Arkansas and the Great War - a new resource from the Butler Center

World War I, the first major conflict of the twentieth century, lasted more than four years, involved fifteen nations, and resulted in the deaths of at least 8.5 million soldiers worldwide. July 28, 2014, will mark the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the war, and the Butler Center is pleased to announce the creation of Arkansas and the Great War, an online resource for researchers interested in learning more about Arkansas’s involvement with the war.

Approximately 200,000 Arkansans registered for military service after the United States entered the war in 1917. Arkansas was also home to Camp Pike (now Camp Joseph T. Robinson) in North Little Rock and Eberts Training Field in Lonoke County. Camp Pike began the war as the home of the 87th Infantry Division and later served as a replacement training facility after the division deployed to France. Eberts Field was one of the leading aviation training bases in the nation, training soldiers from around the country for military duty.

Highlights of the Butler Center’s World War I–related collections include letters from a U.S. Marine, correspondence from a soldier who served in a balloon company, correspondence of a soldier who served in a field hospital, photographs and materials from Camp Pike and Eberts Field, and draft registration records, as well as a wealth of secondary materials related to the war.

This online resource Arkansas joins FORGOTTEN: The Arkansas Korean War Project and A Nation Divided: Arkansas and the Civil War, two award-winning online collections created by the Butler Center to promote a better understanding and appreciation of Arkansas’s military history.

Visit the website for more information.

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Eberts Training Field (Lonoke, Arkansas)

Eberts Training Field was established near Lonoke in 1917 and was a leading training center for aviators during World War I. Cadets started to arrive in March of 1918, but the war ended in November of 1918 before the first graduating class made it through the program.

Eberts Training Field, Lonoke, Arkansas, circa 1918.
MSS 05-14 Dave Wallis Papers, Series III, Subsereis I, Box 9, Item 20


Hangar 7, Eberts Training Field, Lonoke, Arkansas, circa 1918.
MSS 05-14 Dave Wallis Papers, Series III, Subseries I, Box 9, Item 26


Eberts Training Field, Lonoke, Arkansas, circa 1918.
MSS 05-14 Dave Wallis Papers, Series III, Subseries I, Box 9, Item 28


11 men posed as a musical group with make-shift insturments in the barracks of Squadron Q, Eberts Training Field, Lonoke, Arkansas, circa 1918.
The numbered men are identified as 1)Tom Bragle, 2)McDonald, 3)Strominger, 4)Smith, 5)Penn, 6)Baker, 7)Jordan, 8)Carrick, 9)Unidentified, 10)Garstner, 11)Smith.
MSS 05-14 Dave Wallis Papers, Series III, Subseries I, Box 9, Item 41

For more information about Eberts Training Field visit the Encyclopedia of Arkansas or come to the research room in the Arkansas Studies Institute to view documents and photographs from the Dave Wallis Papers (MSS 05-14). The above photos are only a selection of what is available in the collection. You can view the complete finding aid for the Dave Wallis Papers here.

Note: Most photos on this blog are low resolution scans. Visit the Butler Center to see the original photos or contact us to inquire about getting your own high resolution copies.

This first appeared on the blog in October 2009.

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From the Metz Family Papers:

Hilton Osterman (from North Little Rock, Ark.) in his Navy uniform, 1920

Metz Family Papers
MSS 05-02
Box 1, File 10, Item 7

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From the Metz Family Papers:

Floyd Smith (from North Little Rock, Ark.) in his Navy uniform, 1918

Metz Family Papers
MSS 05-02
Box 1, File 10, Item 4

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Eberts Training Field (Lonoke, Arkansas)

Eberts Training Field was established near Lonoke in 1917 and was a leading training center for aviators during World War I. Cadets started to arrive in March of 1918, but the war ended in November of 1918 before the first graduating class made it through the program.

Eberts Training Field, Lonoke, Arkansas, circa 1918.
MSS 05-14 Dave Wallis Papers, Series III, Subsereis I, Box 9, Item 20


Hangar 7, Eberts Training Field, Lonoke, Arkansas, circa 1918.
MSS 05-14 Dave Wallis Papers, Series III, Subseries I, Box 9, Item 26


Eberts Training Field, Lonoke, Arkansas, circa 1918.
MSS 05-14 Dave Wallis Papers, Series III, Subseries I, Box 9, Item 28


11 men posed as a musical group with make-shift insturments in the barracks of Squadron Q, Eberts Training Field, Lonoke, Arkansas, circa 1918.
The numbered men are identified as 1)Tom Bragle, 2)McDonald, 3)Strominger, 4)Smith, 5)Penn, 6)Baker, 7)Jordan, 8)Carrick, 9)Unidentified, 10)Garstner, 11)Smith.
MSS 05-14 Dave Wallis Papers, Series III, Subseries I, Box 9, Item 41

For more information about Eberts Training Field visit the Encyclopedia of Arkansas or come to the research room in the Arkansas Studies Institute to view documents and photographs from the Dave Wallis Papers (MSS 05-14). The above photos are only a selection of what is available in the collection. You can view the complete finding aid for the Dave Wallis Papers here.

Note: Most photos on this blog are low resolution scans. Visit the Butler Center to see the original photos or contact us to inquire about getting your own high resolution copies.

Contributed by Stephanie Bayless, Manuscript Departments.

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