Contents of this Page
- Upbringing and Work
- Entry and Losses of War
- Obstacles/Solutions Upon Returning Home
- Steps Towards the ADA
- Recognize a Problem
- A Shift in Care
- The Legacy Harris Leaves Behind
Upbringing and Work
Irvin D. Harris was born 1892 in Green Bay, WI; his mother was from Green Bay while his father came from New York. Their religion was Roman Catholic which was normal for this area at the time. Harris had an eighth grade level education for that is when he, like many others, took to working at the paper mill to earn money for his family.1
Entry and Losses of War
Irvin D. Harris joined the United States Marine Corps in 1917. Harris was enlisted out of Detroit, MI and was 24 years of age at the time of his enlistment. He was assigned to the 138th replacement battalion where he made his way to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Corps Regiment, 1st Marine Corps Division.2 He fought in Belleau Wood, France where he lost his leg in a firefight and was discharged shortly after due to the inability to carry out the duties of a ground combat militant.
Obstacles/Solutions Upon Returning Home
Irvin Harris, like many other returning veterans from WWI, had returned with some sort of disability, and, in the case of Harris, he had lost his leg. In the area of Green Bay circa 1920, the industrial business was booming and heading to new heights. Factory workers were well sought after including veterans with disabilities. There were many machines that could be operated by a person with one arm/hand or ones that did not require much lower body movement for people such as Harris, who had lost their leg. 3
Steps Towards the ADA
Within the Smith-Sears Veteran’s Rehabilitation Act of 1918 came the promise to not forget about the needs of our veterans and the horrors that come with war that can have a lasting effect on someone, the main diagnosis being Shell Shock. This Act was geared to helping soldiers make a living upon returning home whether that be work, personal or social life. One thing to remember is that the ADA was not enacted until 1990; building, home and work, were not required to be handicap accessible which would make life much more difficult for disabled veterans. 4 The act of 1918 was a massive step forward to close that gap and advance towards the ADA.
Recognizing a Problem
The First World War proved to be most detrimental foreign war the U.S. had been involved in. This brought about a change in how the general public would treat returning troops, particularly those left disabled from combat. Prior to WWI, benefits that American troops received were poorly handled by the government and carried an incredibly negative connotation.5 From the public’s perspective, veteran benefits were little more than government handouts. According to James D. Ridgway, a former judge on the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, professional lecturer and author on the history and current state of veterans’ benefits, the system of benefits in place since the Civil War was regarded as a failure. While speaking at a conference to the American Legion, Ridgway would say that the cost of Civil War veterans’ benefits peak in 1913. This forced a strain on the American people, who in turn began to resent veteran benefit system. Troops returning from the Great War would subsequently had this resentment aimed towards them and were, therefore, neglected by the public and their government. For almost two years after the war, rehabilitation of disabled veterans fell to The Federal Board for Vocational Education. Because other benefits and programs were still being handled by the Bureau of War Risk Insurance, veterans were forced to apply with both agencies for assistance. In order to be eligible for a specific training program veterans would have to apply and wait for approval from the Bureau of War Risk Insurance and than repeat the lengthy process with The Federal Board for Vocational Education. This overly convoluted system resulted in long, unnecessary waits for veterans seeking aid.6
A Shift in Care
It was this lack/ineptitude of care that would motivate returning veterans to force a change in the benefits system. One of the leading proponents for a better system was The American Legion. Formed by veterans of the war, the group would work in conjunction with the Disabled Veterans of the World War (DAV) to push for a better system.7 The would work to raise public awareness as well as pressure the government to adopt better policies regarding their benefits. These two groups focused heavily on the care of disabled veterans, including those suffering from shell shock, and would be instrumental in the creation of the United States Veterans’ Bureau in 1921. The Bureau would later be improved by the World War Veterans’ Act of 1924 and become the foundation of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs we have today. Things like the Smith-Sears Veterans Rehabilitation Act and groups like the Red Cross would also play a part. The Institute for Crippled and Disabled Men would be forced into the role of helping disabled troops like Irvin Harris, yet would become on of the causes biggest supporters. While training and rehabilitating these troops the group would also distribute 6 million copies of “Your Duty to the War Cripple” to New Yorkers in 1918.
The Legacy Harris Leaves Behind
Harris, and the many men like him, were responsible for the greatest era of improvement to the way this country handles veterans benefits. As state the perception of the previous benefits system was little more than disdain. While the public believed that the battle scar veterans were merely collecting government handouts; the veterans themselves were receiving little to no really help. Without the change in care wounded and disabled troops like Harris would have returned home to no job and doing nothing more than collecting a paycheck. Work down by groups like the American Legion and the DAV allowed these men to find purpose in work. Gave them a chance to remain viable in the work force, where many of them were able to strive once allotted the opportunity. The creation of the Veterans Bureau gave these men the first real access to reliable and efficient means of assistance, and it wouldn’t have been possible if not for wounded men like Harris pushing for what they had earned.
- Brown County War Histories Committee. Box 1, Folder 7. University of Wisconsin- Green Bay Archives.
- Brown County War Histories Committee. Box 1, Folder 7. University of Wisconsin- Green Bay Archives.
- Helping Disabled Veterans Return to the Work Force: Returning Home, World Overturned, Explore, and Echoes of the Great War. Library of Congress, Washington D.C. Accessed 11/18/19. https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/world-war-i-american- experiences/about-this-exhibition/world-overturned/returning-home/helping-disabled-veterans-return-to-the-work-force/
- Wendi Maloney. “World War I: Injured Veterans and the Disability Rights Movement.” loc.gov. https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2017/12/world-war-i-injured-veterans-and-the-disability-rights-movement
- James Ridgway. (2013). Recovering an Institutional Memory: The Origins of the Modern Veterans Benefits System, 1914 to 1958. Veterans Law Review, Vol. 5. https://www.bva.va.gov/docs/vlr_vol5/ridgway.pdf
- James Ridgway. (2013). Recovering an Institutional Memory: The Origins of the Modern Veterans Benefits System, 1914 to 1958. Veterans Law Review, Vol. 5. https://www.bva.va.gov/docs/vlr_vol5/ridgway.pdf
- James Ridgway. (2013). Recovering an Institutional Memory: The Origins of the Modern Veterans Benefits System, 1914 to 1958. Veterans Law Review, Vol. 5. https://www.bva.va.gov/docs/vlr_vol5/ridgway.pdf