Sync Call for Wednesday December 07, at 12pm EDT
News at a Glance
1. New Jersey 2 minute WWI promo video presented by Veronica Calder
2. "April 6 Centennial In Your State" toolkit
3. Admiral Mike Mullen joins WW1CC as advisor
4. PBS "The Great War" series Rollout presented by Carrie Phillips
5. 100 Cities / 100 Memorials - VFW signs up as Supporting Organization
6. "Trench Commander" blog on WW1CC Website - Curator Richards Bachus presents
7. " The War to End All Wars" Symposium explained by Peter Mansoor
Read more below - Watch the video above
Sync Call Minutes
December 07, 2016
Update from the States
Hawaii
Because today is the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, launching America into World War II, we thought we would take just a moment and focus on our friends in Hawaii a quarter century earlier.
If you have never seen it, the Hawaii WWI Centennial website features an interesting timeline on their home page that traces Hawaii’s involvement in WWI, including early developments of US submarines, German ships in their ports and more.
See the timeline at ww1cc.org/hawaii
HAWAII LINK:
http://ww1cc.org/hawaii
Texas
We have some interesting updates from our states, beginning with news coming from the lone star state.
In a newsletter announcement this week, our friends from Texas announced that Dr. Lila Rakoczy has been hired at the Texas Historical Commission to fill the position of Military Sites Program Coordinator. Lila, Welcome to the Team!
Check out the Texas WWI Centennial website to read other great information in their newsletter which we have linked you to in the chatroom.
TEXAS LINK:
http://us8.campaign-archive1.com/?u=a81983406c0860675f248398b&id=6c0156ff79&e=bfacce1c9f
NEW JERSEY
Next, we have another special guest, Veronica Calder, an archivists from the New Jersey State Archives. The state has launched a 2-minute video which spotlights NJ and the Great War. Veronica ,would you like to tell us a little bit more about it and the NJ WWI Centennial commemoration plan?
New Jersey Website:
http://www.visitnj.org/ww1
THE APRIL 6 CENTENNIAL IN YOUR STATE TOOLKIT
In case you missed it, last Thursday, during our monthly state outreach call, we launched the April 6th Centennial in Your State Toolkit. As you know, in less than 120 days, our nation will be celebrating America’s entry into the war to end all wars. Here at the Commission, we are busy planning a major event entitled April 6: Fiery Trial and Sacrifice Ahead of Us that will take place in Kansas City, at the National WWI Museum and Memorial. We hope you will join us by organizing your own commemorative event in your state! so…. to help you, we have put together a toolkit of resources such as a template for a commemorative program, suggestions for types of events, December to do list, and more.
The toolkit also includes a really interesting 3-minute video that sets the stage for “why WWI matters” it does a great job of captivating people’s imagination and can be easily used at your event. You can find a link to the State Outreach Toolkit in the chatroom.
STATE COMMEMORATIVE TOOLKIT
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByWh94OVAOx3dlV6YnNncEJDZ3M
News and Announcements
Speaking of organization news, here is our News and Announcement section for this week.
First of all - We are proud to announce Admiral Mike Mullen has signed on to become a Special Advisor to the United States World War One Centennial Commission. Admiral Mullen served as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As an advisor, he will provide expert advice in order to help the Commission carry out its goal of honoring and commemorating the 4.7 million Americans who served in World War One. On behalf of everyone here at the commission, thank you Admiral Mullen, and welcome to the team!
MIKE MULLEN LINK:
http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/communicate/press-media/wwi-centennial-news.html
NPR Series trailer
Moving forward, April 2017 is going to be chock-full of WWI events! - and in the media-world one of those events is a brand new PBS and the American Experience, documentary entitled The Great War.
The Great War tells the rich and complex story of World War I , through the voices of nurses, journalists, aviators and the American troops who came to become affectionately known as “doughboys.”
With us here today to give an update about the series is Carrie Phillips, Director of Audience Development for American Experience at WGBH, Boston. Hi Carrie - welcome. Could you tell us more about the upcoming documentary The Great War?
Carrie interview
Thank you, Carrie. we look forward to seeing the entire Great War series in April on PBS and the American Experience.
THE GREAT WAR LINK:
http://www.pbs.org/about/blogs/news/pbs-and-american-experience-announce-the-great-war-to-premiere-april-2017/
PREVIEW VIDEO LINK:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/great-war/player/
100 Cities / 100 Memorials
Next we have an update from our 100 Cities / Memorials blog. This week’s top news is that the Veterans of Foreign Wars, national organization, has agreed to officially support the 100 cities / 100 Memorials program as a “supporting organization”. This is very exciting news for the program as we have less than 6 months left for teams to identify, organize and submit matching grant applications for consideration. Take a moment, and read the blog post to learn more. The link is in the chatroom. Remember, we can publicize your submission which can really help with fundraising in your community.
100 CITIES / 100 MEMORIALS LINK:
http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/100-cities-100-memorials-blog.html
Richard Bachus
While you’re on our WW1CC website, check out our newest blog, Trench Commander. This series is written by Richard Bachus who follows his grandfather and the Bachus family through World War One and beyond. As a special treat, we have the author of Trench Commander on the line. Good afternoon, Richard.
Richard Bachus Interview
TRENCH COMMANDER BLOG LINK:
http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/trench-commander-home.html
Thank you Richard. We look forward to watching your family’s story unfold in the upcoming months.
War To End All Wars Symposium Video Series
Let’s take a look at another recent addition to our website - last week we mentioned we are releasing a six-episode series of videos from the Ohio State University “The War To End All Wars” symposium. Theo Mayer our chief technologist spoke with Richard Mansoor - the event organizer from Ohio State University - about the symposium and his specific presentation, first video in the lectures series, “The Military History of World War I”. Here is the interview:
Peter Mansoor Interview
After you listen to Peter’s lecture, check out, this week’s Episode 2, in the series from Professor Jennifer Siegel. Episode 2 provides an amazing perspective on WWI that most people may never have thought about: Financing the First World War. See her interesting 50 minute presentation on our web site.
WAR TO END ALL WARS LINK:
http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/educate/history/the-war-to-end-all-wars.html
Education Newsletter:
More news….
Hot off the press~The new issue of the “Understanding The Great War” education newsletter produced by the WWI Museum in collaboration with the WW1 Centennial Commission came out on yesterday, December 6.
This issue of the semi-monthly newsletter’s theme is Trench Life and the Christmas Truce.
PART 1 of the newsletter is a great resource of links and articles that allow educators to share the horrific experience of what life in the trenches was like. When you see the newsletter, the lead quote is about “The MUD” which interestingly parallels the poetry reading introduction of this week’s Symposium episode. Apparently the mud was memorable!
Check out PART 2 “The Christmas Truce” -- which tells the story of an incredible event that actually happened 102 years ago in 1914. The newsletter provides context, references and resources to this WWI holiday story. Check it out this Christmas season.
You’ll see the link in the chatroom that you subscribe to the newsletter.
LINK TO THE CURRENT NEWSLETTER
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/-Understanding-the-Great-War----Issue--4---Trench-Life-and-the-Christmas-Truce.html?soid=1112454519225&aid=9QwviG425dM
“Understanding The Great War” education newsletter subscription link:
http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/educate/education-resources.html
The Great War Channel
Alright, as always, The Great War Channel on youtube has several great new videos up this week. Check them out at www.youtube.com/TheGreatWar. The new videos are:
- Hand Grenades - The Belgian Army and Flemish Nationalism
- WW1 Archaeologists At The Site Of The First German Gas Attack
- Romania On The Ropes - Reflections On The Battle of the Somme I THE GREAT WAR Week 123
THE GREAT WAR CHANNEL LINK:
https://www.youtube.com/c/thegreatwarseries
The War in the Sky: Theo Mayer - www.ww1cc.org/warinthesky
And now, it’s time for Theo Mayer our Chief Technologist to take you to The Great War In The Sky - Good afternoon, Theo. What’s going on this week - one hundred years ago ?
A short overview today...
There is not much listed in our timeline 100 years ago this week in the great war in the sky.
However, December was a very busy month in the air war.
In overview, the Germans continue to dominate the skies over the front led primarily by Jasta 2, .... that is the squadron established by Osward Boelke who you might remember was fatally shot down a bit over a month ago on October 28th.
The squadron continue to engage and shoot down large numbers of French and English planes.
A little later this month we will also hear about the UK's response to German air raids into their nation and about German zeppelin raids heading out to Russia.... in the winter....
So that is a December overview from high-up... in the great war in the sky 100 years ago this week.
Thanks, Theo.
Today, Mike Shuster will be telling us about Britain’s dire financial situation during the war. Here’s an update now with The Great War Project:
The Great War Project: Mike Shuster - www.greatwarproject.org/
Thanks Mike.
Today we hope you’ve enjoyed our show and will take advantage of the many WWI resources available for you and your community.
Justin, do we have any questions from the live audience?
So that’s all for today, Special thanks to all our guests, Veronica Calder, Carrie Phillips, Richard Bachus, Professor Peter Mansoor, and Mike Shuster.
Remember to check out our minutes at ww1cc.org/sync-call. Follow us on twitter! Be sure to like us on Facebook and most importantly, subscribe to our weekly WW1 Centennial Dispatch.
LINK TO SUBSCRIBE TO DISPATCH
http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/1258
Have a great week and thanks everyone, for supporting our doughboys!
Sync Call Minutes: www.ww1cc.org/sync-call
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