Creating Fiction From History: 12/8/2021

John F. Stoddard entered the Armed Services in 1917. John Frank ( his middle name was actually Francis) was immediately shipped off, via New York Harbor, in early June of that same year, along with thousands of other boys from this great nation.

Born in neighboring Waterloo in 1901, John Frank, having grown up in rural Iowa, had never even thought about joining the Army before. He was used to rising early, working the family farm from sunup to sundown, and going to bed when it got dark. The beginning of the end came in 1914, when his father, Robert Jr., who had begun to almost religiously listen to World News on the old family Majestic. Hearing, a bit later of the Archduke's assassination, Robert, sensing the coming conflict, began to pay even closer attention to the radio. As the rumors of War in Europe began to escalate, John Frank heard of nothing but the situation in the "Old Country."

In May of 1917, this photograph of young John was taken in Waukon. Although it was over 70 miles away, not only could he catch The Narrow (The Waukon & Mississippi) to New York, by other various means, Waukon was home to the famous photography studios of Steele Brothers. Narrowly missing being stopped by torpedoes near Brest, France, he finally made it ashore, with the 16th Infantry, at Saint-Nazaire.

After the peace treaty was signed at Versailles in 1919, an older and wiser, but still young, John Frank shipped home to good ole' Waterloo, never to set foot on foreign shores again. Our young hero had learned all to well that "war is hell," but at least he got to see Paris!