During the late summer of 1918, the United States was on a complete war footing as the doughboys in France began to drive the Huns back toward Germany. Just when victory seemed at hand, however, the nation and the Jersey Shore were hit with a two-pronged attack that would bring death to thousands and strike fear into the hearts of millions.

The great influenza epidemic of 1918 had started as a milder version the year before in Kansas.