Out of Isolation: From Home to Hell—The Journey from America's Cities and Farms to European Battlefields

About this Chapter

Out of Isolation focuses on the story of Ralph E. Weiler, a young man from Pennsylvania, who served and died in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I. The chapter focuses on the contrast between his perceived comfortable, isolated life in the United States with the complete discomfort and hell of a journey overseas to fight and die in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Out of Isolation allows students to connect on a personal level with Weiler.

The activities within this chapter will help students answer the following questions:

  • What did the journey consist of for one actual individual American doughboy?
  • What was the experience of a boy who grew up in an isolated nation and went from his home to fight and die during the Meuse-Argonne offensive?
  • How does war affect the one who is leaving his family and how does it affect those left behind?

This chapter is part of the iBook Bringing the Great War Home: Teaching With The Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, which was produced by ABMC in partnership with Learn NC and Virginia Tech. You can access individual elements of the iBook here on ABMC.gov, or you can download the full iBook through iTunes

In this Chapter:

  • Section 1: Introduction
  • Section 2: The Human Connection
  • Section 3: The Question
  • Section 4: Ralph's Story
  • Section 5: History Remedied
  • Section 6: Becoming Private Ralph E. Weiler
  • Section 7: Out of Isolation
  • Section 8: Out of Isolation: French Version
  • Section 9: Instructional Menu
  • Section 10: Extras
  • Section 11: Bibliography
  • Section 12: Video Transcripts
  • Section 13: Credits and Disclaimers
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