A historical footnote broadcast on the radio this morning as I was on the way to visit a widow near Bonn reminded me of my dad.

The radio announcer reminded his listeners that 90 years ago today the United States of America declared war on Germany and entered World War I. America’s entry into the war was largely the result of the "Zimmermann note", a diplomatic missive from Berlin instructing Germany’s ambassador to Mexico to offer Mexico a joint war against the USA. The announcer mentioned that the two million soldiers America sent to the front in France turned the tide against the Germans and their allies. One of those soldiers was my dad, who turned 19 the week war was declared. I never heard him talk about his experience during the war, other than to say that the soldiers had a hard time keeping their feet dry in the trenches. He became a corporal during the war but was discharged as a private, so we always wondered what he had done to get demoted. 90 years later his son lives near Bonn, which was part of the American zone after World War I.