William Henry Johnson was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2015 for fighting off a German raid in hand-to-hand combat, killing multiple German soldiers and rescuing a fellow soldier while experiencing 21 wounds on May 14, 1918.
WWI
Kleenex was invented and intended…
Kleenex was invented and intended as a paper filter for gas-masks during World-War I.
The first battle of WWI consisted …
The first battle of WWI consisted of a British ship firing a single shot at a German ship on Lake Nyasa (now Lake Malawi) in Africa, and taking the captain “prisoner.” The two captains had been drinking buddies for years, and weren’t about to let the war ruin it.
Captain Berndt, in command of the ship Von Wissmann, was stunned when his friend opened fire, and rowed out to confront him, yelling: “G#* damn, Rhoades, are you drunk?”
Before dogfighting was a thing….
Before dogfighting was a thing, enemy pilots would simply exchange waves or shake their fists at one another. At the beginning of WWI, recon pilots would often resort to throwing bricks, grenades, and even rope in hopes that it would get entangled in the enemy’s propellor.
In WWI, many British naval…
In WWI, many British naval ships were painted with “Dazzle Camo”, a camouflage scheme designed not to make them hard to see, but rather to create a confusing perspective that made judging ship type, speed, and direction difficult.
When Archduke Franz Ferdinand was…
When Archduke Franz Ferdinand was murdered in his car – triggering the start of World War One – the number plate of his and his wife’s car read “AIII 118”. 11/11/18 was the date when the armistice was finally signed.
During World War I, a Canadian soldier…
During World War I, a Canadian soldier made a black bear his pet and named her Winnipeg. “Winnie” was later a resident of the London Zoological Gardens where she was an adored attraction, especially to a boy named Christopher Robin. The boy even named his teddy bear after her.
The phrase “The First World War” was used…
The phrase “The First World War” was used as early as 1918, by a journalist who felt it would not be the last.
A goat called Sergeant Bill became a Canadian war…
A goat called Sergeant Bill became a Canadian war hero during WWI when he head-butted three soldiers into a trench to avoid an exploding shell.
The most decorated American WWI veteran from Texas…
The most decorated American WWI veteran from Texas was an undocumented Mexican immigrant named Marcelino Serna. He was also the first Hispanic to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
During WWI, King Albert I of Belgium personally lead the desperate…
During WWI, King Albert I of Belgium personally lead the desperate defense against the Germans, while the Queen served as a nurse, and their son, the 14 year-old Crown Prince enlisted in the infantry as a private.
In 1917, the U.S. War Industries Board asked women to stop…
In 1917, the U.S. War Industries Board asked women to stop buying corsets to free up metal for war production. This was said to have saved some 28,000 tons of metal, enough to build two battleships.