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The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts recently gave approval for the design-concept for the new National World War I Memorial in Washington DC. This vote of support was a huge milestone in the creation of the memorial, and came as great news to the World War I Centennial Commission, and to the Memorial Design Team. Now come the challenge of making the We spoke to the memorial's sculptor, Sabin Howard, about the approval, and what it means for the project. Read what he had to say about the Way Ahead for the Memorial here.
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This has been a big month for our friend Robert Laplander. He is the leader of a small group of volunteers called Doughboy MIA, a group doing research into the 4,224 missing service members from World War I. They try to bring accounting for those missing, as the U.S. Department of Defense is only able to support MIA research going back to World War II. Laplander had a breakthrough discovery on the case of Seaman Herbert Renshaw, a U.S. Navy sailor who was lost at sea during an anti-submarine combat patrol, off the coast of Virginia on 22 May 1917. In the Renshaw case, the seaman's name was evidently omitted from those MIA's named on the chapel wall at Brookwood Cemetery. The Brookwood chapel is an American Battle Monuments site, in the UK, which bears the names of missing US sailors, soldiers and Coast Guardsmen who died at sea during World War I combat operations. Laplander's success with the case has brought him significant media attention, which may help the Doughboy MIA group's efforts. Robert spoke to us about the efforts, and what this new attention means.
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Rush University Medical Center in WWI
Lee C. Gatewood, MD, (1889-1950) served on the medical staff of Presbyterian Hospital, Rush University Medical Center’s predecessor hospital, and served on the faculty of Rush Medical College. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Gatewood joined Presbyterian Hospital’s Base Hospital No. 13, a unit based in Limoges, France, serving the wounded during the war. Before Unit 13 traveled to France, however, Capt. Gatewood was responsible for training medical officers in several base camps throughout the country. He photographed his experiences at Camp Douglas, WI; Camp Funston, Fort Riley, KS; and Fort Des Moines, Iowa.
In World War I, 104 African American doctors joined the U. S. Army to care for the 40,000 men of the 92nd and 93rd Divisions, the Army's only black combat units, both of which served in France during the war. Gatewood served as an instructor for black medical officers at Fort Des Moines. Read the rest of the story and see the other photos here.
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Most highly decorated African American soldier from Indiana in World War I
During the First World War, millions of Americans answered the call to serve the United States with unwavering loyalty to their nation. This number included thousands of African Americans who bravely stepped forward to fight and die for the United States, in spite of the prejudice they so often faced from the country they loved. Despite the uniquely high level of adversity they faced, many black soldiers would see combat on the battlefields of France and would perform their admirably, earning many awards and commendations. Among these decorated soldiers was Aaron Fisher, a young man from Lyles Station in Southern Indiana. Read his inspiring story here.
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Eddystone Munitions
The manufacture of artillery ammunition in Eddystone, Pennsylvania during World War I is forever associated with the fatal explosion of April 10, 1917. Numerous articles have been written on this tragedy. Less known are details of the ammunition plant it self and its subsequent role during the war. The Baldwin Locomotive Works created the Eddystone Ammunition Corporation to produce 76.2mm (3 inch) shrapnel shells for Russia under a contract with Britain. Construction of a factory began in 1915. The contract for 2.5 million shells was to be completed in December 1916, but was extended because of delays in acquiring machinery. The contract was completed in August 1917. In September, 1917, the U.S. government bought the machinery and equipment of the of the Eddystone Ammunition Corporation. Read more about the Eddystone ammo plant and the 1917 tragedy there.
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A Story of Service from the Stories of Service section of ww1cc.org
Submitted by: MCPO Michael J. Norrod, USN (Ret.) {grandson}
John Wespe served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known WWI 1917 to 1919.
My grandfather, John Wespe, served in the U.S. Army in WWI.
He was born 1887 in Louisville, Kentucky, orphaned and raised in a Catholic Orphanage.
He worked as a candy maker at the National Candy Company in Louisville from 1900 to 1917.
He went from Private to 1stLt by the end of the war.
He enlisted May 8th, 1917 at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. Subsequently serving in Company M of the 30th Infantry Regiment. Initially at Camp Syracuse, New York and then at Camp Greene, North Carolina. He departed for Europe February 27, 1918 and was attached to the 359th Infantry Regiment. Serving in Europe from then until June 7, 1919. His company commander was Capt. Mark Clark, later to gain fame as a four star general in WWII and the Korean War. They remained life long-friends and my mother remembered meeting him several times as a young girl.
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