After the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, Newport became a temporary training and guard post as Company F, 3rd Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard grew from May 2 to August 14, 1917, to 126 trainees, pitched 18 tents and a mess bungalow on the present site of Newport High School, and guarded Pennsylvania Railroad bridges in Newport, Duncannon, and Marysville amid fears of sabotage in a nation of immigrants. The men also created white stones bearing the company insignia on the hill above camp, later relocated in the 1970s to form a representation of the Newport High School buffalo logo. During their stay, the soldiers and officers socialized with local residents, and before leaving by train for Philadelphia and Augusta, GA, to continue training, their parade stirred reported distress among some of the girls left behind. Across Perry County, hundreds of young men volunteered or answered draft calls, and several women went overseas as nurses and medical personnel. In France, serving as part of the 28th Division, many died and remain buried there. The war in Europe ended on November 11, 1918, after approximately 20 million lives were lost, and after occupation duty the county's surviving soldiers, sailors, and medical personnel gradually returned home. Newport held an official Welcome Home on October 25 and 26, 1919, with a parade and festivities for the troops. The flawed Versailles treaty of 1919 left Germany bitter and angry, and a generation later the sons of these World War I veterans were called back to Europe to fight Nazism; since 1945, American soldiers, sailors, and air force personnel have remained in Europe as a shield for democracy.