Lt. Col. (ret.) Jennifer Pritzker (left), founder of the Pritzker Military Museum and Library in Chicago, salutes the color guard as they retire the colors following a rededication of the Victory Monument in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. The Illinois National Guard, the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, the 8th Infantry Association, the Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville, the World War I Centennial Commission, Friends of the Victory Monument Memorial and several dignitaries took part in the rededication of the Monument honoring the World War I service of the Illinois National Guard’s storied all African-American 8th Infantry Regiment. Click here to read more about the event, and the legacy of valor that the regiment blazed across three wars in America’s service.

As the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission shifts its mission to focus exclusively on the construction of the new National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC,  there is also a shift in staffing. Among those who will, sadly, depart the Commission team is long-term Director of Public Affairs Chris Isleib. Isleib has been with the Commission on long-term loan from the U.S. National Archives, and will return to the Archives on the first of August. Chris’s trademark contributions to the Commission web site were multi-question interviews via email with a wide assortment of individuals inside, outside, and around the Commission, and across the world. As what may be (but we hope isn’t) his final contribution, Chris took the opportunity to interview one more important person about his tenure, and his personal experiences as part of the Centennial Commission team—himself!

World War I Centennial Commission intern Joshua Haynes conducted an interview with Pär Sundström, the lead bassist for Sabaton, a Swedish power metal band that focuses on writing songs about military history. They have just completed their most recent album, The Great War, which explores various themes and events from World War I. Clearly, this album means a lot to Pär and the rest of Sabaton as well as their fans. The band takes great pride in its ability to combine the value of history with the thrill of heavy metal, developing a strong fan base across the world.  Click here to read what Pär had to say about how the The Great War came to be made, and Sabaton’s oeuvre.

America in the summer of 1919 ran red with blood from racial violence, and yet today, 100 years later, not many people know it even happened. It was branded “Red Summer” because of the bloodshed and amounted to some of the worst white-on-black violence in U.S. history. Beyond the lives and family fortunes lost, it had far-reaching repercussions, contributing to generations of black distrust of white authority. But it also galvanized blacks to defend themselves and their neighborhoods with fists and guns; reinvigorated civil rights organizations like the NAACP and led to a new era of activism; gave rise to courageous reporting by black journalists; and influenced the generation of leaders who would take up the fight for racial equality decades later. Click here to read more about how “Red Summer” in the aftermath of World War I still resonates a century later.

Walker Jagoe’s passion for aviation began in 1910 when he was 14 years old. He and fellow Denton High School student Robert Storrie built a biplane glider in Jagoe’s yard. Joining the Army in 1917, Jagoe was among America’s first group of pilots in the 135th Aero Squadron, nicknamed the “Liberty Squadron.” He flew alongside celebrated pilots like Eddie Rickenbacker and future generals Carl Spaatz and Benjamin Foulois. Click here to read more about the Texas native who flew to amazing heights in World War I, which were only recognized ten years after the war’s end.

An antique window that can only truly be appreciated from inside the Washington County Courthouse in Bristol, VA was installed a century ago in honor of local soldiers who fought in World War I. In March 1919, the Washington County Board of Supervisors approved the manufacture and installation of a one-of-a-kind window to honor the service of local soldiers and their role in World War I. The window — made of Tiffany-stained glass — was installed on July 4, 1919, as part of the town’s Independence Day celebration. Click here to read more about the remarkable window created as “a tribute to our boys who left the country for the recent war and to the ladies who did their bit to make the world safe for democracy.”

The Treaty of Versailles was signed in Versailles, France, on June 28, 1919. Says historian Victor David Hanson (left), “Neither the winners nor the losers of World War I were happy with the formal conclusion to the bloodbath.” Noting that “The traditional criticism of the treaty is that the victorious French and British democracies did not listen to the pleas of leniency from progressive American President Woodrow Wilson,” Hanson asks “A century later, how true is the traditional explanation of the Versailles Treaty?” Click here to read the entire thoughtful and contrarian perspective on how “The failure of Versailles remains a tragic lesson about the eternal rules of war and human nature itself — 100 years ago this summer.”

In July 29th’s edition of the World War I Centennial News Podcast, Episode 133, host Theo Mayer spoke with U.S. World War I Centennial Commission Executive Director Dan Dayton about the progress of the national memorial, the newly renamed memorial fundraising arm, and how World War I continues to resonate in American society.  Click here to read the entire interview with the man who has spent the last half a decade immersed in nurturing the commemoration of World War I.

In July 29th’s edition of the World War I Centennial News Podcast, Episode 133, host Theo Mayer spoke with Dr. Matthew Naylor. Dr. Naylor is an accomplished non-profit executive, a World War I Centennial Commissioner, and Chief Executive of the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, MO. Click here to learn more about Dr. Naylor, the National Memorial and Museum, and how it complements the future memorial in Washington, D.C. (and vice versa).

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 #133
Highlights: WWI Remembered in KC & DC

Host – Theo Mayer

How Treaties Are Created – Host | @ 02:23

Food Sales at Post Offices – Host | @ 08:50

National WWI Museum and Memorial in KC – Dr. Matthew Naylor | @ 10:55

Doughboy Foundation – Dan Dayton | @ 21:20

Born in the Month of July – Dave Kramer | @ 31:30

Articles & Posts: Weekly Dispatch – Host | @ 34:35

The regular Doughboy MIA will not be published this week as Managing Director Robert Laplander prepares for a major research trip to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis this week to dig deep into some of the cases we’ve been working on.

This was ONLY possible through YOUR generous donations! Thanks to all of you who gave to remember those men who “disappeared from the scene” over 100 years ago, the Doughboy MIA team is able to move another step forward in solving the mystery of what happened to some of these men – and possibly toward finding them. Without YOUR support we wouldn’t be here, plain and simple. Doughboy MIA is an all volunteer, non-profit 501(c)3 organization that receives NO funding from the US government. We are supported only through private contributions, like YOURS.

In the coming months, you will be able to see more evidence of what your contributions are doing, as Doughboy MIA will begin publishing The Silent Sentinel, a once monthly e-newsletter in which will be brought forth articles and reports to keep all of you informed of our doings. The MIA of the week that you have come to look forward to will also continue at the same time.

There are good changes coming to Doughboy MIA; changes we have been working toward for a long time and now, and through the generous contributions made to the organization thus far, we can move ever forward toward growing these changes even more! So please, keep those donations coming in! Visit www.ww1cc.org/miato make yours today. The choice of size is up to you, whether you wish to donate BIG or contribute to our ‘Ten For Them’ program (ten bucks… who can’t afford ten bucks?), whatever you choose know that EVERY dollar you send goes toward our mission: finding out what happened to these men and perhaps doing even more…

Either way, know that your contribution helps realize our motto: A Man Is Only Missing If He Is Forgotten. And you haven’t let them be forgotten thus far – so don’t stop now! Your contributions ARE making all the difference.

“Lest We Forget: The Great War”

World War I Prints from the Pritzker Military Museum & Library 

As the United States commemorates the centennial of World War I, one of the nation’s premier military history institutions pays tribute to the Americans who served and the allies they fought beside to defeat a resourceful enemy with a lavishly illustrated book.  It is an official product of the United States World War One Centennial Commission. The story of WWI is told through the memorable art it spawned―including posters from nations involved in the conflict―and a taut narrative account of the war’s signal events, its major personalities and its tragic consequences; and the timely period photographs that illustrate the awful realities of this revolutionary conflict. Most importantly, this book is a tribute to those who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and what would become the Air Force. Proceeds from the sale of this book help fund the new National WW1 Memorial in Washington, DC.

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

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