HISTORY OF WAR ACTIVITIES OF SCOTT COUNTY IOWA 1917-1918
ED. Ralph W. Cram. Davenport, Iowa: Scott Co. Council of National Defense.

"THE Y.M.C.A."
By S.A. COHAGAN, District Secretary

    It has been well said that the home of the American soldier was in the Red Triangle Hut. Back of the work of the Army Y.M.C.A. stands the strength and traditions of the city Young Men's Christian Association. The work done by the local organizations made it possible for the Red Triangle to gear itself to meet its greatest opportunity for service among young men.
    The Davenport Association was not found wanting, and when the war ended five members of the staff were in khaki and blue and three of the men saw service in France, and in every war activity the Association did its full share.
    When the time came to raise money and men for the men in the army camps the Davenport Y.M.C.A. was made the district center for association war purposes of a district comprising the counties of Scott, Muscatine, Johnson, and Washington. S.A. Cohagan, General Secretary of the Davenport Y.M.C.A. was made District Secretary and served in that capacity throughout the war.
    In the various drives for finances for "Y" war work Davenport and Scott county have always been at the front. The first drive was for $2500, which, looked at from this distance, seems a small and insignificant sum. The second drive was for $3500. It is interesting to not that the second amount, while much larger than the first amount, was raised with much less trouble and worry. In the third drive it took the nature of a United War Work Campaign. Davenport again took its place as one of the leading associations of the state. Altogether for Army Y.M.C.A. work Davenport and Scott county raised practically $220,000.
    While the financial side as cared for by the Davenport Young Men's Christian Association was very important, another equally important matter was cared for by the association as the center. The keynote of the war work was personnel. Davenport contributed through the assistance of the local association, as the recruiting agency, twenty-nine men and women for the Red Triangle service.
    Miss Marion Crandall, of St. Katharine's School, died on the field of action, while several of the other workers suffered severely from gas and exposure to weather in France.
    Following are the names of those who so actively served in the Red Cross Triangle:
Arthur C. Hall, A.E.F.; Herbert Eldridge; Frank Cole, A.E.F.; Clofford Nickle; L.W. McKown; W.A. McCulloch, A.E.F.; O.E. Johnson; Francis M. Leaman; Louis Wunschel; Mott R. Sawyers; Chas. Elliott, A.E.F.; Chas. Huber, A.E.F.; M.B. Cobb, A.E.F.; Burton James Gardner, A.E.F.; Frederick Mason, A.E.F; Arthur W. Van Houten, A.E.F.; Fred J. Walker, A.E.F.; Chas. Wilber Daly, A.E.F.; R.D. Brown; D.F. Scribner, A.E.F.; L.N. Gansworth, A.E.F.; W.P. Dodge, A.E.F.; Geo. W. Cannon, A.E.F.; E.S. Kindley; Herman Pieper; U.S. Screechfield, A.E.F.; Miss Pearl Hood, A.E.F.; Miss Helen Vincent, A.E.F.; E.T. Heald, A.E.F.; Miss Marion Crandall, A.E.F.
    The letters A.E.F. denote those who are serving with the American Expeditionary Forces.
    The Davenport Y.M.C.A. played a prominent part in the establishment of the Y.M.C.A. Hut on the Government Island. Working in close co-operation with the secretary there we were privileged to assist in equipping  the building and furnishing the names of those who served on the committees for the Arsenal Y.M.C. A. work.
    Not only did the Y.M.C.A. endeavor to do its full share for the men in khaki and blue, but it also endeavored to look after the interests and welfare of the men in industries. Through the assistance of the National War Work Council it was possible to extend the association activities of the men of Rock Island Arsenal. A constructive program was carried through with the assistance of the War Work Council.
    The American soldier boy was practically never without the Y.M.C.A. The secretarial staff of the Davenport association were called on to accompany every troop train that left the city. Important service was rendered in helping the men to while away the otherwise tedious hours while enroute to the camps.
    The Davenport Service Flag displays 350 stars. Its members were in all branches of the service. Some lie buried in the poppy fields of Flanders, others were in German prison camps, still others in the ice-bound plains of Russia. One member of the association in the uniform of the army secretary has risked the terrors of Bolshevikism in Russia to serve from Petrograd to Vladivostok the fighting heroes of the Czecho-Slavs.
    And with the soldiers coming home the association stands ready to welcome them. To every returning soldier and sailor registering at the building we are giving a three month's service membership, which entitles him to the full privileges of the organization.