In June 1917, the United States had officially been at war for just over two months. President Woodrow Wilson had called for a 1-million-man army, and as men registered for the draft, New Jersey was in the forefront of preparing to equip and train those who would fight. Since the war had begun in Europe in 1914, the state’s factories had been one of the leaders in turning out war materials for the Allies; now it was for America.

The Camp Dix News would later tell how the training effort began when orders were sent to the New Jersey National Guard…