Homemade War

Thomas Murray was as swept up in war enthusiasm as everybody else, but at 15 years of age, he wasn't old enough to join the army just yet, so he had to make do with war games. One evening in May, he and his friend Charles Cunningham set about to play war on the Porter County farm of Thomas' parents, John and Augusta.

I suppose that since they were teenagers, they would have been embarrassed to use sticks or their fingers for guns, but the Murray farm, like every other farm, had guns on hand, so the boys used the real thing for their play battle — unloaded, of course. They chose sides; then at the agreed-upon signal they charged at each other, yelling "Pow!" for their guns. And then Charles' gun spoke for itself. It hadn't been completely unloaded, after all.


(Click on image to enlarge)
Thomas Murray died on May 22, 1918, and is buried in Mosier Cemetery, also known as the Blachly Corners Cemetery, in Porter County.


Source: "Thomas Murray, of Blachly Corners, Shot by Playmate." Hobart News 30 May 1918.