In late June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia. An escalation of threats and mobilization orders
followed the incident, leading by mid-August to the outbreak of World War I, which pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire (the so-called Central Powers)
against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Japan (the Allied Powers). The Allies were joined after 1917 by the United States. The four years of the
Great War--as it was then known--saw unprecedented levels of carnage and destruction, thanks to grueling trench warfare and the introduction of modern weaponry such as
machine guns, tanks and chemical weapons. By the time World War I ended in the defeat of the Central Powers in November 1918, more than 9 million soldiers had been killed
and 21 million more wounded. The Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919, determined post-war borders from Europe to the Middle East, established the League of Nations as an
international peace organization and punished Germany for its aggression with reparations and the loss of territory. Tragically, the instability caused by World War I
would help make possible the rise of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and would, only two decades later, lead to a second devastating international conflict.
~history.com
Veterans Day falls on the anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I on November 11, 1918.
Page updated 6/2/2023
World War I Draft Registrations from Adams County
Transcribed by Jim Cox
The records on this page are still being gathered from microfilm!
Jim Cox has transcribed letters A - R, which are posted. The remaining letters will be put up as they are transcribed.
The letter S is finally done!
The microfilm had no registrations for names beginning with D or Q.
Book of Merit
Individual decorations and commendations awarded to Adams County men and women for services in World War I
Battenberg, Homer Bobo
Cable, LeRoy
Graham, Paul H
Jack, Daniel LeRoy
Murtaugh, William
Rex, Newton
Teeple, Jay Henry
Source: Indiana Book of Merit by Indiana Historical Collections
Gold Stars
A record of Adams County men and women who died in the service of the United States
and the Allied Nations in World War I
Bixler, David D
Bradtmueller, Ehrhart
Christen, Jesse F
Clark, Clarence
Coffelt, Roy
Eley, Clelmer Clayton
Fox, Chester
Heller, Reuben Hugh
Henschen, Frank Oliver
Hirschy, Christian
Huser, Samuel
Klopfenstein, John
Kuntz, Urbain
Miller, Ralph Theodore
Mosser, Vernon Solomon
Murtaugh, Charles Anthony
Parr, Vernon Christopher
Reusser, Omar
Schwartz, Jefferson J
Smith, Albert Daniel
Source: Indiana Gold Stars by Indiana Historical Collections
Others Who Served
If you know of others who served during World War I, please get in touch with Margie so that they can be added.
Allspaw, Orval
Bixler, Edwin
Jones, Daniel D
Kratzner, Edward
Lehman, Chris
Pickett, Frank P
Winteregg, Albert
Source: Berne Service Record Book by American Legion Post No. 468
