Draft Registration Card, 1917-1918
Dublin Core
Title
Draft Registration Card, 1917-1918
Alternative Title
World War I Draft Registration Card
Subject
World War, 1914-1918
Veterans--Florida
Description
The draft registration card for Robert Gerlach, who enlisted in the United States Army during World War I. The card contains the demographic information for the soldier including name, age, home address, date of birth, place of birth, race, citizenship, trade or occupation, number of dependents, whether tall, medium, or short, slender, medium, or stout, eye and hair color, whether bald, and disabilities. World War I draft registration cards were completed by approximately 24 million men living in the U.S. in 1917 and 1918.
Born on November 29, 1896, in Rhine, Wisconsin, Robert Gerlach entered the United States Army on May 28, 1918. He was released from service as a private on November 27, 1918. Nine months after their marriage, Evelyn gave birth to their daughter, Joy Evelyn Gerlach. The couple moved to Citrus, Florida, in the 1980s. Evelyn passed away on February 17, 1988. Joy died two years later, in July 1990. Robert moved back to Wisconsin, where he lived out the remainder of his days in Waupaca until his death on February 17, 1993, at the age of ninety-six. He was subsequently interred at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell on March 5, 1993, joining his wife and daughter.
In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for k-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.
Born on November 29, 1896, in Rhine, Wisconsin, Robert Gerlach entered the United States Army on May 28, 1918. He was released from service as a private on November 27, 1918. Nine months after their marriage, Evelyn gave birth to their daughter, Joy Evelyn Gerlach. The couple moved to Citrus, Florida, in the 1980s. Evelyn passed away on February 17, 1988. Joy died two years later, in July 1990. Robert moved back to Wisconsin, where he lived out the remainder of his days in Waupaca until his death on February 17, 1993, at the age of ninety-six. He was subsequently interred at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell on March 5, 1993, joining his wife and daughter.
In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for k-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.
Creator
War Department, Office of Provost Marshal General, Selective Service System
Source
Digital reproduction of original draft registration card, June 5, 1917.
Publisher
War Department, Office of Provost Marshal General, Selective Service System
Date Created
1917-06-05
Is Part Of
Format
image/jpg
Extent
328 KB
Medium
1 page draft registration card
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Plymouth, Wisconsin
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Provenance
Originally created and published by the War Department, Office of Provost Marshal General, Selective Service System.
Rights Holder
This resource is not subject to copyright in the United States and there are no copyright restrictions on reproduction, derivative works, distribution, performance, or display of the work. Anyone may, without restriction under U.S. copyright laws:
• reproduce the work in print or digital form
• create derivative works
• perform the work publicly
• display the work
• distribute copies or digitally transfer the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending.
This resource is provided here by RICHES for educational purposes only. For more information on copyright, please refer to Section 5 of Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code.
• reproduce the work in print or digital form
• create derivative works
• perform the work publicly
• display the work
• distribute copies or digitally transfer the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending.
This resource is provided here by RICHES for educational purposes only. For more information on copyright, please refer to Section 5 of Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code.
Curator
Connolly, Lehman
Cravero, Geoffrey
Source Repository
External Reference
Abney, Barb. "VA Selects UCF Historians to Archive Stories of Deceased Veterans Veterans." UCF Today, March 13, 2017. Accessed August 9, 2017. https://today.ucf.edu/va-selects-ucf-historians-archive-stories-deceased-veterans/.
Tuchman, Barbara W., and Robert K. Massie. The Guns of August: The Outbreak of World War I. 2014.
Collection
Citation
War Department, Office of Provost Marshal General, Selective Service System, “Draft Registration Card, 1917-1918,” RICHES, accessed April 26, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/10174.