Connecticut, U.S. soldiers abroad in WWI

Unveiling of the New London Honor Roll, Feb. 22, 1918, with Mayor Ernest E. Rogers addressing the crowd. The flag was donated by the New London Ship and Engine Co.

In this handout from the U.S. Signal Corps, men, newly drafted into the Army, wait for transportation to a training camp at the train station in Waterbury, Conn., during World War I. The date is unknown.

A unit of Marines marches up State Street in New London Feb. 4, 1919, in a parade to welcome home the 56th Regiment Coastal Artillery Corps.

The 28th Infantry Regiment of the First Division, American Expeditionary Forces, going over the top on May 28, 1918, during the first American offensive of World War I in the battle of Cantigny, France.

This is a July 1918 photo of American troops along with French troops combing over the battle area after their capture of Cantigny, France during World War I.

The U.S. Army 37-mm gun crew manning their weapons on Sept. 26, 1918, during the World War I Meuse-Argonne Allied Offensive in France.

Soldiers from Battery F of the 56th Coast Artillery Regiment pose for a group photo upon their return from France in early 1919. Many of them were Connecticut National Guardsmen from the New London area who had been called to active duty.

Soldiers from Battery F of the 56th Coast Artillery Regiment pose for a group photo upon their return from France in early 1919. Many of them were Connecticut National Guardsmen from the New London area who had been called to active duty.

A digitally restored image of two U.S. soldiers run toward a bunker past the bodies of two German soldiers during World War I. From the Library of Congress caption: "Note that this may well be a staged propaganda image."

Soldiers from Fort Wright march on State Street in New London Feb. 4, 1919, in escort to the 56th Regiment Coastal Artillery Corps on their return from service in France.

A Day two-part series on the centennial of the start of World War I drawn from Connecticut military records, the archives of The Day and online sources. On April 6, 1917, the U.S. declared war on the German Empire. The Day's story includes those southeastern Connecticut residents who served.