Men in Reconstruction Unit in France, 1919   From Chauncey Kauffmar

During and after World War 1, 51 Mennonites joined in the Reconstruction Service of the American Friends Service Committee. Their task was to rebuild villages and restore agricultural production in the devastated Verdun sector o, France. The above picture was taken in June of 1919 when two Mennonite representatives (S. E. Allgyer and Vernoi Smucker, both from Ohio) attended a conference of Mennonites in reconstruction work held at Clermont-en-Argonne France. Ohio young men who were active in the Conference's program included J. C. Myer, O. R. Liechty, O. B. Gerig, J. R Allgyer, and Vernon Smucker. The Conference advocated an enlarged program of relief and mission activities, an emphasis on Christian education for world service, and a youth movement committed to the challenges of postwar conditions.

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