Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
It was imperative for WWI soldiers to keep their feet dry. The 1918 Pershing Boot was treated with the most advanced waterproofing technology of the time- a mixture of two parts beef tallow to one part Neatsfoot oil.
Studded hobnails not only secured three layers of thick leather together, they also served as a helpful tread in slippery situations.
The boots featured this week are the only set of army boots in the Eddy County Museum's collection, and are among a limited number of artifacts from World War I.
With a little research, I learned they are Pershing Boots, a specialized trench boot that infantry soldiers affectionately called "Little Tanks." These boots were a major upgrade over the 1917 trench boots, which were reportedly cold, leaky and often fell apart, not good for soldiers on the move. These 1918 Pershing Boots boasted various improvements, including full-leather soles to improve insulation, iron or brass rivets at the sides of the shoe to reduce impact, toe cleats studded with hobnails at the toe, and three rows of stitching in the backstays to minimize tearing.
These state-of-the-art boots belonged to Herman Karl Utecht of New Rockford. On Sept. 4, 1918, Utetch was inducted into the United States Army at 25 years old. He and his standard-issue trench boots then went to Camp Grant, Ill., and later to Camp Dodge, Iowa, where he served at the Machine Gun Training Center. Utecht was discharged on Jan. 9, 1919 as a private.
In World War I, over 4.7 million men and women served in U.S. forces. Of those, 2.8 million served overseas. A total of 53,402 were killed in action.
Following World War I, many people carried on a post-Civil War tradition of decorating the graves of fallen soldiers. It wasn't long after World War II that more civilians began adopting this tradition, and in 1971, Memorial Day was declared a federal holiday.
