Eagle Feathers #165 – The War to End all Wars

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Renowned engineer Dr. Frederick Stark Pearson was the man who brought electric light and power to Somerville and many other cities around the world. He and his wife lived on College Avenue near the Powder House.

The couple was sadly two of the 1,198 souls, including 128 Americans, who perished in the torpedoing of the luxury ship Lusitania. Its 1915 sinking by a German submarine helped end American neutrality and launched our country into World War I, also known as “The War to End all Wars.”

The war would last another three years with American involvement from 1917 to 1918. New England’s 26th Army National Guard Division was the first to arrive in France and its battle cry, along with the American troops who would follow, was “The Yanks Are Coming.” They were titled the Yankee Division and had just spent a year guarding the Mexican border and combating General Francisco “Pancho” Villa’s Mexican bandits.

World War I memorials are scattered across the city in the form of street names, parks, statues and squares. They honor the city’s soldiers, sailors, and marines who gave their lives for our freedom.

• Trum Field was named after Corporal Richard Trum who was killed in action on November 1, 1918, just ten days before the Armistice ended the war. A road that abuts the park honors Charles E. Ryan who was killed in action on July 17, 1918. An eagle-topped Richard Trum Memorial honors 29 Magoun Square servicemen who lost their lives in World War I.

• Foss Park honors Saxton Foss, Harvard class of 1910, who was killed in action. He was the son of Somerville’s distinguished poet, Samuel Walter Foss.
• Conway Park celebrates the memory of Sergeant Patrick Conway who was killed in action on October 14, 1918, during an attack on Bois de Brieulles, France.

• Dilboy Field on the Alewife Brook Parkway, Dilboy V.F.W. Post in Davis Square, and the statue in front of Somerville City Hall, all honor Private George Dilboy. Memorials also acknowledge him in the Massachusetts State House, New York City and Chicago. He was the first Greek American Recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor and gave his life along with 148 other Somerville servicemen during World War I.

November 11 this year, marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Armistice Day, as it was known until 1954, was dedicated to honor these soldiers and their cause. The peace treaty was signed in 1918 at the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month (November.) It was often referred to as The Great War.

On  November 4, Somerville will salute all American veterans of all wars and will honor the memory of her 619 servicemen who paid the supreme sacrifice since “The War to End All Wars.”