Governors Island living history event  to mark NYC WWI Centennial

NEW YORK, NY – On September 16-17, World War I will be alive, with a full weekend of activities, ceremonies, and living history demonstrations on Governors Island. All activities are free and open to the public.

Camp Doughboy will bring together living history re-enactors, vintage vehicles from a century ago, authors of World War I books, and active duty Army soldiers. They will even have a working World War I-era tank!

“We are taking history out of the classroom, and opening it up to everybody." observed Dr. Libby O’Connell, U.S. World War I Centennial Commissioner. “Camp Doughboy gives people of all ages the opportunity to learn about the Great War”.

Event organizer, noted NYC history author Kevin Fitzpatrick, agreed. "The story of America in World War I is very much a New York/New Jersey-area story. The Lusitania departed from Pier 54 on her last voyage. The Black Tom explosion was right over there. The Rainbow Division, the Fighting 69th, the Harlem Hellfighters, New Jersey's Lightning Division, were all legendary. Most of the U.S. troops left for France from Hoboken. Irving Berlin wrote the great WWI songs from Tin Pan Alley. The 'Lost Battalion' were nearly all Lower East Siders. The big Memorial Day parade at the end of the war went down 5th Avenue. This is our city's heritage".

The Living History site will be open from 10 AM to 5 PM on Saturday and Sunday, September 16-17. Ferries are available from Brooklyn and Manhattan every half hour. https://govisland.com/info/ferry

Among the displays and demonstrations will be:

• The World War I TANK!
• A KID'S CORNER and Boot Camp
• A full World War I-era military campsite
• 1916 Ambulances, and a 1918 truck
• World War I-era music by a drum & bugle corps

The Camp Doughboy event is produced by the World War I Centennial Committee for New York City, and is sponsored by the HISTORY© Channel, and the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission.

The U.S. World War I Centennial Commission was created by Congress to provide public outreach, education programs, and commemoration events to honor the 4.7 million American men and women who served in uniform during the war. Congress also authorized the Centennial Commission to create the new National World War I Memorial in Washington DC.

For a full list of the activities, visit: http://www.wwi100nyc.org/campdoughboy/

For information on HISTORY Channel's education programs, visit: http://www.history.com/classroom

For information on the new National World War I Memorial in Washington DC, visit: http://ww1cc.org/Memorial