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County Reflects On WWI Experience

You’d be hard pressed to learn more first-hand information from World War II veterans. As such, the veterans of the first World War have all since passed, yet Americans still remember their legacy and the hard-fought struggles they persevered through every day.

As we approach the centennial of the ending of the Great War, which would later be standardly referred to as World War I when World War II began, Americans everywhere remember Armistice Day, which was later renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

The armistice with Germany went into effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, ceasing all major hostilities in World War I. Because many Americans wanted the dedication of veterans remembered from that war and from all others, the emphasis was changed so that the men and women who fought valiantly in all wars and sometimes lost their lives would be remembered foremost.

“We had a lot of young men from the area who were in World War I,” said Barb Cessna, research assistant for the Fenton Historical Center.

She noted a large portion of soldiers never getting the chance to come home and referenced an honor roll that listed the names of those who died in World War I. This list was posted in front of the Fenton during and shortly after the war, and it listed 88 men from Jamestown alone who died in service. That leaves even larger numbers of those who served who hailed from Jamestown and the greater Chautauqua County area, some of which who were able to come home in a changed world.

Cessna said the area has been heavily populated with veterans from as early as the War of 1812. Some veterans from that war are buried in Chautauqua County cemeteries to this day.

“It’s interesting that at the end of World War I was when the city of Jamestown purchased the Fenton property,” Cessna said.

The Chautauqua County Historical Society will also commemorate Armistice Day and Veterans Day later today. Their centennial event will take place from 4-6 p.m. at the Fredonia Opera House. The program will be free and open to the public.

Michelle Henry, Chautauqua County historian and historical society trustee, and Todd Langworthy, town of Pomfret historian and society trustee, coordinated the event, which will feature multiple municipal historians sharing stories about World War I from the perspective of the local community.

“Whether it is a story of homefront activities, a local soldier or nurse, or wartime production, I’ll bet each of our communities has an interesting story about that time period,” Henry said.

The historical society will also share details of Silver Creek resident Pvt. Cecil Barbeau’s diary, which focuses on his time and service in Europe. Barbeau died shortly after World War I ended, due to a toxic nerve gas he had been exposed to on the Western Front.

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