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One Hundred Years of the Los Angeles Victory Memorial Grove: Flag Day 2019
“If one had taken a short hike on Flag Day in Elysian Park in Los Angeles on the one hundredth anniversary of the dedication of the park and passed by the World War One monument there, your heart surely would have taken a patriotic beat at what you witnessed. A proud display by a striking color-guard, a moving rendition of our National Anthem, and heroic tales of bravery in the field all added to the remarkable feeling of dignity and gratification at being an American.” So writes Bill Betten, California WW1 Centennial Task Force Co-Director, of the ceremony in Los Angeles last week. Click here to read Bill’s entire report on the Centennial event in Los Angeles.
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An interesting new World War I-themed photo book project will come out later this year. The 640-page book, entitled “„In the Centennial Footsteps of the Great War“, the book will be a tribute to the centennial of the First World War, done through contemporary imagery. We spoke to the book project’s author, Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy, about the book’s photography, and the book’s aims. Attila has an interesting background — he is an economist, a photographer, the founder of Historical Military Photos Ltd, and the former President of the Budapest Stock Exchange. Attila took some time to talk to us about his amazing World War I project, and share some of the incredible photography featured in the volume.
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The Centennial Commission has been partners and friends with a number of organizations over the years. Among them is a very special group — the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This group has a strong focus — to make certain that the individuals that made the ultimate sacrifice of their life for our freedom are not forgotten, and that the general public understands this price of freedom. The members of the Society are preparing for the Centennial of the arrival of the first Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery. To help us all mark this special anniversary, Society members have developed a new initiative to help us to remember the service of our veterans, and the memory of our fallen. We were able to talk with the Project Director, Richard Azzaro, about the project.
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Over the last several summers, visitors to the Charles Lindbergh Historical Site have had the chance to take a look into the lives of people on the home front of World War I, thanks to volunteers and staff reenacting life on the Lindbergh property at the time. That will come to an end after this summer. In its final year, visitors can come enjoy the program Saturday July 6, July 20, Aug. 3, Aug. 17 and Aug. 31. Through a tour of the Lindbergh home, visitors learn some of the things people went through during the war on the Home Front. Click here to read more about the World War I programming at the Charles Lindbergh Historical Site in Minnesota this summer.
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From the World War I Centennial News Podcast
Remembering Veterans: Hawaii WWI Centennial Task Force Chairman Colonel Arthur Tulak on the upcoming Honolulu WWI Symposium
In June 7th’s edition of the World War I Centennial News Podcast, Episode 126, host Theo Mayer interviewed Colonel Arthur Tulak, Chairman of the Hawaii World War I Centennial Task Force. Colonel Tulak discusses Hawaii’s role in the First World War, the activities of the Task Force, and an upcoming academic symposium in Honolulu. Click here to read the entire transcript of this podcast interview.
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Commission News: Raising Money for the National WWI Memorial with Director of Development Phil Mazzara
Episode #127
Highlights: Stars and Stripes
Aftermath of WWI Perspective – Host | @ 02:25
Stars And Stripes Last WWI Issue – Host | @ 04:15
Insights into Stripes – Robert H. Reid | @ 06:45
Preserving the Stripes’ Legacy – Laura Meyer & Sue Mayo | @ 10:05
Germany in Shock at Peace Treaty – Mike Shuster | @ 13:55
War Memoirs From WWI: “John Lucy” – Dr. Edward Lengel | @ 18:15
WWI Genealogy Research Guide Update – Host | @ 23:50
American POWs in WWI – Col Greg Eanes, (USAF ret.) | @ 25:30
Mobile WWI Museum Update – Keith Colley | @ 32:20
Dispatch Highlights – Host | @ 40:15
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WWrite Tripleheader!
This week, WWrite features three new posts in preparation for ending the blog series in June. National Book Award winner, Phil Klay, will write the last post next week, but before we say this final, exciting goodbye, we are honored to present the following authors this week:
1. They Shall Not Grow Old – and Neither Have We
By Teresa Fazio
This past January, amid headlines of US negotiations with the Taliban and lingering Syrian ISIL strongholds, former Marine Officer and award-winning freelance writer, Teresa Fazio, escaped internet news for an afternoon of 3D immersion in They Shall Not Grow Old, by Peter Jackson. But when she forked over twenty bucks for a ticket, she didn’t know that what would strike her even harder than this impressive technical reconstruction was the similarity of the youthful soldiers to my Marines in Iraq in 2004. Don’t miss “They Shall Not Grow Old – and Neither Have We,” by Teresa Fazio this week at WWrite!
2. Movies That Made Me – A Farewell to Arms
By Jenny Pacanowski
Often people ask former Army medic, Jenny Pacanowski, at her poetry events if she started writing before her deployment to Iraq in 2004 or before. She answers that it was watching old movies on her parent’s couch, that made her a poet. This week, she shares inspiration gained from the 1957 version of Hemingway’s iconic WWI novel, A Farewell to Arms. While the time and circumstances were different, Hemingway’s tale from almost100 years ago resonates with her experience as a medic in Iraq. Read Movies That Made Me – A Farewell to Arms by Jenny Pacanowski at WWrite this week!
3. When the War Didn’t End
By Rob Bokkon
Every WWI aficionado knows the date and the hour. 11AM, Paris time, November 11, 1918. The Armistice and the end of the Great War. The world was free from tyranny. Safe for democracy, in the words of President Woodrow Wilson. As writer Rob Bokkon, this week’s third WWrite contributor attests, however, on the global scale, tragic stories abound about how the war didn’t end on November 11, 1918. Part of these unknown stories involve American troops fighting the Bolsheviks in the nascent Soviet Union, and the lynching of African-American veterans in the South, often by their own brothers in arms. Read Bokkon’s post, When the War Didn’t End, to understand why he thinks these stories are just as much a part of the Great War narrative as the tales of heroism at WWrite this week!
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General George S. Patton is best known for his leadership in WW2, but in WW1, he served with the US Tank Corps.
Not many people know that Patton was also an enthusiastic writer of poetry: his poem dedicated to the tanks he commanded is one of his quirkier literary efforts.
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A man is only missing if he is forgotten.
Monday’s MIA this week is Private Earl Cliett. Born in 1891 at Cairo, Georgia, Earl I. Cliett was the son of Lee and Amanda Cliett, farmers by trade, and one of four children. He was living in the town of Reno, in Grady County, Georgia when he enlisted in the Regular Army at Fort Thomas, Kentucky on 3 April, 1917; just days before President Wilson declared war on Germany. He was immediately assigned to Company I, 28th Infantry. He sailed on 14 June aboard the troop ship Tenedores, bound for France – one of the first contingent of American soldiers to arrive ‘Over There’, where the 28th Infantry would be an integral unit of the newly forming 1st Division. Private Cliett served in all the battles the 28th Infantry was involved in until he was killed in action on 20 July, 1918. He is memorialized on the Tablets to the Missing at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery at Belleau Wood. He was the first soldier from Grady County, Georgia killed in the war and his family received word on 2 August, 1918. Nothing else is known about his case at this time.
Want to help shed some light on Private Cliett’s case? Consider making a donation to to Doughboy MIA and help us make a full accounting of the 4,423 American service personnel still listed as missing in action from WW1. Make your tax deductible donation now, with our thanks.
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Inspired by the iconic image of a U.S. Doughboy, you can wear your American pride with this Made in the USA hat. The poignant lone silhouette of a soldier in trench warfare serves as a reminder of those who sacrificed so much one century ago. The Navy hat with white Doughboy embroidery is a 100% cotton, structured with contrasting pancake visor, sweatband and taping, and pre-curved bill. The velcro closure features U.S. flag emblem. A Certificate of Authenticity as Official Merchandise of the United States World War One Centennial is included. Order your Doughboy Commemorative hat here.
This and many other items are available as Official Merchandise of the United States World War One Centennial. Proceeds from the Official WWI Centennial Merchandise help to fund the building of the national World War One Memorial in Washington, D.C.
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Maurice Herbert Roberts
Submitted by: Thomas, “T.J.” Cullinane {Town Historian}
Maurice Herbert Roberts was born in 1900. Maurice Roberts served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The enlistment was in 1917 and the service was completed in 1918.
Story of Service
Forgotten Sorrow, Forgotten Valor.
In gazing at the serene visage of Maurice Roberts, one gets the impression of a young man who has wisdom beyond his years. Just eighteen when he volunteered for the Army, Maurice had seen his mother Carrie pass away at age 39 after a long and painful fight with uterine cancer. As his unit was preparing for overseas movement at Camp Syracuse, New York, he would learn of the death of his nineteen year old sister Melissa from tuberculosis.
In spite of these tragedies, or perhaps because of them, Roberts would fight with reckless abandon on the Western Front. He would be cited twice for bravery by the French government, a very rare distinction for a lowly enlisted man, before being killed in action during the opening stages of the Meuse-Argonne Campaign.
Maurice Roberts was born in Derry, New Hampshire on May 2, 1900, to Albert B. “A.B.” Roberts, a shoemaker and town selectman and the former Carrie E. Nutter. The family made their home at No. 2 McGregor Street in Derry. In addition to Maurice and Melissa, A.B. and Carrie had two older children, Rena and Alvin. Alvin, who preferred to be called by his middle name Burton, also served in the war. He would see heavy fighting while assigned as an artilleryman with the 103rd Artillery Regiment, 26th “Yankee” Division. Burton survived the war, but would die three years before his fortieth birthday. Maurice, a student who probably never held a full time job, enlisted in the Army at age 18 and was given serial number 39184. His stateside training would eventually take him to Camp Syracuse, a mobilization camp located four miles outside the city. Here, he would be assigned to the 9th Infantry Regiment. The 9th Infantry was, and remains, a distinguished regular army unit. They are known as the “Manchus” a nickname they earned during the Boxer Rebellion in China where three of the their members had earned the Medal of Honor.
Read Maurice Herbert Roberts’ entire Story of Service here.
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