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Barrington honored Otto as a hero. His name appears in honor rolls in memorial books such as Soldiers of the Great War, Echoes of a Century 1847–1947 and the 1929 Illinois Roll of Honor. A Radke neighbor painted a large oval portrait of Otto in his infantry uniform, and more than one neighbor told the family that the boy had been a young man of promise. CITATION Although Otto was praised, it shows how Germans were only recognized after being forced to show their loyalty to their country.

On September 25, 1919, Woodrow Wilson announced that “any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready.” President Woodrow Wilson questioned the loyalty of immigrants, including German-Americans. In the midst of the First World War, Roosevelt saw immigrants’ allegiances to their home country as a threat to America’s national security; he claimed that “hyphenated Americans” were not committing fully to their national identity. This quote reveals the significance of labels during this time period. Many German-Americans changed their surnames or parts of their names where German descent was obvious. Furthermore, cities and stores around the nation were changed into more Americanized ones, such as Schmidt to Smith. This reveals how this sentiment penetrated beyond actions into more tangible efforts, such as names. A common phrase that was said was “obey the law; keep your mouth shut.” All German aliens in the United States had to register with local authorities. Because of New Haven’s many weapons plants, German immigrants faced a variety of restrictions on where they could work and live in the city. It can be inferred that the German Americans felt an obligation to assimilate and hide into the background of society. By