George Viertel: Remembering A Fallen Soldier

In World War I so many lives were lost. One of America’s losses was George Viertel. George Viertel was born in 1895 to two very wonderful parents, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Viertel.

When he was roughly twenty-two years old, he was drafted into the army along with his brother, Herman. They bravely left their family and friends behind to train for World War I in Camp Grant in Rockford IL., in May of 1918. Later that year in July, George and some of the other men left for Fort Riley to train for some other duties in the army. George trained hard and put all of his effort into becoming a brave and wonderful soldier. He was later transferred to Camp Travis to finish his training.

While in training at Camp Travis, George Viertel suffered from pneumonia. He fought hard for his life, but died from this terrible illness on January 19, 1919. It seems unfair that George was unable to make it to war. George left behind his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Viertel, his brother Herman, and two sisters, Josephine and Nathalie. He also left his wife and two small children, along with many relatives. The loss of this great soldier will always be remembered.

Written by: Maia Van Oudenhoven
Marshfield Senior High

George Viertel
At the time of his death, George Viertel was stationed in a "tented city" at Camp Graves in Texas. Camp life was pretty nice; they had good beds, great kitchens and cafeterias and plenty of heat and light. It was at these camps that soldiers trained and waited to be deployed to France, Germany or another front. It should be mentioned that at this time they were looking forward to going to war and fighting for their country.

Mr. Viertel worked as an instructor in Camp Graves, preparing the troops for trench warfare. Unfortunately this meant training in all sorts of weather. However, without Mr. Viertel's hard work and dedication, hundreds of troops would not have been trained and wouldn't have made the trip overseas to the front. One thing that the soldiers were trained to use was the gas mask. The mask was for protection from biological weapons.

World War One was the first war in which biological weapons were used. However the delivery systems weren't as efficient as they are today. To use any sort of biological weapon the wind had to be blowing towards the target, if it wasn't the toxin would be either blown back at the people who used it or it would just get blown away and could kill innocent civilians.

Mr. Viertel died of pneumonia after fighting off the flu, on January 19th, 1919. Vaccinations were a relatively new thing and they weren't around in 1919. It was through him that many boys learned how to fight. We owe it to him and all the other veterans to keep their memory alive. His sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Taylor Oleson, Student
East Junior High, Wisconsin Rapids