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Title
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1918 Flu Epidemic More Deadly Than Germans
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Description
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Short article details the involvement of Camp Funston and Fort Riley with the spread of the Spanish Flu in 1918. "Since Fort Riley was a cavalry outpost, there were hundreds of horses and mules also living on the base--hundreds of animals producing tons of excrement. The most efficient way to dispose of the dung was to burn it. Such a fire had been set on March 9 when a ferocious dust storm kicked up that same day. The dust combined with the smoke of the burning dung heaps blackened the skies in Kansas--'dead black,' some said." Shortly after this incident, men started to come down with the flu. "More Americans died as a result of the Spanish Flu than were killed in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined."
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Date
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2005
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Object Type
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Magazine Article
