Memories discovered

A scrap of paper tucked in a pocket.

A short paragraph in vast archives.

There’s no telling where an unknown local connection might come from.

A couple of years ago, Jim Waechter was at an Ohio Valley Military Society show in Wilmington, Ohio. He came across a uniform that caught his eye.

It was in good shape. It was British made in 1917, which he noted is rare. The British made a lot of uniforms in 1918, but few in the previous year.

“And the fact that he was an American senior medical sergeant with a British medical patch was also intriguing,” said Waechter, a board member for Museum of the Soldier in Portland, noting the patches on the uniform that made it stand out.

The uniform also indicated the soldier who wore it was part of “The Sightseeing Sixth,” the Sixth Infantry Division that became known for its hiking during World War I. According to 6thinfantry.com, the division took part in “extensive fake marches,” often under enemy artillery and air bombardment, to deceive the opposition that a major attack was to take place. It later marched over mountains and broken trails, usually at night.

“It just had unusual things about it that intrigued me,” said Waechter.

It wasn’t until he returned to Portland and took a closer look at the uniform that the story became more intriguing. He found a piece of paper shoved down into a watch pocket in the pants. It had the soldier’s name on it. It seemed to read “W. Emig.”

Fellow military historian Brian Williamson made a post on the U.S. Militaria Forum website, seeking information about the soldier. A response came back from the Detroit area.

The member of the Sixth Infantry Division who wore the uniform was Jay W. Emig of Michigan. Emig’s wife, Leah M. Johnson Emig, was born in Portland and is buried in Green Park Cemetery.

A local connection found.

“It’s exciting,” said Waechter, noting the scrap of paper from the uniform pocket is now in a frame. “It really is.”

Then, he launches into another story.

Shortly before retiring as executive director of Delaware County Historical Society, Waechter was going through its history of World War I to prepare an exhibit for the 100th anniversary. He came upon a paragraph that discussed four men, including Charles Whitehair, from Delaware County who were involved in YMCAs in Europe during the war.

Whitehair was born in Selma but, Waechter discovered, grew up in Redkey.

As he continued to research, he learned that Whitehair served as foreign secretary for the International YMCA in Europe from 1913 to 1919.

A 1933 Muncie Post-Democrat story from shortly after his death in a train accident in Scarsdale, New York, refers to him as going from a farmhouse to the “friendship of presidents, kings and maharajahs.” The article lists Mahatma Gandhi, T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and five U.S. presidents has his friends and tells tales of his servings, including being issued a Grey Watch Pass that passed him through all Allied lines and his efforts to establish YMCAs in Palestine and the surrounding area. Also a newspaper correspondent, he wrote three books about his experiences during World War I.

“Here’s a guy that was from little old Jay County in charge of all YMCA’s in Europe during the first world war,” said Waechter.

It’s those local connections, those individual stories much more than the intrigue of major battles and famous moments that draw historians like Waechter to hunt down pieces of military history and “save them from oblivion.” That’s especially true at times like Veterans Day, when they get to share those stories.

He related the effort to a comment Gen. Douglas MacArthur made during a 1964 speech — “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away” — saying he heard a variation on that theme recently. That newer quote: “Old soldiers never die, as long as there’s somebody around to remember them.”

“I found that to be a very profound statement,” Waecther said. “That’s where I’m at.”

And there’s no telling what scrap of paper or short paragraph might lead to the next memory.