Iowa teacher Ann Jackson landed in France recently for a history-filled trip to explore World War I sites as part of Memorializing the Fallen, a National History Day program sponsored by the US World War I Centennial Commission, and supported by Commission Founding Sponsor The Pritzker Military Museum and Library. The program included 16 other U.S. teachers. Jackson was chosen out of 334 applicants to take the trip. Along with American cemeteries, the group also checked out German war trenches, chapels, monuments and more. Click here to read the entire interview with Jackson, who discusses seeing the areas directly impacted by World War I, and thinking about how decisions made 100 years ago have shaped future events.

Sgt. William Butler served with the renowned all-black 369th Infantry Regiment during World War I. His heroism made headlines after he rescued five Americans who had been taken prisoner, while killing at least five Germans. The 369th got a parade on their return, and Butler received the Distinguished Service Cross and France’s highest military honor, but not the U.S. Medal of Honor. In a CBS TV News interview, Professor Jeffrey Sammons of New York University said that’s largely because of a concerted and well-documented effort by senior white officers to denigrate the performance of black soldiers. Sammons has joined forces with professor Timothy Westcott of Park University in Missouri as part of the World War I Valor Medals Review initiative to right what many see as a terrible wrong. Click here to read the entire CBS interview, and watch video to learn more about the Valor Medals Review.

Grace Banker of Passaic, NJ served in some very high places during World War I. For 20 months, she lived like a soldier at a time when the Army didn’t allow women in the ranks. She wore a U.S. Army uniform with three stripes on her sleeve and carried a helmet and a gas mask to the front lines in France. And like any soldier, Banker had to keep her cool under fire, working the switchboard at Gen. John Pershing’s headquarters amid the thunder of artillery shelling. After the war, Banker eventually moved to New York state, never to return. Recently her granddaughter came to Passaic to see the house where Banker grew up. Click here to read the interview with Banker’s granddaughter, and learn more about efforts to recognize the contributions made by the Hello Girls to the U.S. war effort a century ago.

The United States entered the European showdown of doomed empires late but with enormous impact, especially back at home, as a densely organized and visually sharp exhibit, “WWI America,” argues at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. The exhibit runs through Aug. 11. This exhibit, which originated with the highly regarded Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, Minn., includes a fair share of personal stories, such as ones about “doughboys” like Charles Whittlesey, part of a “Lost Brigade” caught behind German lines, and José de la Luz Saenz, who fought for democracy in France and against racial segregation in the U.S. Click here to read more about the Texas exhibit, and see more photos from the museum.

A major reason why the US World War I Centennial Commission does what it does is to ensure the stories, and the lessons, of World War I are given to our coming generations. So, last month, we were delighted to hear from Mr. Hugh Gardner, and Ms. Lachlan Dodge, who work with the IdeaVisions Academy in Reston, Virginia. There, they helped their high school level students to create and carry out a World War I research project that took place over this entire school year. We wanted to hear more, and sent them a number of questions about the project — and they asked students Daniel Heintz and Nolan Powers to be the spokespersons for the effort.  Click here to read the responses from the students, and learn more about their ambitious educational undertaking.

The Scioto Valley in South Central Ohio is home to numerous important Pre-Contact American Indian earthworks. The visible heritage of Ohio’s Pre-Contact American Indians are the mounds and earthworks that dot the landscape in Southern Ohio. One of the most important Pre-Contact earthworks is the Mound City Earthworks, part of the Hopewell Cultural National Historical Park near Chillicothe, Ohio. One hundred years ago, the Mound City Earthworks were partially destroyed by Camp Sherman, a World War I cantonment. Click here to read the entire article by Paul LaRue of the Ohio WWI Centennial Committee, and learn more about the conflict between war preparation and historical preservation during World War I.

Leonard E. Colvin of  the Philadelphia Tribune newspaper put the spotlight on the 369th Experiencethis week via their close connection to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States. Cohen noted that “In 1919 when the Treaty of Versailles ended World War I, two years after the U.S. entered the fight with France and Great Britain against Germany, 44 Black colleges existed. Today, 100 years later, there are 101 public and private HBCUs, and they and their students are playing an important part in reclaiming the role African-American troops and artists played in that conflict.” Click here to read the entire article on the Philadelphia Tribune newspaper web site.

Gabriel Glickman is an adjunct professor of history and is currently writing a world history book provisionally titled, “The Rise and Fall of World History: Avoiding Historical Amnesia in 21st Century Classrooms.” Writing an OpEd in the Washington Post recently, Glickman posits that America and the world may, during the centennial of the end of World War I, be getting the wrong answers to the key question about WWI: “What lessons can we learn from it to stop future localized crises from spinning out of control?” Click here to read Glickman’s entire thoughtful essay reflecting “on the cause of a war that sucked in established and aspiring powers alike during a time of peace.”

In July 5th’s edition of the World War I Centennial News Podcast, Episode 129, host Theo Mayer recalls a big story from 1919, as a young 28-year-old Lieutenant Colonel named Dwight David Eisenhower joins a convoy of military vehicles on a test trek from Washington, DC to San Francisco, California – not in a matter of days, but over the course of more than two months. Eisenhower, who  volunteered to accompany the convoy as an observer for his tank division, takes away some big lessons that still share our transportation infrastructure and traveling habits today. Click here to read the entire story of the Cross National convoy of 1919, including how young Dwight Eisenhower even pulled a rabbit of of his hat along the way.

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 #130
Highlights:
Ike’s Big Road Trip

Host – Theo Mayer

100 Years Ago This Week: Ike’s Big Road Trip –
Host |@ 01:50

Remembering Veterans: Veterans History Project – Col Karen Lloyd USA (ret.) |@ 11:15

Spotlight On the media: Ernst Jünger Documentary – Elsa Minisini |@ 22:20

Articles & Posts – Weekly Dispatch – Host |@ 33:55

A man is only missing if he is forgotten.

Monday’s MIA this week is Supply Sergeant Richard Parks. Enlisting at 19 at Columbus Barracks, Ohio on 11 September, 1916, Richard A. Parks was the only child of Thomas C. and Clara B. Parks of Ellijay, Georgia. Assigned to Company L, 9^th Infantry, he served on the Border with them before going overseas on 18 September, 1917, as a Supply Sergeant. Part of the 2^nd Division, the 9^th saw considerable action in France, including at Belleau Wood. As a Supply Sergeant, Parks’ job was an extremely important one, making sure that the needs of the troops on the front line were met. He couldn’t fail. Lives were on the line. The 2^ndDivision launched an attack in the Soissons sector on 18 July, 1918, with the aim of eliminating a German salient aimed straight for Paris. It was on this first day of the attack that while on a supply mission forward, Sergeant Parks was severely wounded in action. He later died of his wounds and it appears that his battlefield grave was never located. Very little else about this case is known at this time.

Want to help shed some light on Sergeant Parks’ case? Consider making a donation 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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The world of World War I historians has no voice more unique than John Heckman. Also known as the Tattooed Historian, John has had long experience with teaching, and creating Living History impressions for other genres, including the Civil War, before he started to really devote his maximum efforts to World War I. John is very active online, hosting a successful Podcast series, Twitter, and Facebook social media accounts. John’s take on history is very fresh — he brings modern sensibility, personal viewpoint, and soldier-level context, to his interpretation of historical topics. John has also been a great friend and partner to the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission, participating in several of our key events, including parades, commemorations, and the design rollout of the National World War I Memorial in Washington DC. Click here to read this thoughtful interview with a one-of-a-kind historian.

Ted Widmer, a distinguished lecturer at the Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York, took to the pages of the New York Times last Friday to explore the centennial of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, and how President Woodrow Wilson’s belief in his own righteousness undermined his vision for world peace via the treaty.  Click here to read Widmer’s in-depth look at the critical events of 100 years ago.

Michael Polson has a remarkable story to tell. Curator of a history museum in Northwest Arkansas, he saw a rare opportunity to do something unique to mark the World War I Centennial period, something that would be immediate, accessible, relevant, and that would have value that would last long into the future. This project was a “Letters” project, what the Arkansas Historical Association called it “one of the most valuable of the efforts marking the centennial.” Michael’s journey to success with the project is quite unique, and he took some time to tell us about it.

Though World War I officially ended 100 years ago with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, in its overwhelming influence on economic sanctions since 1919, the Allied blockade never really stopped. While it’s the narratives of destruction and change, from the bloodbath of the Somme to the triumph of Vladimir Lenin in Russia, that have captured the public imagination about the war, the way the war transformed economic warfare should also be seen as one of its central legacies, one that continues to shape international relations today. Click here to read the analysis by Phillip Dehne, professor of history at St. Joseph’s College, N.Y., in the Washington Post.

Vermont writer Sharon Lakey remembers “a story in North Danville that has held a warm spot in my heart for many years. Ben Clifford, an old country poet, walked the back roads of North Danville and left his handwritten poems in neighbors’ mailboxes.” But preparations for the upcoming July 4th celebration in North Danville brought to light some undiscovered writings by Clifford on World War I. Click here to read more about how “Ben gives us an inkling of the reality of that war, a stark memory that stayed with him for the rest of his life.”

We previously chronicled in DISPATCH the story of Terry Krautwurst, who devoted 10 years of his life documenting the men and women of Genesee County, New York who served in World War I. But there has been a nagging loose end to the amazing historical project, one that Kratwurst had almost given up on solving. Click here to read the remarkable story about how a last-resort request uncovered the missing piece of the the puzzle that enabled Kratwurst to put the “Mission: Accomplished” label on his World War I historical project in 2019.

Those who serve in war have a tendency to not talk much about that experience. If they do, it is typically much later in life. That was the case with Kenneth S. McKay, who served his country in World War I as a member of Company L, the Redwood Falls, Minnesota National Guard Unit.  Click here to read the entire story of how a bequest from one part of the McKay family to another brought a collection of items from Kenneth’s time in the service to rest in the local museum, where their century-old story can now finally be told.

In June 28th’s edition of the World War I Centennial News Podcast, Episode 129, host Theo Mayer interviewed Dr. Jennifer Orth-Veillon. Dr. Orth-Veillon is a writer, researcher, and war literature expert who has curated the Commission’s WWrite blog for the past several years. The blog is self-described as exploring WWI’s influence on contemporary writing and scholarship and has earned a loyal following of over 30,000 avid readers. Click here to find out how WWrite came to be, and to learn more about how World War I changed writing and literature forever.

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# 129
4th of July, 1919

Host – Theo Mayer

4th of July, 1919 –
Host |@ 02:05

Extra Extra: The Treaty is signed – Mike Shuster |@ 08:40

The WWrite Blog –
Dr. Jennifer Orth-Veillon |@ 14:00

Bladensburg Peace Cross –
Host |@ 25:50

Articles & Posts –
Host |@ 31:15

A man is only missing if he is forgotten.

Monday’s MIA this week is Private Robert McClain. Born in Rome Georgia in 1898, Robert John McClain enlisted in the Georgia National Guard on 16 July, 1917 at Atlanta and was assigned to Company A, 5^th Infantry, GNG, whose duty station was Camp Wheeler, at Macon, Georgia. The year before, this unit had been federalized for duty on the Mexican Border as Company A, 122^ndInfantry. Following the declaration of war in 1917, the 122^nd had been assigned duty to the 31^st ‘Dixie Division’, which would go overseas as a replacement division in September, 1918.

By that time however, Private McClain had already sailed for France aboard the troopship Orduna on 20 June, 1918 as a member of Company #5, Camp Wheeler June Automatic Replacement Draft, which had been drawn from Camp Wheeler trainees. Ten days later he was ‘Over There’, and a week after that, having received some machine gun training while with the 122^nd, McClain was assigned to Company B, 150^th Machine Gun Battalion, 42^nd ‘Rainbow’ Division. He was with them but a short time when, on 28 July, 1918, he was killed in action, having been in France less than a month.

Private McClain is memorialized on the Tablets to the Missing at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery at Belleau Wood. Nothing else is known about his case at this time.

Want to help shed some light on Private McClain’s case? Consider making a donation 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.

Navy Blue Doughboy Polo Shirt

Perfect for summer! Inspired by the iconic image of an American Doughboy, you can wear your American pride with this Made in the USA polo shirt. An informal term for a member of the U.S. Army or Marine Corps, “Doughboy” is especially used to refer to the American Expeditionary Forces in World War One. Largely comprised of young men who had dropped out of school to join the army, this poignant lone silhouette of a soldier in trench warfare serves as a reminder of those who sacrificed so much one century ago. Shirt features: Navy with white Doughboy embroidery. 100% combed cotton pique, 6.2 oz. pre-shrunk fabric. Shirt has 3 wood-tone buttons, and side seam design for shape retention. Mens’ sizes available S – 2XL. Proceeds from the sale of this item will help to fund the building of the national World War One Memorial in Washington, D.C.

This and many other items are available as Official Merchandise of the United States World War One Centennial. A Certificate of Authenticity is included.

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