Political tensions in Europe sparked war in 1914 after the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. In 1917, the Untied States entered the "Great War" against Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. Perry County contributed 818 men and 12 women nurses, and twenty-two Perry County soldiers died in action from wounds or disease. The war was the first mechanized war, using motorized vehicles, airplanes, tanks and machine guns. Reflecting changing military technology, Newport aviator Lt. David H. McCulloch served in the Office of Chief of Naval Operations for Aviation. To protect Pennsylvania Railroad bridges from possible sabotage, Company F, 3rd Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard was activated in May 1917, and after summer camp on the present Newport High School grounds, the company moved south in August for further training under Perry Countian Col. George E. Kemp. During the war, the U.S. Food Administration asked homemakers to reduce their consumption of sugar, flour and meats, while citizens bought U.S. Liberty Bonds to help finance the war. Car horns and church and school bells woke residents at dawn on November 11, 1918, to announce the end of the war, and towns held large celebrations for returning personnel in autumn of 1919. In 1920, women gained the right to vote. The 1918 influenza pandemic started in China as a potent avian virus that reached Europe and America before the end of World War I. Influenza killed more citizens than American soldiers who died during the war. Flu deaths occurred throughout Perry County, mainly in Marysville, Duncannon and Newport, and particularly affected people between the ages of 15 and 35. In a few cases, children were left without parents. Schools, churches and social groups suspended public meetings, the Perry County Fair cancelled its 1918 season, and the Newport Public Library closed temporarily. Doctors did not report deaths from the virus uniformly and often misdiagnosed it as pneumonia, 'la grippa,' tuberculosis, or, because it affected the heart muscles, as a heart attack. At least 88 Perry Countians died from the virus.