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June 2024
After the last finishing touches at the Pangolin Editions foundry in the UK, including the application of a protective patina by sculptor Sabin Howard (top), the "A Soldiers Journey" sculpture has been disassembled and begun its journey back to the United States for installation at the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC. Packed into several shipping containers at the foundry (bottom), the sculpture, like the World War I Doughboys it portrays, will cross the Atlantic by ship. Once back "over here" the sculpture will be brought to the nation's capitol, reassembled on its waiting pedastal at the Memorial site, and presented to the nation by the "First Illumination" event on September 13. When in place at the Memorial, the sculpture will be the largest freestanding high relief bronze in the Western Hemisphere. (Top photo via BBC; bottom photo via Pangolin Editions)
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You're Helping Us Answer Their Call!
Hello Girls Congressional Medal Legislation Gaining Big Momentum in Senate and House
Great news this month from the campaign of the World War I Centennial Commission and other organizations, as well as many individuals like you, to encourage the 118th Congress to pass legislation honoring the World War I "Hello Girls" U.S. Army Signal Corps telephone operators, America's First Women Soldiers, with a Congressional Gold Medal. As of the publication of this newsletter, S.815, the Senate measure, has gathered 65 of the 67 cosponsors it needs to be brought to a vote and passed in the Senate. H.R.1572, the House measure, has 152 cosponsors, some 70% of the votes needed to pass in the House.
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This outstanding progress has happened due to all the many organizations and people who have reached out to Senators and Representatives and asked them to cosponsor this important legislation. If you are one of those people, thank you! If you haven't joined the campaign yet, now is a great time to answer the call, and help get this legislation across the finish line.
The Hello Girls made a huge difference in the outcome of WWI. The ability of the bilingual female operators to pass critical tactical information calmly and seamlessly between two allied armies that spoke different languages was a fundamental breakthrough in tactical communications on the Western Front. The service of the Hello Girls helped bring the fighting to an end in the Allies’ favor as much as a year earlier than it might have taken without them, according to General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces.
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One hundred years ago, on May 30th, 1924, one of Passaic’s most notable Veterans of World War l, Grace Banker Chief Operator of the U.S. Army Signal Corps telephone operators (known in France as “The Hello Girls”), was invited to attend the Cenotaph memorial dedication ceremony in Passaic‘s Armory Park. John J. Pershing, America’s most famous General of his time, stood together with Banker at the speaker’s stand. On Saturday, June 8th at Armory Park, in front of the Cenotaph memorial in Passaic, NJ, a ceremony to honor Grace Banker’s service was held. Banker was honored with the US Signal Corps Distinguished Member of the Regiment award. Colonel Linda Jantzen (USA-ret), who was the emcee for the event, presented a plaque carrying the honor to Grace’s granddaughter, Carolyn Timbie. Read more about the Passaic ceremony here. The event grabbed considerable New Jersey media attention, which you can read here and here.
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On June 23 & 24, 2024, Daily Taps at the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC was sounded in honor of WWI veteran J. Wilbur Randolph.
Randolph was the first resident of Ellwood City, PA to die in World War I. He was in Company L of the 23rd Infantry "where he had the reputation among his superiors as well as among his comrades as a quiet, cheerful, and faithful soldier." On September 12, 2018 Randolph was killed by German artillery fire when "a piece of shrapnel went through his neck, causing instant death." Ellwood City American Legion Post 157 is named for J. Wilbur Randolph. The post was organized in late summer of 1919 by veterans of World War I, and named in memory of the first resident of Ellwood City to make the ultimate sacrifice in that war.
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The Daily Taps program of the Doughboy Foundation provides a unique opportunity to dedicate a livestreamed sounding of Taps in honor of a special person of your choice while supporting the important work of the Doughboy Foundation. Choose a day, or even establish this honor in perpetuity. Click here for more information on how to honor a loved veteran with the sounding of Taps.
Two of the greatest legends in American military history rose from the swirling desert dust of Columbus, New Mexico and the Pancho Villa raid that preceded America's entry into World War I – John J. Pershing and George S. Patton, Jr. After Patton died in Heidelberg, Germany, on December 21, 1945, and Pershing died in Walter Reed Hospital on July 15, 1948, there had been no known contact between the families of these two legends. In 2016, learning about an upcoming event to observe the 100th anniversary of Villa’s infamous raid on the U.S., author, photographer, and historian Jeff Lowdermilk decided it was about time to change that. Read how Lowdermilk was able to arrange "the historic call that reunited the two great American families" and sparked a WWI Centennial friendship between these granddaughters that took them back Over There together where their grandfathers had been 100 years before.
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Timothy Hunts-in-Winter, an enrolled citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, says that he is "just a guy who began researching my family’s WWI soldiers and my tribemates’ soldiers almost 3 years ago." But what an amazing story his family research has uncovered: "a very detailed record of the journey and life of Albert Grass, Richard Blue Earth, my great Uncle Joe Jordan, and their friends Tom Rogers and Joe Young Hawk, a couple of Arikara soldiers who fought alongside Albert and Richard in 1st Division, 1st Brigade, 18th Infantry, 1st Battalion, Company A." Read more about how Tim's research determined that "Albert Grass of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe was the first known Code Talker to die in battle out of any tribe," and how he will be sharing his finding in upcoming articles.
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The ‘Hello Girls’ Helped Win WWI — Why Was Their Service Overlooked?
For all its length and ferocity, World War I would probably have ended quite differently had it not been for America’s entry into the war on behalf of the Allies in 1917. Up until then, under President Woodrow Wilson, America had pursued a policy of neutrality that reflected its traditional isolationism. Nonetheless, political, economic, military, and humanitarian factors drew it out of this position and into partnership with Britain, France, and Russia against Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. These factors are important for any understanding of why America got involved in WWI beyond itself. Read the entire article to understand many political, economic, ideological, and humanitarian factors that led to the United States’ decision to join the Allies in 1917.
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Throughout history, countless soldiers have developed mental health disorders directly linked to their wartime experiences. But until the 20th century, few documented and categorized this mental health issue. It gained significant attention during World War I, as many soldiers, including the US Army men who joined the war in 1917, suffered from what was then called “shell shock,” characterized by severe anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia, and anger. This condition later evolved into what we now know as PTSD. Read more about how the initial characterization of shell shock in WWI led to significant advancement in treating combat-related mental health issues today.
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Michael Santoro:
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World War I was The War That Changed The World, and its impact on the United States continues to be felt over a century later, as people across the nation learn more about and remember those who served in the Great War. Here's a collection of news items from the last month related to World War I and America.
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Bugler Plays Taps 1,000th Time At National WWI Memorial
20 Brave Men Celebrated By WWI Monument In GA
Is WWI Aviator Captain Eddie Rickenbacker Overrated?
WWI Vet Stormed Normandy With Just A Cane And A Pistol
Connecticut World War I Soldier Awarded Purple Heart
The Boys Of Yarmouth In World War I
11 Objects Carried By World War I Infantrymen
A man is only missing if he is forgotten.
Our Doughboy MIA this month is Colonel Raynal Cawthorne Bolling. Over one hundred years have passed since one the most influential American figures in the history of American air power, went missing in action between two small communes in France’s Somme region. On 26 March 1918, while conducting a tour of British combat air operations east of Amiens, Colonel Raynal Cawthorne Bolling, the Assistant Chief of Staff of the United States Air Service, and his driver, Private Paul Holder, found themselves in the center of the German Army’s surprisingly aggressive Operation Michael. Traveling east along the Romerstrasse (Roman Road) in a Fiat staff car, toward the withdrawing British front lines, the two out of place Americans unknowingly passed through the British front lines and fired upon by a machinegun position of advancing German Storm Troopers. Colonel Bolling died in a small gun battle while Private Holder became a prisoner of war.
Would you like to be involved with solving the case of Colonel Raynal Cawthorne Bolling, and all the other Americans still in MIA status from World War I? You can! Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to our non-profit organization today, and help us bring them home! Help us do the best job possible and give today, with our thanks. Remember: A man is only missing if he is forgotten.
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Merchandise from the Official Doughboy Foundation WWI Store
Summertime is here! With all that free time on your hands over the next couple of months, spend some quality time in the shade reading one of the outstanding World War I books available now from the Doughboy Foundation Shop.
Lest We Forget: The Great War World War I Prints from the Pritzker Military Museum & Library. 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 and is a tribute to those who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and what would become the Air Force. It serves as a lasting reminder that our world ignores the history of World War I (and the ensuing WWII) at its peril―lest we forget.
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Honoring the Doughboys: Following My Grandfather's World War I Diary is a stunning presentation of contemporary photographs taken by the author that are paired with diary entries written by his grandfather, George A. Carlson, who was a soldier in the U.S. Army during World War I. Jeff Lowdermilk followed his grandfather's path through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany and returned with these meticulously crafted photographs and his own engaging stories that bring the diary to life for contemporary readers. Lowdermilk's passion for World War I and military history began as a young boy when he listened to his grandfather tell his stories about serving as an infantryman-- a "Doughboy"--in Europe during the Great War.
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Proceeds from the sale of these items will help complete the new National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC.
This and many other items are available as Official Merchandise of the Doughboy Foundation.
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Irving Alexander Slicklen
Submitted by: Gayle Reynolds {great-niece}
Irving Slicklen served in World War I with the the United States Coast Guard. His enlistment was in 1918 and his service was completed the same year.
Story Of Service
Irving was said to be tall and looked older than his actual age, so, being very patriotic, he decided he'd try to enlist after school one day. He obviously pulled the wool over the eyes of those in the recruitment office and found himself an instant member of the Coast Guard.
Puffed out with pride, he went home and told his mother. Great-Grandma Slicklen was so appalled that a 15-year old could have been signed up for war that she grabbed her coat and dashed out of the house, forgetting she was wearing her bedroom slippers. She ran all the way to the recruitment office, where she breathlessly begged for Irving to be released from service. Unfortunately, she was told that he had signed the official papers, which were already being processed, and there was no way he could be released from active duty.
His father, an attorney, was then called home from his office and put his argumentative skills to work to no avail. Since Irving felt so honored to be part of the Coast Guard, giving a better argument for his service than his father had against it, he was reluctantly granted his parents' blessings. The date was 1 March 1918. Irving attended the Coast Guard Academy and was eventually assigned to the USS Tampa. On 2 September 1918, the Tampa was torpedoed: all hands, plus civilian passengers, were lost. No bodies were ever recovered.
Several family photos show Irving preferred wearing sailor shirts from the time he was very young. Apparently being a sailor was his lifelong dream. In his honor, many of the nephews he never met joined the Navy during WWII.
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