It seems almost impossible that it could be 75 years ago that Watertown's Company E of the National Guard marched off to battle in World War I. To our knowledge, no members of that company remain alive today. At a minimum they would have to be well into their 90s. In Watertown's century and a half of existence our men and women have answered the country's calls, but the day Company E left here marked the largest single local effort ever made to fight in one of the country's wars. Of the original Company E, four members lost their lives in the war. They were Sergeant F.L. Pitterle, after whom the local American Legion Post is co-named, Benjamin Potter, Fred Bergman and Luke B. Dunnigan.
Old records show the day when the men left for the war was a pretty somber one.
Hours before the men were to leave for war, the crowds were lining up at the armory. That's the building which later became the city's recreation center, and is now the site of The Heritage Jim. From there the entourage went to the depot. It must have been a moving day. The orders to march came and the company lined up behind the band, followed by members of the Red Cross Society and thousands of citizens, who packed every inch of available space about the depot.