The First World War was seminal to the development of military aeronautics and aircraft/aerospace manufacturing in California. While flight innovators Glenn L. Martin and Glenn H. Curtiss made key prewar contributions to military aviation within the state, it was America's entry into the war that was the primary catalyst to the establishment of military air facilities as well as a constellation of small, federally contracted airplane factories within California. Using Sacramento's aviation training school at Mather Field and the airplane factory at North Sacramento's Liberty Iron Works as case studies, this article details the ways that World War I was an early catalyst to the statewide embrace of the seemingly limitless potential of aviation, what many then referred to as “air-mindedness.” An intimate look at both Liberty Iron Works and Mather Field reveals how World War I made Sacramento a martial city, strongly committed to a century of pursuing, and playing host to, military aeronautics and aircraft/aerospace production, as manifested by today's Mather Airport (until 1993, Mather Air Force Base) and aerospace giant Aerojet-General, an early innovator of jet-assisted take-off (JATO) and the indirect progeny of Liberty Iron Works. Several factors related to the advent of World War I—most notably, the promise of economic growth, the allure and mystery of flight, and the local prestige that comes with contributing to national defense—inculcated Sacramentans (and Californians) with an adoration for the military, a sense of regional independence, a reverence for the economic promise of the aircraft and aerospace industry, and an aviation-centered mentality that would endure into the twenty-first century.

The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic remains the deadliest influenza pandemic in recorded history. It started in the midst of World War I and killed an estimated 50–100 million people worldwide, many from complications of pneumonia. Approximately 500 million, or one-third of the world's population, became infected. In the United States, an estimated 850,000 died. The exceptionally contagious, unknown strain of influenza virus spread rapidly and attacked all ages, but it especially targeted young adults (ages twenty to forty-four). This essay examines the evolution of four waves of the 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, emphasizes the role of the U.S. Navy and sea travel as the initial transmitters of the virus in the United States, and focuses on California communities and military installations as a case study in the response to the crisis. Although the world war, limited medical science, and the unknown nature of the virus made it extremely difficult to fight the disease, the responses of national, state, and community leaders to the 1918–1920 influenza pandemic can provide useful lessons in 2020, as the onslaught of COVID-19 forces people worldwide to confront a terrible illness and death.

World War I provided San Francisco women public opportunities to actively engage in the body politic. These women expanded their organizational strategies, honed over the decades in clubs and associations, to meet the nation's wartime needs. In 1911 such activism resulted in passage of California suffrage, but the majority of San Francisco men voted against the state amendment. For San Francisco women, World War I was another avenue through which they could expand their community invovement. As guardians of the kitchen, women emphasized their vital contributions to the nation's economy. They continued crusades to eradicate vice and promote community health. They sought ways to make a difference on an international scale. Civic equality remained unobtainable as men dominated wartime leadership roles, but San Francisco women continued to adapt by creating new opportunities to mobilize female citizenry.

This article explores memorials placed in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in the aftermath of World War I, with an emphasis on those of a botanical nature. Historical, general, and local inspirations behind creation of the memorials are discussed. A detailed description of the development of the park's three memorial groves follows. Context for the creation of the memorial groves is provided through discussion of related local events. Other in-park and local memorials to those who fell in World War I are also covered.

When the United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917, the Army Medical Department operated only four general hospitals and was in many ways unprepared for the scale and nature of the conflict ahead. This article examines the war's impact on Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco, which was the largest of the four hospitals before the war. In addition to tripling in capacity, Letterman incorporated many of the Medical Department's new services, the most significant concerning orthopedics and physical rehabilitation. The army's embrace of the ethic of rehabilitation was part of a major change in how the government managed care and compensation for those wounded in war—a change that marked a shift, continuing to this day, in how both state and society understand the relationship between disability and citizenship. After the war, Letterman incorporated new requirements for treating veterans in support of the country's evolving veterans’ health care system, which at times was unable to provide the full level of care the government had pledged and that many veterans had come to expect.

The First World War was seminal to the development of military aeronautics and aircraft/aerospace manufacturing in California. While flight innovators Glenn L. Martin and Glenn H. Curtiss made key prewar contributions to military aviation within the state, it was America's entry into the war that was the primary catalyst to the establishment of military air facilities as well as a constellation of small, federally contracted airplane factories within California. Using Sacramento's aviation training school at Mather Field and the airplane factory at North Sacramento's Liberty Iron Works as case studies, this article details the ways that World War I was an early catalyst to the statewide embrace of the seemingly limitless potential of aviation, what many then referred to as “air-mindedness.” An intimate look at both Liberty Iron Works and Mather Field reveals how World War I made Sacramento a martial city, strongly committed to a century of pursuing, and playing host to, military aeronautics and aircraft/aerospace production, as manifested by today's Mather Airport (until 1993, Mather Air Force Base) and aerospace giant Aerojet-General, an early innovator of jet-assisted take-off (JATO) and the indirect progeny of Liberty Iron Works. Several factors related to the advent of World War I—most notably, the promise of economic growth, the allure and mystery of flight, and the local prestige that comes with contributing to national defense—inculcated Sacramentans (and Californians) with an adoration for the military, a sense of regional independence, a reverence for the economic promise of the aircraft and aerospace industry, and an aviation-centered mentality that would endure into the twenty-first century.