World War I

World War I killed some 15 to 19 million people, but the flu epidemic of 1918 was far worse. As the flu raged around the world, Nebraska communities responded.

Click here to learn more about the Arnolds.

-Laura Mooney, Senior Museum Curator

A long kiss goodbye. Today’s Throwback Thursday photograph captures an American doughboy saying goodbye to his girl in Lincoln, Nebraska on September 5, 1917.

We had a reader response to “The Best War I Ever Expect to Have: Hall County Doughboys’ Letters Home” by Daryl Webb, which ran in the Spring 2016 edition of Nebraska History.  Read Dr. Frank Edler of Lincoln, NE’s response below: First, I'd like to say that I appreciated Webb's article focusing on this issue and discussing the letters of the Nebraska soldiers of the American Expeditionary Forces, especially the ones dealing with the reasons for enlisting, the conditions of trench warfare, and the yearnings for returning home.

The Cornhusker, yearbook of the University of Nebraska, in 1918 was dedicated to “Nebraskans—Students, Alumni, Faculty—here and over there” who were serving in World War I.

The stadium never included all the features that the first war memorial plans called for, such as a museum or friezes. However, the state finally had a usable stadium which, with later additions and improvements, would serve the university's nationally recognized football program. More information on Memorial Stadium and its financing can be found in a 1998 article from Nebraska History magazine.