From staff reports
NEW BETHLEHEM – The Redbank Valley Historical Society will mark the 100th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I with a public program at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 6.
“It was on that date in 1917 that our country, which had resisted being dragged into a war that had been raging in Europe for two years, was plunged into the first of two major wars that claimed millions of lives, incalculable property destruction and the threat of even greater war potential in the future,” said society president Cindy Morgan.
The program will be held in the social rooms of the First Presbyterian Church located at the corner of Penn and Wood streets. The program is free, but donations will be accepted.
The evening’s program will feature presentations about the war, how the United States got involved it’s despite claims by President Woodrow Wilson that he would keep his nation out of the war that featured Germany as the primary aggressor in the first of two major wars in which it was to have that distinction and how the Redbank Valley area responded to the call to arms, according to Morgan.
“How our country got pulled into the war is a background story that frequently is not known and will probably surprise many people who don’t know what role our neighbor Mexico played into our involvement,” Morgan said.
In addition to the various presentations, the historical society members will have displays that will show everything from weapons of war of that era to recruiting and motivational posters, Morgan noted.
“We plan to hold at least one more public program this year to look at other aspects of the area’s involvement in World War I,” she said.
One of the subjects to be covered in some depth at the April 6 session will tell the story of how the area’s first volunteer to the war – Climax-born and New Bethlehem-reared Walter W. Craig – also became the area’s first soldier to pay the supreme price, Morgan said.
“In fact, the story will reveal about how Lt. Craig’s death was actually reported – and observed in public displays of mourning – on two occasions. It was he for whom the local American Legion Post was named when it was formed in 1919,” she added.