A lot of American motorcycles will be cruising the nation's highways on July 4, but one will be a very special ride indeed. One of the last an estimated 20,000 olive green Harley-Davidson motorcycles used by American soldiers in the Great War has come home again. The Model J and its sidecar rolled onto American soil for the first time in a century, kick-starting a nationwide repatriation tour, with a pair of Frenchmen planning on  riding from Alabama to Florida, up to Wisconsin, and west to California in the refurbished antique. The purpose of the road trip: to Americans who laid down their lives in WWI 100 years ago to assist the French. Read more about and see the Fox News video of the incredible vintage Harley and the French duo's ambitious tour agenda here.

A historic fireboat docked along the Hudson River has been turned into a floating work of art. The boat is covered in a wild plant design that likely saved lives during World War I. You can’t miss the John J. Harvey Fireboat, painted in bright red and white, in a new art exhibition co-commissioned by the Public Art Fund and 14-18 NOW. The painting technique is called “dazzle,” developed in WWI to protect thousands of war ships and passenger vessels with a unique camouflage. Read more about how the creators of this eye-catching artifact hope to connect New Yorkers to WWI history.

On May 13, 1908, the first twenty Navy Nurses were accepted into service, little knowing that less than ten years later it would be wartime service. The "Sacred Twenty" were the core of the Navy Nurse Corps throughout World War One, and several received the Navy Cross--and several died in service. WW1CC Intern Miranda Halpin takes a look at how two Navy nurses fought against the great flu epidemic of 1918, and became its victims themselves.

The Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum opened the Cowboy State’s Centennial Exhibit on “Wyoming in the Great War” on April 6, 2017. Among the myriad topics studied in preparation for this exhibit, was the service of Wyoming Indians in the Great War, particularly from the Arapaho and Shoshone Nations on the Wind River Reservation. Doing research for the upcoming exhibit, museum Curator Douglas R. Cubbison encountered evidence that  the role played by Indian Doughboys from Wyoming was greater than was then understood. In an exclusive article, Cubbison identifies six Indian Doughboys from Wyoming, by name, that the Museum has identified to date. But one of the Wyoming Indian Doughboys was already well known: Corporal Thomas Daniel Saunders not only served with great distinction in combat during the way, but also played a prominent role in establishing one of America's most solemn military traditions after the war ended.

“I Hate To Write” is the story of author Paul White's great grandmother Edith Agnes MacDonald McCormick, an Irish immigrant, and a mother raising three sons in NYC in the early 1900’s through WWI. Edith is a woman of courage and fortitude and through her “Record”, she provides a compelling, extraordinarily personal glimpse into NYC family life, but also the events occurring at the turn of the century through the cataclysmic changes of the early 20th century and WWI. Why the title “I Hate to Write”? Because these three words begin Edith’s diary and though she may say she hates to write, she writes marvelously. This is a story of family, courage, faith, war and terrible personal loss. Read more about this first-person memoir of service and tragic loss in WWI here.

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, Podbean, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio on Demand.  Spotify  listen on Youtube. New - Comment and ask questions via twitter @TheWW1podcast

Episode #78

Highlights:
4th of July, 1918

100 Years ago: 4th of July, 1918 | @02:00

Great War Project: Chaos at all ends - Mike Shuster | @12:05

America Emerges: Capturing Vaux - Dr. Edward Lengel | @16:15

Commission News: Bells of Peace - Betsy Anderson | @20:55

Historian Corner: WWI Shaping the 20th Century - Dr. Jay Winter | @27:00

State Update: CT WWI History Project - Christine Pittsley | @33:30

100 Cities / 100 Memorials: Governors Island - Kevin Fitzpatrick & Maj. Jared Nichols | @39:05

Speaking WWI: War Effort | @46:25

Articles & Posts from the Weekly Dispatch Newsletter | @47:45

The Buzz: The Centennial in Social Media - Katherine Akey | @49:55

In June 29th's WW1 Centennial News Podcast, Episode 78, renowned historian and author Dr. Jay Winter, the Charles J. Stille professor of History Emeritus at Yale University, and the author of numerous books on the cultural impact of World War I on the 20th century, spoke with host Theo Mayer about the profound cultural impact of World War I, particularly on remembrance and war memorial design. Click here for a transcript of the insightful interview.

In June 22nd’s WW1 Centennial News Podcast, Episode 77, Historian David Pietrusza, the author of the book: TR's Last War - Theodore  Roosevelt, The Great War and a Journey of Triumph and Tragedy, spoke with host Theo Mayer about Theodore Roosevelt, his role in World War I, and the suffering that the war ultimately inflicted on the former President and his family. Click here for the transcript of an absorbing interview.

Also in the June 22nd WW1 Centennial News Podcast, Episode 77, host Theo Mayer describes the “Ice City”, a refuge and network of tunnels carved within a glacier by the Austro-Hungarian army to avoid both Italian fire and the unstable environment of alpine warfare, where hypothermia, frostbite and rock slides were almost as dangerous as the soldiers of the other army. Click here to get the cold, hard facts about an amazing adaptation to impossible conditions in a transcript of the "Ice City" segment.

Dead on the 4th of July: Poet Alan Seeger

By Adin Dobkin

This Independence Holiday, WWrite focuses on American poet Alan Seeger, who perished during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. It is said that he continued to sing a patriotic marching song as he lay wounded and dying, troops passing him by. Read the article in the WWrite Blog!

A man is only missing if he is forgotten.  

Monday's MIA this week is Private John A. Dike. Born December 22nd, 1886, Private Dike was a farmer in Gibson County, Indiana when he enlisted in the army on October 14th, 1917. He took his training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi with the 5th Company, 1st Training Regiment before being assigned to Company E, 335th Regiment, He landed in France in June, 1918 and was assigned to Company L, 166th Infantry of the now famous 42nd ‘Rainbow’ Division. He was killed on July 19th, 1918. Buried in an AEF temporary cemetery, his remains were never identified and he is believed to be in a grave marked ‘Unknown’. He was the first man from Gibson County, Indiana to die in the war.

Would you like to help us solve this case?  Give 'Ten For Them' to Doughboy MIA and help us make a full accounting of the 4,423 American service personnel still listed as missing in action from WW1. Make your tax deductible donation now, with our thanks.

"Lest We Forget: The Great War"

World War I Prints from the Pritzker Military Museum & Library As the United States commemorates the centennial of World War I, one of the nation’s premier military history institutions pays tribute to the Americans who served and the allies they fought beside to defeat a resourceful enemy with a lavishly illustrated book.  It is an official product of the United States World War One Centennial Commission. The story of WWI is told through the memorable art it spawned―including posters from nations involved in the conflict―and a taut narrative account of the war’s signal events, its major personalities and its tragic consequences; and the timely period photographs that illustrate the awful realities of this revolutionary conflict. Most importantly, this book is a tribute to those who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and what would become the Air Force. Proceeds from the sale of this book help fund the WW1 Memorial in Washington, DC. 

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

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