The Greene-Dreher Historical Society initiated a Veterans History Project in 2016 to document the military service of those who reside, or who have ever resided, in Greene or Dreher Townships. The veteran may have been born here and moved out of the area, or perhaps the veteran was born elsewhere and relocated to our area.
The project’s goal is to collect and preserve information about all men and women who served in the military from Colonial times up to the present day. The veteran need not have served during wartime to be included in the project. This information will serve as a record of our local veterans and may be used for scholarly and educational purposes by the Historical Society and general public. To date we have collected information from over 700 veterans, and still more names are being researched.
Since the project’s inception, we have had tremendous support by our members and friends. Veterans and their family members and descendants have provided biographical information, personal items and photographs for over 700 men and women from our community who have served in the military.
The following is an excerpt from a letter written on November 27, 1918, by Private First Class Ralph Llewelyn Kerr, who was raised in Angels, Dreher Township. Private Kerr was assigned to the 108th Machine Gun Battalion, 28th Division, nicknamed the Keystone Division, and he served in France.
Then we went up in the Argonne Forest and I was in that whole drive, which lasted about eighteen days. In this battle a number of us were surrounded in a big counter attack launched by the Germans and had to fight our way out in hand to hand fighting, and in about one hour after that we had them going so fast you could hardly see them from the dust. From the Argonne Forest, we went to the Metz front and were fighting at this place when the armistice was signed. Take it from me, when the eleventh hour came that morning it was a sight worthwhile seeing. Everything just as quiet and nice it did not seem possible. In about five minutes you could see Germans and Americans in all directions.
To participate in the GDHS Veterans’ History Project, click on Veteran Biographical Data Form. The form can be completed online and returned as an email attachment to [email protected] or printed and mailed to: GDHS, PO Box 176, Greentown, PA 18426. Additional documents, such as letters written during time in the military, certificates or awards received, are welcome and can be reproduced for our archive. We are also interested in a photo of the veteran in military uniform, if possible, and we can work with you to obtain the best possible image of the photograph.
For more information, contact Bernadine Lennon, Veterans History Project Coordinator at [email protected].
