who was killed in action on Nov. 10, 1918. Maine civilians supported the war by purchasing $118.4 million in government bonds and $8.4 million in war savings stamps. Private sector relief programs operated by the American Red Cross, YMCA, YWCA and the Salvation Army also received generous contributions from the public. By the end of the war, every man, woman and child in the state had donated an average of $147 to the war effort.

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