On April 6, 1917 the United States declared war against Germany, and Polk County residents answered with 1,845 joining the Armed Forces. The 2nd Florida Regiment from the local National Guard was consolidated with other National Guard units from the South, designated as the 124th Infantry, and assigned to the 31st Division, also known as the “Dixie Division,” which returned to the U.S. in July 1919. Robert J. Williams of Frostproof became the first soldier from Polk County killed in action during the war, one of sixty-four from the county who never came home. The county’s losses also included three Coast Guardsmen from Davenport and Lakeland who died together when the Germans torpedoed their ship in the English Channel. Polk County’s service ranks included 114 officers, among them Brigadier General Albert H. Blanding, one of only 8 National Guard officers appointed to flag officer by President Woodrow Wilson, as well as James A. Van Fleet, then a captain, and Spessard L. Holland, then a 1st Lieutenant and Judge Advocate General, whose service to their country continued long after World War I ended.