The War With Nature
1918 Influenza Pandemic
The First Wave
No one is exactly sure where the flu originated, but scientists believe that it most likely started in Haskell County, Kansas, which is below annual bird migration paths. At some point, the virus mutated from avian to animal, then passed to humans. It was said there were strong winds blowing in the county for two days before the first cases were noted.
Haskell County in western Kansas was a source of meat for Fort Riley and the neighboring camps. Draftees from the county were able to return home for visits, traveling between Haskell County and Camp Funston. The local country doctor, Loring Miner, noticed a new type of flu in the winter of 1917. He told his concerns to his son Oliver, a "modern" doctor, who had been drafted and was serving in the Marine Corps.
Dr. Oliver Miner (above) started writing letters to the U.S. Surgeon General about this new disease. Rupert Blue (below), the civilian head of the U.S. Public Health Service, ignored them.
Camp Funston's hospital started receiving flu cases on March 4, 1918. Within three weeks, 1100 cases required hospitalization. Because of the war effort, troop movements were not limited and the flu spread throughout the United States. This was the first wave.
Images from John Barry's The Great Influenza.