Antonio (Tony) Corbo Never Fought in the War but was Witness to 100's of Deaths in a Few Short Months

A brief military profile of my great-grandfather who earned his citizenship by demonstrating loyalty to the U.S. during WW1

Born 15 January 1894 in Benevento, Italy and immigrated alone to America at age 19 in 1913, Antonio had only been in the United States a few years prior to the outbreak of WW1.

As was required by law, all men between the ages of 21 and 31 needed to register for the War and Tony did so in June of 1917 as part of the first wave of registrations. He was officially enlisted in the United States Army on 13 May 1918 at the age of 24. Of the 4.8 million soldiers who eventually served in the war, about 2.8 million were enlisted via the draft. As an unmarried registrant with no dependents, he was among the first candidates to draw from.

He was sent to Camp Dodge in Iowa for training. As a member of Private Company “C”, Development Battalion #1, it’s not clear what special skills his Development Battalion had been trained. It wasn’t marksmanship or gunner qualifications, according to his papers.

There was a lot of activity at the camp in 1918, though. In early July, 18,000 soldiers posed as Lady Liberty for a war bond campaign. They were dressed in woolen uniforms and the temperatures reached 105°F. Many fainted.

The photo, taken from the top of a specially constructed tower, was intended to help promote the sale of war bonds but was never used. There are twice the number of men in the flame of the torch as in the whole remaining design. At that time, there were 32,000 soldiers at Camp Dodge, so it is conceivable that Tony was included this iconic photograph. Human Statue of Liberty; 18,000 officers and men at Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Ia.; Col. Wm. Newman, commanding; Col. Rush S. Wells, directing Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print. Library of Congress public domain image.

Later that month three soldiers were hanged on the post for raping a 17-year old girl. The entire division was forced to witness the hanging. Then in October, the Influenza Pandemic hit the camp. At its peak, the flu was killing more than 50 soldiers a day and ultimately more than 700 died within a short time. The camp smelled of rotting bodies for weeks. There were rumors of mass unmarked graves. It’s likely Tony witnessed all of this.

Before he finished his training the war was ended and Tony was honorably discharged 26 December 1918 with a certificate of naturalization. A true American.

You can read more about why Tony came to America in “Out of the Ashes: An Origin Story” and his early years in America including the seven long years between his immigration and that of his betrothed in the post series that starts with “Love Across the Ocean: The Story of Guiseppa and Antonio Corbo’s Journey to la bella vita”

Source: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/2020/03/03/infl...-iowa-camp-dodge-johnston-army-base-national-guard-flu/2843939001/