Kennewick native commissioned to retrain WWI veterans
Major Wilson H. Henderson will lead a new U.S. government initiative to provide vocational training for soldiers returning from the Great War.
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Mr. and Mrs. S. M. Henderson, of Kennewick, have received word that their son, Wilson H. Henderson, of Milwaukee, has been commissioned a major in the national army and placed in charge of reorganizing the occupational education of American soldiers who may become unfitted for former vocations due to the war. Major Henderson has been ordered from Milwaukee, where he was a director of the extension division of the University of Wisconsin, to Washington, D.C., to begin his work. The United States will undertake the retraining of its soldiers on a scale not attempted in other countries. The government's policy will be democratic, offering soldiers the opportunity to enter commercial, technical, or professional careers, likely with no time limit and no expense to the men.
“The United States will undertake the retraining of its soldiers on a scale not attempted in other countries.”
Henderson’s mission to provide comprehensive retraining for veterans reflects the same struggle communities face today in ensuring service members can transition successfully into the modern economy. While the 1917 context was the immediate trauma of World War I, the focus on vocational and technical education remains a pillar of how we support our veteran population.
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