THEN & NOW
1918 Pandemic in Philadelphia As the coronavirus pandemic ravages a global community, the Crier looks back at the Spanish Flu pandemic that ravaged Philadelphia in particular. By Terry Buckalew
The Liberty Loan Parade, held on September 28, 1918, was organized to promote the government bonds issued to help pay for World War I. With more than 200,000 Philadelphians in attendance, it led to one of the country’s largest outbreaks of the 1918 flu.
T
he morning of September 28, 1918, was cool and clear. It was a beautiful day to have a War Bond rally and a parade in the city of Philadelphia. World War I was raging in Europe, and citizens needed to show their patrio-
tism by supporting the troops. Tragically several weeks later, the families of 15,000 dead Philadelphians would mark this day with dread. There were only 47 cases of Influenza (“Spanish Flu”) reported in the city by this
time. However, there were 600 stricken men in the Philadelphia Naval Base Hospital. City and military officials were congratulating themselves, believing that they had curtailed the spread. But the city’s health director, Dr. Wilmer Krusen,
