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Every November Eleventh, my thoughts turn to my grandfather who fought in the trenches in France. According to the history of the 28th Infantry Division, they saw lots of action. He was wounded by shrapnel on the morning of Armistice Day. He is pictured below, on the right.
He died when I was 4 years old, so I have many questions that will never be answered. He rarely spoke of his time in combat, although a few things came out over the years. His son, my father, once commented that Grandfather held an especially low opinion of Woodrow Wilson.
Why? Unknown. But I have a strong suspicion.
When incumbent President Wilson ran for re-election in 1916, his campaign used the slogan “He has kept us out of war.” I have no idea if my grandfather voted for him, but on April 16, 1917, only six weeks after his 2nd inauguration, Wilson declared war. No doubt many voters felt betrayed—among them, I suspect, my grandfather. By September, he was in the US Army, training to fight in Europe.
Why did Wilson flip? No doubt the affair of the Zimmermann Telegram was a significant motivating force. In any case Wilson became just another politician who blatantly broke his campaign promises.
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Discussion (6)
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My Grandfather fought in WWI as well. Said it was brutal. Don't know what he felt about Wilson, but I am always ready to dump on him.
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Wilson probably invaded more countries than any other PotUS. Haiti? Check. Mexico? You betcha. I would have to look up the full list, but among them was Russia.
And there's the monument to our boys who died in Russia during the Wilson Administration.
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I used to hear sarcastic reminders quite frequently from people who remembered those days about Woodrow Wilson's campaign slogan about keeping us out of war. It came up many times during the Vietnam War.
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Don't forget the Palmer raids he performed on Americans
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Oh, yes, he had many, many crimes.
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