German War Losses Reach Kennewick
A local grain mill manager receives word of his brother-in-law's death on the Western Front.
Manager William Helm, of the Kennewick Grain Milling Co. received word from Germany this week that a brother-in-law was killed in battle along the Ypres, April 25. Mr. Helm still has a brother-in-law and three brothers in the German ranks on the western battle front. All of his brothers have been decorated with the iron cross for bravery while the youngest, who is a machine gun operator, has received a gold medal for special bravery. A letter from home received this week by Seig Feuchtwanger brought the news of the death of his cousin who fell in battle.
“Manager William Helm... received word from Germany this week that a brother-in-law was killed in battle along the Ypres.”
Even in a small town like Kennewick, the devastating human cost of WWI was felt intimately by immigrants watching the conflict from afar. It serves as a reminder of how interconnected the local workforce was with the geopolitical fires of Europe long before US entry.
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