Vocalist John Brancy was featured this month in a new interview article in Classical Singer magazine. In the brilliant piece by interviewer Mary Claire Curran, Brancy opens up about his unique style, his remarkable commitment to World War I material, and his next efforts.  Click here to read the entire insightful and revealing article about the vocal half of the duo performing Silent Night: A Memorial in Song.

“Remember Me.” “Souvenir de France.” “Mother Dear.” “Merci!”These and countless other sentiments are expressed in the fabric art that came from World War I. Romantic and patriotic scenes were created on silk and cotton and wool felt. Many of the objects were made in direct response to those loved ones going to war from every country. Others were made for commercial purposes to serve the clamor for souvenirs. Click here to read more about the new exhibit that illustrates how fabric art became a colorful reminder of how deeply World War I affected those at home and away.

Paul LaRue, a member of the Ohio WWI Centennial Committee, became curious about the sources available to locate or identify his community’s WWI deaths in service. Most Ohio counties honor their community’s World War I service members with a list of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Paul’s county, Fayette, is no different. On the Fayette County Courthouse lawn is a monument with two plaques containing the names of Fayette County’s World War I dead (left). But the process of developing the list was more involved than just looking it up. Click here to read about the sources Paul used to develop a definitive database of Fayette County’s WWI deaths in service.

Randy Gaulke is a legendary battlefield tour guide, with particular expertise in World War I. He has been providing living history and tour services for several decades, to audiences here in the United States, and in Europe. He spent some time with us, to talk about his background, his efforts — and about how our followers can best work with professional battlefield tour guides, on their own trips to World War I sites.  Click here to read the entire interview, including Randy’s advice on planning a successful post-Centennial Commemoration tour of the American battlefields in France.

The WW1 Centennial News Podcast is about WW1 THEN: 100 years ago this week, and it’s about WW1 NOW: News and updates about the centennial and the commemoration. 

Available on our web site, iTunes, Google Play, Podbean, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio on Demand.  Spotify  listen on Youtube. New – Comment and ask questions via twitter @TheWW1podcast

Episode #105
Highlights: Looking Ahead at 1919!

Host: Theo Mayer

1919 Overview Roundtable – Dr. Edward Lengel, Katherine Akey, Host | @02:00

Wilson’s Great Challenge – Mike Shuster | @17:40

First into Germany: SGT Roy Holtz – And he did it on a Harley – Host | @22:00(Courtesy of author Robert Laplander)

A Century in the Making: The Winning Team – Joe Weishaar & Sabin Howard | @29:00

“American Indians in WWI”: New Website – Erin Fehr | @39:30

New showings of Peter Jackson’s “They Shall Not Grow Old” – Host | @46:40

WWI in education: Memorializing The Fallen – Host | @49:00

Not One, But Two Years of WWrite in Review!
Part 3: WWrite Goes to Yale for Armistice Day.

After almost two years of WWrite’s life, the blog had the opportunity to go from writing on the screen to live discussion at Yale University. Why Yale? Nearly 10,000 Yale students served and the campus served as a militarized facility with an officers training camp and artillery training courses. It would have been hard for any Yale student to ignore WWI. For November 2018, The Yale Veterans Association organized a panel “The Literary Legacy of World War I: Screening of Paths of Glory” with featured WWrite contributors Adrian Bonenberger, Peter Molin, Benjamin Busch, Jennifer Orth-Veillon, and Yale Dean, Brianne Bilsky. Read the panel proceedings at WWrite this week, which include analyses of Stanley Kubrick’s legendary Paths of Glory pivotal WWI literary works by Siegfried Sassoon, Ernest Hemingway, and Aline Kilmer.

Honoring the Doughboys Book

Honoring the Doughboys: Following My Grandfather’s World War I Diary is a stunning presentation of contemporary photographs taken by the author that are paired with diary entries written by his grandfather, George A. Carlson, who was a soldier in the U.S. Army during World War I. A segment of the book was recently featured in the December 25 edition of DISPATCH. Lowdermilk followed his grandfather’s path through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany and returned with these meticulously crafted photographs and his own engaging stories that bring the diary to life for contemporary readers. Lowdermilk’s passion for World War I and military history began as a young boy when he listened to his grandfather tell his stories about serving as an infantryman– a “doughboy”–in Europe during the Great War.

This and many other items are available as Official Merchandise of the United States World War One Centennial.

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