FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WWI COMMISSION ANNOUNCES 'BELLS OF PEACE' ON ARMISTICE CENTENNIAL
Nationwide Bell-Tolli ng on November 11, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. will honor the 116,516 American men & amp; women who died in WWI
WASHINGTON DC: T he World War One Centennial Commission, along with the Pritzker Military Mu seum & Library, the Society of the Honor Guard of the Tomb of the Unkno wn Soldier, the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, today an nounced BELLS OF PEACE: A WORLD WAR ONE REMEMBRANCE.
BEL LS OF PEACE is a collaborative program, whereby American citizens and organ izations, across the entire country, are invited to toll bells in their com munities twenty-one times on Sunday, November 11, 2018 at 11:00 a.m.local t ime.
Conceived and designed in collaboration with the nation’s veterans of service with the Honor Guard at the Tomb of the U nknown Soldier, the bell tolling provides a solemn reminder of the sacrific e and service of veterans of World War I, and all veterans.
Bells will be tolled in communities across the nation, in places of wor ship, schools, town halls, public carillons, and cemeteries, to mark the ce ntennial of the Armistice that brought an end to hostilities, in what Ameri cans fervently hoped had been “The War to End All Wars.”
This nationwide program is designed to honor those American men and women who served one hundred years ago, during World War One. The war ended by an armistice agreement between the warring countries at 11 a.m. on November 1 1th, 1918.
The World War I Centennial Commission h as created a page on its website:
where people can find information and tools to conduct the bell tolling, and to meaningfully commemorate the service of their local World War One veterans.
World War One took place between July 1914 and November 1918, and was one of the dea dliest conflicts in world history. Over nine million combatants and seven m illion civilians died as a result of the war. The Unites States officially entered the war on April 6th, 1917. Some 4.7 million Americans stepped forw ard to serve in uniform during the war, 2 million of them were deployed ove rseas to fight, and 116,516 of them never made it home.
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The U.S. World War One Centennial Commission was established by Congr ess in 2013 to provide education programs, public outreach, and commemorati ve events regarding the American involvement in the war. The Centennial Com mission was also authorized by Congress to create a new national-level memo rial in the nation's capital, to honor the men and women who served. Inform ation on the new National World War One Memorial can be found at www.ww1cc.org/memorial< /a>
The American Legion was founded by three World War O ne veterans in 1919, as a verteran support organization made up of former a nd current U.S. military members. Throughout its history, The Legion has be en committed to mentoring youth and sponsorship of wholesome programs in Am erica’s communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong nati onal security, and support for servicemembers and veterans.
The Veter ans of Foreign Wars was founded in 1899 to support all honorably-discharged servicemembers, from any military branch, who served the U.S. in wars, cam paigns, expeditions, on foreign soil, or hostile waters. The VFW grew rapid ly after World War One, with hundreds of thousands eligible veterans return ing from the war. Today, it stands with the American Legion as the two larg est veteran service organizations in the world.
Wh ile it is a Congressional Commission, the U.S. World War One Centennial Com mission operates largely through private donation. The founding sponsor for the Centennial Commission was the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, in Chicago. The leading sponsor for the Centennial Commission is the Starr Fo undation, based in Washington DC. Other major supporters include the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, the Bloomberg Foundation, and the General Motors Foundation,.
CONTACT
Betsy Anderson, Program Director
U.S. World War I Centennial Commission
Tollthebells@worldwar1centen nial.org
Information on the U.S. World War I Centenn ial Commission can be found here
Information on the Society o f the Honor Guard can be found here
Information o n the Pritzker Military Museum and Library can be found here
Information on the Starr Foundation can be found he re.
Information on the Veterans of Fo reign Wars can be found here
Information on the American Legion can be fo und here
CONTACT:WWI Commission DTSTAMP:20250521T054544 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20181111T110000 SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR