Just a few months before he jumped off with the first wave of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, Private Ralph John had been working on his family’s farm in McIntosh, South Dakota. His training as a soldier in the Great War consisted of two days’ practice with a rifle, and a short stint driving a bayonet into a mannequin. Then he was shipped out, handed a gas mask, and sent into battle. Filmmaker Stephen Ives tells the story of Ralph John, and the devastating effects of the war.
The Great War premieres April 10 on PBS.
Ralph John | The Great War
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