On November 28, the United States Mint hosted a ceremonial strike of the 2018 World War I Centennial Silver Dollar honoring the 100th anniversary of American participation in World War I. The World War I Centennial Silver Dollar was authorized by statute in 2014 with bipartisan Congressional support. Three of the sponsors of the legislation, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (R-Missouri), U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-Missouri), and U.S. Representative Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado) personally attended the strike event, along with other distinguished guests.  Read more about the big event here. Find out more about the Commemorative Dollar and when it will be available here.

"Despite its profound impact on what became the 'American Century,'" writes BBC News reporter Jane O'Brien, "World War I remains a marginal war for many in the US." But she sees that situation beginning to change with the ground being broken for the new memorial at Pershing Park in Washington, DC to the 4.5 million Americans who served in the Great War. Interviewing several members of the U.S. World War One Centennial Commission, O'Brien shows how the new memorial will fill a void in the nation's capital, and also in America's understanding of "the most consequential event of the 20th Century."  Read the entire thoughtful article here.

A remarkable new book has appeared on the World War I scene, one that traces the origins of the Women's Suffrage movement in America, and it's relationship to America's war effort 100 years ago. Specifically, The Suffragents is the story of how, and why, a group of prominent and influential men in New York City, and beyond, came together to help women gain the right to vote. Brooke Kroeger is the author. She is a journalist, author of five books, a professor of journalism at the NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and director of its MA unit, Global and Joint Program Studies, which she founded in 2007. We spoke to her about this book, and what she found in writing it.

When the U.S. entered World War One in 1917, it is estimated that roughly 500,000 people who joined the United States armed services were immigrants. According to the National Park Service, this amounted to 18 percent of U.S. troops. Among these, one of the most highly decorated was Mexican-born Marcelino Serna. On the battle lines, he proved his courage as a soldier several times, his actions speaking for themselves as to why he was worth all the decorations he later collected. Read more about the heroism that meant Serna returned as the most highly-decorated Texan soldier to serve in World War I.

The holiday shopping season is officially upon us. As you shop for friends, family, and loved ones this year, you have the opportunity to both shop and support America’s World War I Memorial at the same time through AmazonSmile, at no extra cost to you. Learn more about supporting the Memorial while you shop here.

Walk through the doors of the C. Burr Artz Public Library in downtown Frederick in December, and you’ll step back in time 100 years. The Library of America’s “World War I and America” project exhibit that lines the interior walkway of the library transports viewers to the American experience during World War I. The traveling exhibit, tied to the 100th anniversary of the country’s entrance into WWI, is available for local libraries and museums, and Frederick County Public Libraries was one of 120 applicants selected to host the exhibit. Mary Mannix, manager of the exhibit for the Fredrick County Libraries, says that the WWI exhibit is important because the conflict “was the forgotten war, in many ways.” Read more about the Library of America traveling WWI exhibit and how it hopes to foster relationships between modern-day veterans and civilians.

We, The Unknown (WETU) is a brand-new musical commission conceived by Rob Hill, a retired Army Lt. Col and third-generation soldier whose paternal grandfather, John G. Hill, Sr., served in World War I. The work is slated to premiere in Kansas City, MO on June 9th & 10th. The idea for the musical work came to Rob after hearing a brief history of how America’s Unknown Soldier was selected. Almost immediately, he wondered, “what if the person selected was gay or African-American or someone else we might not otherwise expect?” Initially, he considered almost every other format possible to tell the story—novel, film, play—but when he moved to Kansas City, home to the National World War I Museum and Memorial, and joined the Heartland Men’s Chorus (HMC), he decided that a choral work for men’s voices was the best medium to pay tribute not only to the Unknown Soldier but all who have served, many in silence. We discussed the WETU project with Rob Hill, with Ms. Pat Daneman, Rob's co-librettist, and with Timothy C. Takach, the project's musical composer.

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, and TuneIn.

Episode 48
Highlights:

• Thanksgiving reflections from 1917 @ | 01:15
• Tank warfare in the battle of Cambrai - Mike Shuster @ | 11:35 
• Introducing WW1 Centennial Commissioner Zoe Dunning @ | 15:55
• Ceremonial Coin Strike at Philly mint @ | 16:15
• Trench Coat and Wristwatch - Speaking WW1 @ | 17:20
• 100C / 100M project in Springfield, MA @ | 19:55
• WWrite Blog article by WW1CC intern Sarah Biegelsen @ | 25:15
• Yurok Native Americans in WW1 - Chag Lowry & Rahsan Ekedal @ | 26:15
• Memoire - An adventure in 1914 - Christopher Kelly @ | 32:00
• DH4 WW1 Aircraft restoration progresses @ | 37:50
• The Buzz - Katherine Akey @ | 38:30

Image credit: A work-in-progress image of a Yurok Native Army soldier drawn by Rahsan Ekedal for the upcoming Graphic Novel "Soldiers Unknown" by Chag Lowry

When British musicians Patricia Hammond and Matt Redman found and performed German sheet music written by a soldier killed in Verdun, they had no idea the song, "Soon, Too Soon," would also lead to the discovery of the composer's body.

It had been buried in an unmarked grave in France's Meuse-Argonne region.

 Read about the captivating hunt for a man behind a melody in this week's WWrite blog post!

A Silent Night: A WWI Memorial in Song $14.95

A wonderful and totally unique Holiday gift for your WW1 enthusiast friends

The pieces of music you will hear on this disc are, in a sense, living artifacts of the WWI era, Despite the vast contrast in style among the various composers, almost every piece was composed within the ten-year period between 1912 and 1922.  The poetry and the music itself is infused with the emotions of the war, from vengeful violence to solemn mourning, to desperate calls for peace.  

Among the composers represented here are George Butterworth, a British composer who was killed in the Battle of the Somme; Ivor Gurney, a British composer and poet who wrote songs in the trenches; Carl Orff, a German composer who was wounded when a trench collapsed on him; Francis Poulenc, a French composer who fought in WWI as a teenager, then served again in WWII; and Charles Ives, the iconic American composer who wrote Three Songs of War when the US entered the conflict in 1917.

Press Quote from Washington Post:

"This recital was so different - so refreshingly, marvelously different...The goal of a recital is not originality as much as making a statement as an artist. And at this, Brancy and Dugan succeeded superbly."

This and many other items are available as Official Merchandise of the United States World War One Centennial.