Midwest

On this day in history, July 8, 1918, American Red Cross driver Ernest Hemingway is wounded in World War I

Published

2 years ago

July 8, 2024

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On this day in history, July 8, 1918, American Red Cross driver Ernest Hemingway is wounded in World War I

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On this date in history, July 8, 1918, the iconic novelist Ernest Hemingway, then an 18-year-old ambulance driver for the American Red Cross, was struck by a mortar shell while serving on the Italian front, along the Piave delta, in World War I, noted History.com.

A native of Oak Park, Illinois, Hemingway was employed as a reporter for The Kansas City Star when war broke out in Europe in 1914, noted the same source.

Hemingway worked as a volunteer for the Red Cross in France before the American entry into the war in April 1917; he was subsequently transferred to the Italian front.

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On the evening of July 8, 1918, Hemingway was struck by a mortar shell while handing out chocolate to Italian soldiers.

The incident knocked him unconscious; fragments of shell entered his right foot and his knee and struck his thighs, scalp and hand, according to History.com.

American writer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) working at a portable table while on a big game hunt in Kenya, Sept. 1952. (Earl Theisen/Getty Images)

“Two Italian soldiers standing between Hemingway and the shell’s point of impact were not so lucky, however. One was killed instantly and another had both his legs blown off and died soon afterward,” the same source indicated.

Hemingway worked to secure the safety of his fellow soldiers, getting them out of harm’s way, according to The Ernest Hemingway Collection.

The Italian government awarded him the Silver Medal of Military Valor for his heroic actions, said the same source.

“A Farewell to Arms” is set amid WWI and weaves an enduring story of love and war.

Hemingway’s experiences in Italy during World War I are reported to have been an integral part of his larger-than-life persona, as well as provided the material for one of his best-loved novels, “A Farewell to Arms,” released in 1929.

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It chronicles the love of a young American ambulance driver for a beautiful English nurse on the Italian front during the Great War, said History.com.

“A Farewell to Arms” weaves an enduring story of love and war while creating a historically accurate depiction of the Battle of Caporetto and fighting on the Italian front against German attacks, recounted the National Veterans Memorial and Museum.

Amid World War I, the interior of an American barracks at Lux (Côte-d’Or, France), in 1918. (adoc-photos/Getty Images)

“What makes this novel so interesting is that a prominent portion of ‘A Farewell to Arms’ was written autobiographically,” noted the same source.

“Hemingway himself volunteered to be an ambulance driver on the Italian front during the First World War and served for 10 months in Europe. He experienced the harsh realities of war without serving as a soldier and even sustained injuries due to a mortar shelling on July 8, 1918.”

Hemingway was the first American awarded the Italian Silver Medal of Valor for carrying a wounded Italian soldier to safety, even though badly wounded himself, according to the National Veterans Memorial and Museum.

“Due to his own injuries, Hemingway was transferred to a hospital in Milan and was rendered incapable of continuing his duties as an ambulance driver.”

“Due to his own injuries, Hemingway was transferred to a hospital in Milan and was rendered incapable of continuing his duties as an ambulance driver, which ultimately ended his tenure with the Red Cross,” the same source stated.

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“A Farewell to Arms” tells how American lieutenant Frederic Henry, while working with the Italian ambulance service during World War I, meets English nurse Catherine Barkley, said Britannica.com.

“Although she still mourns the death of her fiancé, who was killed in the war, Catherine encourages Frederic’s advances,” the same source recounted.

“After he is badly wounded by a trench mortar shell near the Isonzo River in Italy, he is brought to a hospital in Milan, where he is eventually joined by Catherine.”

American novelist Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) in Stresa, circa 1955. (Keystone/Getty Images)

As he recovers, Catherine tends to him — and during this time, time their relationship deepens.

Henry confesses he’s in love with her, and Catherine soon becomes pregnant by Frederic, chronicles Britannica.com.

The storyline continues when a hospital employee discovers that Frederic has hid alcohol in his hospital room and he is sent back to the front.

Following the Battle of Caporetto (1917), he deserts the army, escaping execution by Italian military police.

He soon learns that she has been sent to Stresa, travels there by train — and reunites with Catherine.

Then, while in Milan, Frederic searches for Catherine.

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He soon learns that she has been sent to Stresa, travels there by train — and reunites with Catherine. The pair flee Italy by crossing the border into neutral Switzerland, noted Britannica.com.

He and Catherine are arrested by Swiss border authorities, but the couple are permitted to stay in Switzerland.

After living together for a bit in Switzerland, Catherine goes into labor. Sadly, their son is born stillborn — and Catherine hemorrhages and dies.

This March 14, 1946, file photo shows author Ernest Hemingway with his then-new wife, Mary Welsh, after their wedding in Havana, Cuba. (The Associated Press/File)

The storyline for the book is based somewhat on Hemingway’s own experiences.

“Severely wounded, he recuperated in a Red Cross hospital in Milan where he fell in love with one of his nurses,” stated the National Endowment of the Arts.

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“This relationship proved the model for Frederic and Catherine’s tragic romance in ‘A Farewell to Arms.’”

And, even though the end of the story was different than Hemingway’s life — both stories are tragic. “Both Hemingway and Frederic get left alone and hurt, without their love,” said the University of Michigan.

In 1953, Hemingway received the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for “The Old Man and the Sea” (1952), a short heroic novel about an old Cuban fisherman who, after an extended struggle, hooks a giant marlin only to have it eaten by sharks during the long voyage home, according to Britannica.com.

In 1954, Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The Swedish Academy, which presented the honor, said of the-then 55-year-old American author, in its citation: He was awarded the honor “for his powerful, style-forming mastery of the art of modern narration, as most recently evinced in ‘The Old Man and the Sea,’” according to The New York Times.

Hemingway was 61 years old when he died by suicide on July 2, 1961.

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Illinois

Pounds, Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles take on the Western Illinois Leathernecks

Published

36 minutes ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Pounds, Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles take on the Western Illinois Leathernecks

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (6-10, 1-4 OVC) at Western Illinois Leathernecks (4-12, 0-5 OVC)

Macomb, Illinois; Saturday, 4:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Tennessee Tech faces Western Illinois in OVC action Saturday.

The Leathernecks have gone 3-4 at home. Western Illinois is 3-8 in games decided by 10 or more points.

The Golden Eagles have gone 1-4 against OVC opponents. Tennessee Tech has a 3-8 record against teams over .500.

Western Illinois is shooting 41.2% from the field this season, 2.7 percentage points lower than the 43.9% Tennessee Tech allows to opponents. Tennessee Tech has shot at a 45.6% clip from the field this season, 0.8 percentage points fewer than the 46.4% shooting opponents of Western Illinois have averaged.

The Leathernecks and Golden Eagles match up Saturday for the first time in OVC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Lucas Lorenzen is averaging 14.9 points for the Leathernecks. Isaiah Griffin is averaging 1.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Mekhi Cameron is scoring 11.3 points per game with 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists for the Golden Eagles. Dani Pounds is averaging 10.7 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 49.3% over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Leathernecks: 3-7, averaging 67.7 points, 32.5 rebounds, 9.4 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 40.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.0 points per game.

Golden Eagles: 3-7, averaging 74.5 points, 30.5 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 7.0 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 83.4 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Indiana

Rematch history in CFP and BCS favors Oregon vs. Indiana in Peach Bowl

Published

42 minutes ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Rematch history in CFP and BCS favors Oregon vs. Indiana in Peach Bowl

The College Football Playoff national semifinal at the Peach Bowl marks a rematch of No. 1 seed Indiana’s 30-20 win against No. 5 Oregon in October, the first of several results this year that have left the Hoosiers knocking on the door of a historic and unbeaten season.

With two more wins, Indiana would become the first 16-0 national champion since Yale in 1894. But in order to make history, the Hoosiers will need to reverse some recent history.

Since the 1996 season, there have been seven regular-season rematches in the College Football Playoff and in national championship games played under the two previous postseason formats, the Bowl Championship Series and the Bowl Alliance. Four of these pairings have occurred since the playoff expanded last season.

Surprisingly, all but one of these games have seen the loser from the regular season rebound to win the rematch. This could be a coincidence. At a minimum, though, this trend shows the difficulties in defeating an elite opponent twice in under a four-month span.

The Hoosiers look to buck that recent history. Here’s a look back at these rematches and what they might suggest about the Peach Bowl:

Ole Miss vs. Georgia, 2025

Results: Georgia 43-35, Ole Miss 39-34.

Ole Miss led Georgia in the second half when the two met in October but coughed up a lead for its one and only loss on the year. The two SEC rivals met again in the Sugar Bowl earlier this month, with the Rebels pulling out the win on a late field goal. Unlike during the regular season, Ole Miss landed a big game from Trinidad Chambliss and did much better running the ball, indicating how teams can strategize by looking back and evaluating the previous matchup.

Ole Miss vs. Tulane, 2025

Results: Ole Miss 45-10, Ole Miss 41-10.

Here’s the one outlier. The Rebels stampeded over Tulane at home in September and then did the same in the opening round. The one difference: Lane Kiffin was the head coach for the first game and Pete Golding for the second. In this case, a significant edge in talent was the biggest factor in helping Ole Miss defy recent history.

Oklahoma vs. Alabama, 2025

Results: Oklahoma 23-21, Alabama 34-24.

Again, an SEC rematch that reversed the regular-season result. Oklahoma’s win in November sparked its run to the playoff. That seemed to carry over to the opening round, when the Sooners stormed out to a 17-0 lead. But the Tide crawled back to tie for the biggest comeback in playoff history.

Oregon vs. Ohio State, 2024

Results: Oregon 32-31, Ohio State 41-21.

Oregon narrowly pulled out the win in Autzen Stadium and then went on to post a perfect regular season, earning the top seed in the debut of the expanded playoff. But in the Rose Bowl the Ducks ran into a buzzsaw in the Buckeyes, who stormed out to a 34-0 late in the second quarter and won going away. A year later, Oregon hopes to follow Ohio State’s blueprint and score the upset against the unbeaten Big Ten champs.

Alabama vs. Georgia, 2021

Results: Alabama 42-24, Georgia 33-18.

The Tide knocked off then-unbeaten Georgia in the SEC championship game behind 421 yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Bryce Young. That landed Alabama in the four-team playoff as the No. 1 seed, while Georgia slotted in at No. 3. The pair met in the championship game after beating Cincinnati and Michigan, respectively, and the Bulldogs would hold Young to 6.5 yards per throw and make two picks to take the first of back-to-back titles.

LSU vs. Alabama, 2011

Results: LSU 9-6, Alabama 21-0

The Tigers’ overtime win during the regular season was about as ugly as the score suggests with five field goals being the only scores. The rematch in the title game about two months later wasn’t any better. Alabama’s defense barely allowed LSU to cross midfield in this second meeting to win the second of Nick Saban’s six titles in Tuscaloosa.

Results: Florida State 24-21, Florida 52-20.

No other rematch has come within such a short time frame. FSU topped Florida on Nov. 30 to end the regular season and drew the immediate rematch in the Sugar Bowl, which was designated as the championship game in the Bowl Alliance format, because then-No. 2 Arizona State was obligated to face No. 4 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. This time, Steve Spurrier’s Gators bombarded the Seminoles to capture the first national title in program history with the Sun Devils falling to the Buckeyes.

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Iowa

Iowa Great Lakes businessman Butch Parks dies at 81

Published

48 minutes ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Iowa Great Lakes businessman Butch Parks dies at 81

SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa (KTIV) – The Iowa Great Lakes community is remembering Leo “Butch” Parks, a longtime lakes-area businessman and founder of Parks Marina.

He died Tuesday, Jan. 6, at the age of 81.

Parks established the marina on East Lake Okoboji in 1983, growing it from a small fishing boat operation into a business with marinas, sales, service, rentals, storage, and popular destinations like the Barefoot Bar.

Parks and his wife, Debbie, also owned Okoboji Boat Works for 23 years.

Funeral services are set for Friday, Jan. 16, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Spirit Lake. It will be followed by a celebration of life at Snapper’s restaurant in Okoboji that evening.

Want to get the latest news and weather from Siouxland’s News Source? Follow these links to download our KTIV News app and our First Alert Weather app.

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