Abby Cook

West Virginia University Students in World War I

The Great War, the War to end all Wars, the First World War, WWI – all of these are titles given to describe the global events that occurred from 1914 up until 1918. While the focus of these efforts was on Europe, the United States of America joined the war in mid-1917, after the incident of the intercepted Zimmerman telegram. When the United States joined the war, so did all fifty of its states, including West Virginia and the students who lived there and attended West Virginia University. The university had established in 1867 and therefore already was well known and had an abundance of students, so it comes as no surprise that many of its students were drafted to fight overseas in Europe. Correspondences were sent between families and friends, brothers and siblings sending home brief letters, informing their families of their survival but unable to tell them anything more. Silence was likely the most reassuring information a family could get from overseas. If there was no news, then there were no reported deaths, and seeing as the majority of letters sent to families were to inform them of their child’s demise, it certainly must have been a terrifying thing to have the postman arrive with a letter from Europe.

According to West Virginia University records, forty-seven men and boys, a combination of students and staff, had either attended or worked at West Virginia University and died either in the war overseas or in the training camps on US soil (Diana Mazzella, “WVU Magazine: The Soldiers of World War I”). A little less than six months after the end of the war, on May 6, 1919, a memorial service was held at West Virginia University to honor and remember those who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, and for their families to be able to grieve with everyone else in the community who had been affected.

Letter from L.D. Arnett to Michael Henderson, 5 April, 1920

Roughly a year after the memorial, West Virginia University Librarian L. D. Arnett sent out letters, dated April 5, 1920, asking the families of West Virginia students and staff who had died in the war for a photograph of their loved ones, so that he might be able to compile a bulletin on those who lost their lives serving in the war (L. D. Arnett to Michael Henderson). Arnett additionally wrote requests asking for the soldiers’ birthdays, deaths, and other information about their lives that could be added to the bulletin. Arnett wrote to reassure the families that the photographs sent in will be mailed back, as photographs at the time were hard to come by and were considered to be precious, especially if the picture was of someone who had died. The letters sent out were the all the same, with a blank space for the address of the family and the name or names of the student or staff member who had died, and another space for Arnett to sign each letter by hand.

On October 14, 1920, Mrs. S. B. Ball wrote to Arnett in response to his request for pictures and information about those West Virginia University students and staff who had been killed during the war. Mrs. Ball wrote about her son, Eugene B. Ball, who “[w]as just completing his sophomore year in the University when he enlisted” on May 11, 1917 (S. B. Ball to L. D. Arnett).

According to Mrs. Ball, Eugene went to training camp in Oakmont, PA for only about a month and a half to two months. While the letter does not say where he was stationed, Eugene was in the 15^th Engineers branch of service as a corporal, and he died on March 13, 1919. Mrs. Bell stressed that she would like the picture of her son returned to her, as it is likely the only one or one of only a few photographs that she has of her son. However, she was willing to send it and information about his life to share with the West Virginia University community to honor her son’s memory.

Letter from S.B. Ball to L.D. Arnett, 14 October 1920

Both of the aforementioned letters have been preserved and stored in the West Virginia and Regional History Center Archives and were kept in the West Virginia University in World War I Collection along with several other letters and clippings. Multiple of L. D. Arnett’s letters were found there, addressed to different families, along with many responses from said families, most asking for the safe return of the photograph of their beloved. The collection does not, however, include the final bulletin, although it did have a couple of the photographs that had been sent, as well as a copy of a pamphlet from the memorial service.

Through the content kept in the West Virginia Regional and History Center Archives, students who currently attend West Virginia University are able to look through material from over one hundred years ago at the very same school they now attend; students can gain a new perspective of the legacy of the university, in addition to a better, more personal understanding of what life was like for those who fought and died in the First World War, and how their lives and deaths impacted not only their families, but their teachers and peers at the school who knew and cared for them. Thanks to the West Virginia and Regional History Center, students can also understand and experience first-hand how archives work, and the process of finding, retrieving, and handling documents and other archival material. It is an interesting educational experience that offers a unique opportunity for students to not only learn about, but experience events of the past, how they came to be, how or why they were recorded, and how they ended up where they are today. It is an experience recommended for anyone, student or otherwise, who is interested in local history or an archival experience.

Works Cited

Mazzella, Diana. “WVU Magazine: The Soldiers of World War I.” WVU Magazine | West Virginia University. Accessed November 9, 2022. https://magazine.wvu.edu/stories/2018/11/29/flashback-the-soldiers-of-world-war-i.

Arnett, L. D. to Michael Henderson, West Alexander, PA, April 5, 1920. Letter. West Virginia and Regional History Center Archives. West Virginia University in World War I Collection. https://archives.lib.wvu.edu/repositories/2/resources/2490

Ball, S. B. to L. D. Arnett, Morgantown, WV, October 14, 1920. Letter. West Virginia and Regional History Center Archives. West Virginia University in World War I Collection. https://archives.lib.wvu.edu/repositories/2/resources/2490

West Virginia University in World War I Collection, A&M 0172, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia. https://archives.lib.wvu.edu/repositories/2/resources/2490.

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