Part 1
The Return After The Big Parade
When the World War I Doughboys returned home they believed they were the last wartime veterans of America. President Wilson was determined to “make the world safe for democracy” when he asked the Congress for a declaration of war on April 2, 1917. The entry of the United States as an 'associate power,' along with its large numbers of fresh troops, shifted the outcome of the war and led Germany to agree to an armistice. Even the World War Victory medal used the words “THE GREAT WAR FOR CIVILIZATION.” There was every reason to believe that the world, and life back home, would be set right and a bright and better future awaited them. However, such would not be the case. America had changed and times were worse. The Doughboys, and the country, would have a rough and difficult journey ahead of them. Later, they would be referred to as “The Lost Generation.”
William Lafayette Robertson had served Co. A, 45th US Army Infantry. He trained at Camp Bowie starting in July 1917, which focused on trench warfare, marksmanship, and physical conditioning. Like many other units the 45th were underequipped with outdated gear from the Mexican Border Campaign (1916–1917).
As part of the 36th Division, Robertson was sent to the Western Front in July 1918, assigned to the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) under General John J. Pershing. It was part of the Fourth French Army during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, one of the largest and bloodiest campaigns of WWI (October 1918). Nevertheless, this was the turning point of the war and decided the fate and future end of the conflict. Robertson was fortunate, he suffered no physical wounds and when he returned home, he would have his entire young life ahead of him.
After moving from Georgia in 1870, William Jackson Robertson and Mahala Keeter settled in the Sloan Community, where they raised eight children; William L. Robertson was their sixth, born on August 1, 1888. The Robertson family's contributions to local agriculture and community life made them respected among their neighbors in the Sloan Community. However, for William after the great war, veterans like himself faced a bleak future, as times had dramatically changed.