Search Media Items

An Immigrant’s Tale, Many people fled war-ravaged Europe during WWI and several came to America. In addition to adjusting to a new culture and learning a new language, recent immigrants also had to cope with a deadly flu pandemic. Even for those who had settled in the United States before the Great War, the flu pandemic made a difficult existence almost unbearable.

I Survived, The staggering statistics associated with pandemics sometimes makes it difficult to remember that each number represents a single, human life. In this section, survivors share their intimate recollections of either their own illness or that of a loved one. All these storytellers are 90-plus years of age and they have carried with them for a lifetime their memories of the 1918 flu pandemic.

War Stories, The first cases of illness from the 1918 flu pandemic in the United States were reported from Fort Riley, Kansas on March 11 when an Army private became ill; complaining of fever, sore throat, and headache. Military personnel were greatly impacted by the virus and many young recruits were dead from the flu before they ever saw combat.

Finding A Cure, One of the most important challenges, for health communicators today, is helping the public to understand that a flu shot will not be readily available when the next pandemic strikes. Once the virus is identified, it will take several months to produce a vaccine. In 1918, in desperation, people tried a variety of methods to cure the sick —some practical and effective, others questionable and even amusing.

In Memorial, To date, October 1918 remains the deadliest month in U.S. history when approximately 200,000 Americans died of the flu. Healthy, young adults (average age 35 years) began coughing in the morning and were dead by the evening. The family stories described in this section define true courage amid unbearable loss.

War Stories, The first cases of illness from the 1918 flu pandemic in the United States were reported from Fort Riley, Kansas on March 11 when an Army private became ill; complaining of fever, sore throat, and headache. Military personnel were greatly impacted by the virus and many young recruits were dead from the flu before they ever saw combat.

I Survived, The staggering statistics associated with pandemics sometimes makes it difficult to remember that each number represents a single, human life. In this section, survivors share their intimate recollections of either their own illness or that of a loved one. All these storytellers are 90-plus years of age and they have carried with them for a lifetime their memories of the 1918 flu pandemic.

War Stories, The first cases of illness from the 1918 flu pandemic in the United States were reported from Fort Riley, Kansas on March 11 when an Army private became ill; complaining of fever, sore throat, and headache. Military personnel were greatly impacted by the virus and many young recruits were dead from the flu before they ever saw combat.

In Memorial, To date, October 1918 remains the deadliest month in U.S. history when approximately 200,000 Americans died of the flu. Healthy, young adults (average age 35 years) began coughing in the morning and were dead by the evening. The family stories described in this section define true courage amid unbearable loss.

Finding A Cure, One of the most important challenges, for health communicators today, is helping the public to understand that a flu shot will not be readily available when the next pandemic strikes. Once the virus is identified, it will take several months to produce a vaccine. In 1918, in desperation, people tried a variety of methods to cure the sick —some practical and effective, others questionable and even amusing.