*New Jersey - On-Line - “Plainfield During WWI and the Influenza Pandemic” from The Historical Society of Plainfield/Drake House Museum
The exhibit is dedicated to the memory of the 45 soldiers and their Gold Star Families from Plainfield and the surrounding area who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country during WWI. Some were born in Plainfield and others were immigrants, but all served their country with courage, bravery, and valor.
Approximately 23 of the men succumbed to the Influenza Pandemic in 1918 and its related diseases. One of the men, Martin J. Kane, died as a result of pneumonia. He was a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, and was stationed at Fort Hancock, Sandy Hook. He was called to duty to help guard Sayreville after the T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion or the Morgan explosion, which occurred on October 4, 1918. This explosion leveled over 300 buildings, burned for 3 days, and forced the evacuation and reconstruction of Sayreville, South Amboy, and Old Bridge. It is not known the exact number of casualties from the Morgan explosion, but estimates were over 100, and hundreds more were injured. Conditions were awful, and there was a lack of food and water. Because he succumbed to fatigue, caught the flu, and then pneumonia, Martin Kane was not counted as a casualty of the Morgan explosion. He is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Plainfield.
Special thanks is extended to Leanne Manna, Board of Trustee and Treasurer of the Historical Society of Plainfield, and graduate student at St. John’s University. Future plans are to have a website dedicated to the men and women of Plainfield who made the ultimate sacrifice in all the wars, a Roll Call of Honor.
You can access the exhibit by looking under the "Collections" tab, click "Exhibits" and then click "“Plainfield During WW1 and the Influenza Pandemic.”
