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  To the Stars: The Story of Kansas  

Arch built to honor WWI vets

The Wichita Eagle

This is one in a series of vignettes celebrating Kansas history. The series' name comes from the state motto, Ad astra per aspera: "To the stars through difficulties."

BY BECCY TANNER

"Up ahead a band was playing. Shouts and cheers mingled with the martial music in an overtone of sound that floated back to the first ranks of Wichita's young veterans as they swung into their stride along Douglas Avenue.

While the soldiers were actually passing there was a different sound an undertone that was almost silence. A sibilant ripple of sharply-drawn breaths from the crowds that packed the sidewalks. The muffled monotonous throb of drums. And the rhythmic shuffle of marching feet on the asphalt."

--The Wichita Eagle, May 9, 1919

More than 105,000 people gathered in downtown Wichita on May 8, 1919, to watch returning World War I Kansas soldiers march past.

In addition, there was:

"A bevy of air planes dipping and ducking over Wichita, street dancing and carnival features, colorful parades and floats illustrating phases of war and peace..." the newspaper

proclaimed.

Despite the plans and preparations, the march through the new Victory Arch was to a

somber cadence.

The city had been hit hard that winter by the 1918 flu epidemic, one of the deadliest of all time.

Before it was over, the epidemic claimed at least 20 million deaths worldwide; some reports said 40 million.

Pneumonia and flu caused 403 deaths in Wichita in 1918. The Eagle reported that deaths in Wichita totaled 1,282, compared with 946 in 1917. There were 63 deaths from tuberculosis and 21 from typhoid fever.

Then there was the war. More than 2,200 Kansans died in battle, from wounds or disease; Wichita lost 73.

Plans for the celebration started in December 1918, when city leaders picked a design for a war memorial. They chose an arch to span the intersection of Broadway and Douglas, at a cost of $6,000.

The Victory Arch was barely finished in time to welcome the troops the following May.

The arch -- never intended to be permanent-- was designed by Don Schuler, a Wichita architect. It was built high enough to allow traffic on the streets to pass under, and was razed after all of Wichita's troops came home.

For days and weeks leading up to the big parade on May 8, 1919, The Eagle was full of celebration information.

Articles encouraged people to rob their own lawns, woods and fields, searching for every flower in the area to bring to the great military review.

But Wichita wasn't all that jubilant on the big day. The city was just grateful to have its sons home from war.

"It was a tear strewn pathway," The Eagle read. "The tribute of Wichita, of all the country about Wichita to those war worn lads who have come back to their own from the hell they smashed."

Reach Beccy Tanner at 316-268-6336 or btanner@wichitaeagle.com.