Doughboy reenactor poses with the Trains and Traction group's of railway enthusiasts spent countless hours restored original American Army World War I-era railway boxcar in France during the groups tour of cities across France in July 2018.
Trains & Traction brings WWI-era restored train to towns in France
By Chris Isleib
Director of Public Affairs, United States World War One Centennial Commission
Last year, we told you about a remarkable WWI restoration project in France. Calling themselves Trains and Traction, a group of railway enthusiasts spent countless hours restoring original American Army World War I-era railway boxcars, for eventual display & exhibit.
https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/communicate/press-media/wwi-centennial-news/3633-five-questions-for-olivier-jaubert.html
As an update -- Their original project of one boxcar turned into an incredible restoration of FIVE World War I-era boxcars, as well as a flat car!
These cars were all part of the 37,800 train cars that American brought over to France during the war. Only 65 of those train cars exist today.
This past summer, those five restored boxcars became a rolling display across a scenic railway short-line in south-west of France, where they were used as the centerpiece for a series of WWI commemorations, as well as a Fourth of July celebration.
Between the towns of Saujon and La Tremblade, the well-known “Train des Mouettes” (Seagulls Train) Association had organized commemorative events all along the route, for the first week of July.
Read more: Trains & Traction brings WWI-era restored train to towns in France
Quilts raised money for World War I veterans in U.S.
By Betsy Anderson
Program Coordinator, United States World War One Centennial Commission
Quilt historian Sue Reich and United States World War I Centennial Commission Commissioner Jack Monahan at the American Legion Convention in Minneapolis.Quilt historian Sue Reich has collected World War I-era quilts from all over the country, and has written a book about them. Commissioner Jack Monahan met Sue at the American Legion’s 100th Convention in Minneapolis and toured an exhibition of the quilts she has collected. We asked Sue a few questions about the quilts in her collection, and why they were created during WWI.
How did you come to collect World War I quilts?
I began collecting quilts from the World War II era, and published a book about them. Then as the 100th anniversary of the Armistice approached, I decided to collect and exhibit World War I quilts to draw attention to the centennial and to raise funds for veterans’ causes.
What is special about World War I quilts?
Quilts were often made during or after the war to raise money for veterans. A person could donate money and have their name embroidered on the quilt. The quilt would then be raffled, so money was raised both in the making and the selling of the quilt.
Many of the quilts you collected feature the poppy. What do you know about those quilts?
Soldiers generally did not write about the horrors of war, but they wrote letters home about the fields of poppies they saw in France. Women on the home front were familiar with this iconic symbol of World War I, and they incorporated it in their quilts.
Read more: Quilts raised money for World War I veterans in U.S.
World War I Commemorative Garden Dedication Ceremony at Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site
JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site will hold a ceremony to formally dedicate its new First World War Commemorative Garden 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, at the historic site in Laclede.
Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site in Laclede, MO.The public is invited to attend this historic dedication. Soil collected from the eight First World War American cemeteries, established by General Pershing as the chairman of the American Battlefield Monuments Commission (ABMC), will be incorporated into the grounds of the First World War Commemorative Garden landscape ceremonially by attending dignitaries.
A series of interpretive panels will be unveiled telling the story of the American war effort and the establishment of the American cemeteries in Europe following the First World War.
The First World War Commemorative Garden will be a fantastic addition to the overall interpretation of the historic site and the last years of General Pershing’s life. The garden will highlight his personal determination during the last years of life spent honoring and memorializing those that paid the ultimate price and sacrificed so much in the “war to end all wars.”
World War I motorcycle rides across America to Las Vegas
By Nia Wong
via the Las Vegas Now.com web site.
LAS VEGAS - After crossing the Atlantic Ocean and journeying thousands of miles across the country, a motorcycle dating from World War I rode through Las Vegas Tuesday morning.
The trip is in honor of our veterans and U.S./France relations.
It's set to stop at City Hall before completing their coast to coast trip.
The vintage bike was brought over to France during WWI in 1918. since then it's remained there until its return to American soil this summer.
The trip is part of "Operation Twin Links" which started in Mobile, Alabama in June. Through Operation Twin Links, the classic Harley Davidson has been restored with its original seating frame and engine traveling more than 4,000 miles at 45 miles per hour.
Christophe de Goulaine and his friend Pierre restored the century old motorcycle. They affectionately calling her "Bonny."
Through this trip, the bikers say they not only want to find out who her original owner is but to strengthen relations between France and America.
Read more: World War I motorcycle rides across America to Las Vegas
President Donald Trump welcomes France’s Emmanuel Macron to the White House during Macron's visit in April, 2018. President Trump will travel to Paris, France, to participate in a November 11 commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the fighting in World War I.
President Trump to mark 100th anniversary of World War I Armistice in Paris
By Erin Kelly
via the USA TODAY web site
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump will travel to Paris to participate in a November 11 commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders announced Friday.
"The President’s participation in this event will highlight the sacrifices that Americans have made, not only during World War I but also in the century since, in the name of liberty," Sanders said in a statement.
Trump gets along well with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has sometimes been jokingly referred to as the "Trump whisperer" because he has managed to form a unique bond with the American president. Trump traveled to Paris last year to celebrate Bastille Day at Macron's invitation.
Armistice Day marks the signing of an agreement between U.S. allies and Germany at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918 in France. The agreement brought an end to four years of fighting in Europe.
More than 116,000 Americans and nearly 1.4 million French troops died in World War I.
While Trump is in Europe, he also will visit Ireland "to renew the deep and historic ties between our two nations," Sanders said.
Read more: President Trump to mark 100th anniversary of World War I armistice in Paris
New York City draftee Soldiers made history as the Lost Battalion in October 1918
By Eric Durr
via the U.S. Army Reserve official web site
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — One of World War I’s most heroic battlefield stories features a bookish lawyer, a millionaire who charged up San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt, a carrier pigeon that’s now in the Smithsonian, and draftee Soldiers from New York City who served in the 77th Division.
Two Soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division. The division was made up of Soldiers drafteed from New York City and was known as the Metropolitan Division. In October 1918 540 of the division's Soldiers were cut off behind German lines and because known as the Lost Battalion. (Library of Congress) (Photo by Library of Congress)One hundred years later, the story of the 550 men of the “Lost Battalion” – American Soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in the Argonne forest– still resonates.
It’s been the subject of countless books, a 2001 TV movie, and a 2016 song by the Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton.
But the “Lost Battalion” wasn’t actually lost, nor was it even a battalion.
Maj. Charles Whittlesey, the commander, knew right where his men were located. It was their higher headquarters who weren’t sure where they were.
And Whittlesey was only the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 308th Infantry Regiment. The regiment’s 2nd Battalion was also present, along with a company from the 307th Infantry Regiment. But as senior officer, Whittlesey took charge.
The regiments were part of the 77th Division of the "National Army," which was made up of drafted men who were not in the Regular Army and not part of the National Guard. The U.S. Army Reserve's 77th Sustainment Brigade, part of the 316th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), traces its lineage from the 77th Division.
77th Division Soldiers were mostly from New York City, and the division was nicknamed the “Metropolitan Division” or “Times Square Division” because of that.
By October of 1918, the 77th Division had seen its share of action and taken casualties. A lot of casualties. New Yorkers had been replaced by Soldiers from Midwestern farms who had little training.
The American First Army had kicked off its offensive in France’s Meuse-Argonne region with a goal of reaching the city of Sedan and cutting the railroad, which supplied German armies in France.
The American offensive — the largest battle in American history — involved 1.2 million Soldiers and kicked off Sept. 26, 1918.
On Oct. 2, 1918, Whittlesey and his battalion were to attack north into the dense Argonne Forest with the 2nd Battalion of the 308th in support. Both units should have had about 800 men each at full strength, but now they barely had 800 men together.
Read more: New York City draftee Soldiers made history as the Lost Battalion in October 1918
Members of the Rhode Island National Guard 103rd Field Artillery Battalion salute during a wreath-laying ceremony at the World War I monument, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, in Providence, R.I. (Jennifer McDermott/AP)
Rhode Island National Guard memorializes their WWI soldiers in wreath ceremony
By Jennifer McDermott
via the Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Members of the Rhode Island National Guard memorialized their predecessors' service and sacrifice by laying a wreath Friday at a World War I monument.
The 103rd Field Artillery Battalion held the ceremony in Providence. Remembrance events are being held throughout Rhode Island leading up to the centennial of the war's end, Nov. 11, 2018.
Rhode Island's 1st Battalion, 103rd Field Artillery was drafted for overseas service in the American Expeditionary Forces and went to France in October 1917. Current battalion commander Lt. Col. Jeffrey Samon said they look to their predecessors for inspiration and pride.
"We pride ourselves on being the current generation of a long line of artillerymen and women who stand ready to support the state and the nation," Samon said.
Samon and retired Brig. Gen. Richard J. Valente, a former battalion commander, placed the wreath by the monument.
Read more: Rhode Island National Guard memorializes their WWI soldiers in wreath ceremony
Commemoration ceremony in France for WWI US Army pilot Quentin Roosevelt, son of President Theodore Roosevelt, who died 100 years ago this week.
Quentin Roosevelt remembered in France
By Chris Isleib
Director of Public Affairs, United States World War One Centennial Commission
Quentin Roosevelt, son of US President Theodore Roosevelt, and US Army aviator during WWI, was commemorated this week in France, on the 100th anniversary of his tragic combat death.
Quentin Roosevelt in Nieuport trainer.Roosevelt was remembered in the town of Coulonges-Cohan, where he was shot down while flying observation missions with the 95th Aero Squadron. The ceremony was attended by his great nephew, Theodore Roosevelt IV, and by Helen Patton, granddaughter of US Army General George S. Patton, who fought in the area during both WWI and WWII. The ceremony included a wreath laying, and a flyover by the French Air Force.
The Roosevelt family was very active in supporting the war effort. All three of Quentin Roosevelt's brothers joined him in taking officer commissions during the war. Sister Ethel was the first Roosevelt in a war zone, serving as a nurse in France. Theodore Jr. and Archie were onboard the first U.S.military troop ship to deploy to the war zone. Both would be seriously wounded in the fighting before the war's end.
Brother Kermit, thinking that it would take too long for American troops to go into action, used his father’s assistance to be commissioned in the British army, and served in Palestine. The former President, himself, tried to return to uniform, only to be denied by order of President Wilson.
With American entry into World War I, Quentin thought his mechanical skills would be useful to the Army. He dropped out of college in May 1917 to join the newly formed 1st Reserve Aero Squadron, the first air reserve unit in the nation. He trained on Long Island at an airfield later renamed Roosevelt Field in his honor.
Scene from the American Legion 2018 Minneapolis convention.
American Legion Votes to Support WW1CC Programs
By Chris Isleib
Director of Public Affairs, United States World War One Centennial Commission
The American Legion, the nation’s largest veteran services organization, wrapped up its 100th National Convention on Sunday at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis.
Some 10,000 attendees participated in the convention, including about 3,000 delegates, their friends and family. They represented the nearly 2 million members spread among 12,000 posts across the country.
Among the business that was conducted by the Legion Delegates were General Session votes to support three major programs created the by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission.
- Resolution 107-Support of “Bells of Peace”.
On November 11, 2018 at 11:00am local time, Americans across the nation will toll bells in remembrance of those who served and sacrificed in World War I. The U.S. World War I Centennial Commission is the sponsor of this program, and is working on it with the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the National Cathedral, and the Society of the Honor Guard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Remembering the WWI Service of John "Slew" McCain
By Chris Isleib
Director of Public Affairs, United States World War One Centennial Commission
Last week, our nation mourned the loss, and celebrated the life, of Senator John McCain. As we know, Senator McCain's commitment to our country also included wartime service in Vietnam as an aviator with the U.S. Navy.
John "Slew" McCain as a Naval Academy Midshipman (left) before WWI, and as a Vice Admiral in WWII.His Navy service has connection to that of his grandfather, John "Slew" McCain, who fought in World War I and would become a highly-regarded Admiral during World War II.
McCain was born in Carroll County, Mississippi, and attended the University of Mississippi for two years. He decided to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, where his brother William Alexander McCain was enrolled. To practice for its entrance exams, he decided to take the ones for the United States Naval Academy. When he passed those and earned an appointment, he decided to attend there instead.
At the Naval Academy, McCain's performance was lackluster. He failed his annual physical on account of defective hearing, but the condition was waived due to the great need for officers. When he graduated in 1906, he ranked 79th out of 116 in his class.
Soon after earning his commission, McCain sailed aboard the Great White Fleet's world cruise from 1907 to 1909, joining the battleship USS Connecticut for the last stretch home. His next assignment was to the Asiatic Squadron, after which the Navy ordered him to the naval base at San Diego, California.
During 1914 and 1915 he was executive officer and engineering officer aboard the armored cruiser USS Colorado, patrolling off the Pacific coast of then-troubled Mexico. In September 1915, he joined the armored cruiser USS San Diego, flagship for the Pacific Fleet.
After the U.S. entered World War I, McCain and San Diego served on convoy duty in the Atlantic, escorting shipping through the first dangerous leg of their passages to Europe. Based out of Tompkinsville, New York, and Halifax, the USS San Diego operated in the weather-torn, submarine-infested North Atlantic. McCain left the San Diego in May 1918, when he was assigned to the Bureau of Navigation. Two months later, USS San Diego was sunk off the coast of Long Island by a mine played by a German U-Boat.
Read more: Remembering the WWI Service of John "Slew" McCain
Sculptor Sabin Howard shares new National WWI Memorial design on YouTube’s “TESTED”
By Chris Isleib
Director of Public Affairs, United States World War One Centennial Commission
Our sculptor Sabin Howard is featured in a brand new episode of YouTube’s hit series TESTED.
The series is hosted by Adam Savage, former co-host and co-creator of the huge cable TV series MYTHBUSTERS.
In the new TESTED segment, Sabin shares with Adam the stories of what he did to create the scale model maquette for the new National WWI Memorial in Washington DC, using 3-D printing and other digital technology
Per the web channel, “Adam meets sculptor Sabin Howard, who is working on a sculpture that will be a national monument to the First World War. In the process of designing the memorial for review, Sabin worked with Weta Workshop in New Zealand to create a scale model of the proposed sculpture, and walks Adam through the story it tells.”
The segment is part of a multi-part special series that Adam created during a visit to the Weta Workshop in New Zealand.
Sabin is very excited by the new segment, saying “This is amazing exposure for our project. There were 26,000 views in the first 24 hours
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From the World War I Centennial News Podcast
Observation Balloons
In August 24th's WW1 Centennial News Podcast, Episode 86, WW1 Tech and Speaking WW1 shared a common theme: Observation Balloons, a crucial but overlooked piece of technology. The following is a transcript from the Podcast:
Theo Mayer:
An artillery-spotting balloon goes into the sky above Ypres For this week's World War I War Tech, we're going to focus on an aerial technology that played an important role in the skies over the trenches: aerial observation balloons. Now, observation was an incredibly important role for aerial warfare in World War I. And one of the big roles for the iconic fighter planes and the dog fights in the air was in part to protect low flying, slow flying observation planes, as they took strategically critical reconnaissances photographs. However, low and slow observation planes weren't the only easy targets in the sky.
Members of the 43rd Balloon Company, American Expeditionary Force
Balloons were frequently used as observation platforms, right at the fighting front. These hovering mammoths were used for directing artillery, which required spotters and observation well beyond the visual range of ground based observers. As much as planes were able to record enemy positions and movement on film, having real time spotters and observational balloon baskets linked to the ground by telephone was essential. It allowed the artillery to take advantage of increasingly large guns with vastly longer ranges.
Now, these balloons don't quite look like the hot air balloons you may imagine. They were often called sausages or saucisson in French. They were big oblong things with fat fins on the sides to keep them pointing in the direction.
From the World War I Centennial News Podcast
Remembering Veterans:
An interview with WW1 reenactors Seth and Garrett Moore
In August 24th's WW1 Centennial News Podcast, Episode 86, Host Theo Mayer spoke with Seth and Garrett Moore, nineteen year old twin brothers with an incredible passion for WW1 history. The following is a transcript of the interview:
Theo Mayer: This week on "Remembering Veterans", we're joined by two young men that are very unique World War I reenactors. First of all, they happen to be twin brothers and they're also younger than most reenactors, which is incredibly compelling. When you see the brothers in Doughboy uniforms, you realize that they're really the age of the men or the boys that we sent over there, and it's quite powerful. Seth and Garrett Moore are from Columbus, Ohio, and their passion is the First World War. They collect relics and artifacts from the war and hope to someday open their own World War I museum. We introduced you to these young men a few weeks ago when they were in France participating in a number of ceremonies, but now they're here with us live today. Gentlemen at ease, welcome to the podcast.
The Moore brothers have participated in numerous reenactments and ceremonies honoring the Doughboys
Garrett Moore: Thanks for having us.
Seth Moore: Yeah.
Theo Mayer: Okay, the first question and either of you can answer because I happen to know it's going to be the exact same answer, no matter who answers. How old are you?
Seth Moore: We are 19.
Garrett Moore: We are 19.
Theo Mayer: Double answer, thank you. When you I see you guys and when I see pictures of you guys, I have a whole different reaction because you really are the age of many of the boys we sent over there. Is there any special connection in your own minds that, that generates for you?
Read more: Podcast Article- Seth and Garrett Moore Interview