WWI Army helmet & print
2000.1.1; 2010.57.1
Donor: Tennie Russell & Nancy Westfall
 
When war broke out in Europe for what would be known as World War One, men from across Arkansas signed up to serve.  One was Everett Russell of Gravette who trained with the 2nd Regiment at Camp Pike.  Two other men Joseph and Clarence Winford signed with the 1st Arkansas Ammunition Train.  Both of these units were redefined and given different designations when they joined soldiers from Louisiana and Mississippi to form the 39th Division.  The 2nd Regiment became the 142nd Field Artillery Regiment and the 1st Ammunition Train became the 114th Ammunition Train.  All three men found themselves sent to Camp Beauregard, LA in September 1917 to begin training.  By August 1918 all three men found themselves in France until the end of the war.  They were sent back to Camp Pike to be discharged. 
 
In January 1919 the unit was demobilized at Camp Beauregard, LA.  Part of the division was reorganized in Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida and given a new designation as the 31st Infantry Division.  After WWII the 39th Division was reconstituted.  It was again reorganized and reconstituted and finally federally recognized in September 1946 in Louisiana and August 1947 in Arkansas.  They were ordered into service October 1957 and released from that service a month later.  In December 1969 the unit became recognized by the Department of the Army as “The Arkansas Brigade”.  The 39th Infantry Brigade trains throughout Arkansas to remain at combat readiness with their headquarters at Ricks Armory in Little Rock.  Today, it is the largest combat unit within the state of Arkansas.
 
Soldier’s kept mementos of their service.  As a reminder of his service in the world’s first Great War, Russell kept his helmet, which included the 39th Divisions unique insignia.  The Winford brothers received this print called a “Soldier’s Memorial” depicting heroic scenes in memorial of the German – American War.  It also lists all the members of the 1st Arkansas Ammunition Train, Company 9.  Today, World War One is a distant memory or something read about in a history book, but that doesn’t diminish the bravery these Arkansas men possessed to sign up to fight a war far from home.