Jim Beckerman, entertainment and culture reporter for NorthJersey.com, recently visited the Sabin Howard Studio in Englewood, NJ to witness the preparation of the third segment of the “A Soldier’s Story” sculpture being prepped for shipment to the UK to be cast in bronze. Beckerman’s report includes a remarkable time lapse video of the packing process. Click here to read the entire article and watch the video.

Writing at HistoryNet.com, author Zita Ballinger Fletcher has a great interview with sculptor Sabin Howard, who talks about his methods and inspiration in crafting the “A Soldier’s Journey” sculpture for the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC. Howard also shares some photos of the actual bronze casting of the first segment of the sculpture at Pangolin Editions foundry in the UK. Click here to read the entire article, and learn why Howard “made a concerted effort to incorporate the veteran experience into the Memorial.“

Bells of Peace is a U.S. national “bell tolling” remembrance created in collaboration with the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (SHGTUS) to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the World War I Armistice, November 11, 2018. The Doughboy Foundation has since promoted it as an annual remembrance of those who served in WWI and of the moment when the guns fell silent, and bells tolled on the Western Front… on the 11th day of the 11th month, at the 11th hour in 1918, after four years of brutal combat. Pease click here or on the image at left to find out more about how to participate in Bells of Peace in 2022.

National WWI Memorial Daily Taps bugler Michael Harper brings his extensive musical education and professional experience to Daily Taps at the WWI Memorial, DC this year!

Says Michael: “Taps is a very short, succinct melody, but it conveys a great feeling of dignity and honor. I feel fortunate to be able to perform it in this special setting in our nation’s capital. Using my musical talents to create such a specific atmosphere for passersby is one way I can better serve my country.”

Click here to read more, and learn about the special family relationships that are associated with Taps for Michael.

https://www.doughboy.org/index.php/news/585-wwi-teaching-and-learning-resources-are-now-published-on-the-verizon-innovative-learning-portalWith the Centennial of World War I as the driver, the U.S. WWI Centennial Commission with its partner the Doughboy Foundation created “WWI Teaching and Learning Resources” delivering high quality comprehensive, contemporary, compelling, and engaging WWI education that is ideally suited to a next generation of young adults, who grew up learning from digital resources, which are now available on the Verizon Innovative Learning portal. The learning resources are targeted at teachers, but available to everyone. Click here to read more on these outstanding educational resources for teaching and learning about World War I, “The War That Changed The World.”

Wednesday, September 13, 2022 was the 162th birthday of General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing. General Pershing was born at the beginning of the Civil War and fought in the Indian wars, the Spanish-American War, headed the force that chased Poncho Villain Mexico, helped put down the insurrection in the Philippines, but is best known for leading the American Expeditionary Force that entered World War I in 1917 and broke the stalemate that had gone on for 4 years between the European nations. Click here to read more about & see photos of the wreath laying ceremony.

“Since I retired,” writes author Chris Kolb, “I have put a lot of effort in updating my genealogy, often wondering about many of the stories which my family members tell – how much is true and how much is an embellishment to honor my ancestors. I started researching much of the lore and wrote them down, but adding a genealogical basis for them.” In Genealogy in the Bottle: Volume 2 — More Stories from Our Family Tree (2022), Kolb tells two stories related to his maternal grandfather, Corporal John Vincent Zink, who served and was wounded in World War I. Click here to read more about Corporal Zink and how his legacy of service is remembered by his family.

One American unit leading the assault in the Battle of the Argonne Forest was the 77th Infantry or Statue of Liberty Division composed of young men from the streets of New York City. But just a week before the offensive, the 77th was heavily reinforced by about 476 Montanans transferred in from their replacement division. As a result, 59 Montanans ended up as part of the famous “Lost Battalion” which advanced so rapidly into the Argonne Forest that they outpaced the forces on their flanks and became “lost” to allied support. Click here to read more about the role the soldiers from Montana played in this incredible engagement in WWI, and how they and their fellow soldiers were saved by a heroic pigeon.

Captain Alexander Wallace of the British Army emigrated to America shortly after the end of the World War I, in which he had served for the duration. With him he brought the story of his amazing partnership with a horse named Vic. More than 100 years after the end of the First World War, new details have emerged about the horse and her rider who fought in some of the conflict’s most infamous battles. Click here to read more, and learn how Vic herself was a sole survivor, “The only horse out of 131 horses from the Forfarshire Battery to return and she came back to her actual home in Angus.“

As Arizona was welcomed into the United States, Native Americans were still not recognized as U.S. citizens. But they were welcomed into the military. In 1914, when World War I broke out, 62 boys from Phoenix Indian School enlisted in the Army and Navy. Their sacrifices and service helped change attitudes in Washington, D.C., that eventually led to the Indian Citizenship Act becoming law in 1924. Click here to read more about the open house on October 8 at the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center with special programming and, right next door, an event marking the 100th anniversary of the school’s Memorial Hall, a building dedicated to students who served in World War I.

The Carnation City Players will present the musical “The Hello Girls” on Friday and Saturday and Oct. 14-16, at the Firehouse Theatre in Alliance, Ohio. Based on the work of Peter Mills and Cara Reichel, with lyrics and music by Mills, “The Hello Girls” chronicles the story of “intrepid heroines” who served as bilingual telephone operators on the front lines before returning home to fight a decades-long battle for equality and recognition, “paving the way for future generations,” Carnation City Players explains in the musical’s program. Click here to read more about the production.

History was made when Broad Street in Hatfield, Pennsylvania was officially dedicated as the “Dr. Frank Erdman Boston Memorial Highway” on Thursday, Sept.15th in recognition of an African American veteran, who left the military with the rank of Major to return to civilian life to apply his wartime experiences for the public good. Dr. Boston was the first African American Doctor to become a member of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States and he received two U.S. Presidential Citations for his community service. Following legislation passed in the PA House of Representatives and Senate, and signed by the Governor, Broad Street in Hatfield and Lansdale was officially designated as the “Dr. Frank E. Boston Memorial Highway.” Click here to read more about Dr. Frank E. Boston and the naming ceremony in Hatfield.

A Rock Springs, WY soldier was among the Americans killed in Russia during WWI in a little-known chapter in U.S. military history. Private Gus Johnson of Rock Springs, born in Sweden in 1886, was a member of “A” Company of the 31st Infantry Regiment, which was sent to Siberia by President Wilson as part of military expeditions to northern Russia and eastern Siberia to secure the Trans-Siberian Railroad and huge Allied supply caches. Click here to learn more about how “On 25 June 1919 his [Johnson’s] platoon of 75 soldiers was attacked at Romanovka near Vladivostok at sunrise while sleeping in tents by a 400-man Red Russian unit.“

The wreckage of SM U-111, the last World War I-era German submarine to be discovered in U.S. waters, was found on Labor Day last month 40 miles off the Virginia coast. Navy records indicated that U-111 sank off Virginia on August 31, 1922, in 1,600 feet of water—far beyond the limit of any human diver. Click here to read more, and learn how years of research led the explorers to a different conclusion—and a historic discovery.

Discovered in a shop in Oregon, a worn New Testament in a shotgun ammo pouch found its way back to the hands of the original owner’s family through a chain of determined veterans. Found in the ammo pouch with the bible was an American Legion Membership Card from Post 130. With that as a starting point, a remarkable effort to get the belongings back to their home began. Click here to read the whole story of how veterans from coast to coast tracked down the family of the bible’s owner, and reunited them with the Doughboy’s possessions almost a century later.

The Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas is proud to announce an exciting new permanent addition to their galleries: “Through Their Eyes: The History of America at War from 1917 through the Global War on Terror.” Beginning on November 1, 2022, each museum gallery will offer a six-minute movie describing the gallery’s conflict featuring photos, videos, music, professional narrative, museum artifacts, and local veterans. The videos tell when and why each war began, how it affected Americans, and its results for future conflicts. Click here to read more, and learn how to attend the new exhibit’s official premiere on October 25 at the Museum in Brevard, NC

It was one of the most beloved and abused weapons in the history of warfare. The Browning Automatic Rifle was the weapon of choice for infantrymen, vehicle crews, and even gangsters from its debut in World War I, through two World Wars and Korea to the jungles of Vietnam. The BAR was invented by its namesake, John Browning, in 1917 for use in WWI. The Army, newly arrived in Europe to fight on the Western Front, was told that machine guns were the way to go in the new war, and America agreed. Click here to read more, and learn how the initial use of the BAR in combat during World War I was very literally a family affair.

The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) recently hosted the “First World War Aces” exhibition at the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial Cemetery in Marnes-la-Coquette, France. The Cemetery commemorates the birthplace of American combat aviation, and is the final resting place for some of America’s first combat aviators and their French officers. This educational and chronological exhibit pays tribute to the American aviators of the Great War, recalling the major stages of the development of aviation and the progress made in this industrial sector during the war. Click here to read more about this event.

When Arizona State University student Marilyn Bersewicz was approached about doing an internship with the Commemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa, Arizona, she thought it would be cool to learn more about World War II. Then she was told she actually would be working on a World War I project.

“I went, ‘Wow, I know almost nothing about that,’” said Bersewicz, a graduate student in aviation management and human factors.

She does now.

Click here to read the whole story of how the work of Marilyn and three other ASU students was unveiled on Sept. 17 as a new permanent exhibit at the CAF museum in Mesa, AZ.

Before Orleanis William Burton was a military private who fought and died in World War I, he was a 25-year-old Black man who had moved to Brockton, MA from Virginia for his education. During the four-year-long first World War between 1914 and 1918, Burton was one of 98 people from Brockton who enlisted in the military to fight. Click here to learn more about Orleanis, who was honored Sept. 7 when the city held a rededication commemoration ceremony honoring Burton’s achievements in the “Private Orleanis W. Burton” Plaza.

Veterans Day is a holiday observed annually to honor military veterans who gave their lives for our country. Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11, the “11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” – the date and time an armistice ended World War 1. A recognized symbol of Veterans Day is the red poppy. Do you know the story behind the red poppy? Perkin’s School for the Blind is here to help! Click here to learn more about the poppy, with lots of activities for Veterans Day and beyond that are suitable for all levels of age and vision capability.

Our Doughboy MIA this month is James Lowell Corey.

A man is only missing if he is forgotten, and in that spirit we re-introduce a previous case to you – with new information!

Born December 16^th,1894 James Lowell Corey received his education at the Virginia Military Academy and in the cadet program at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Prior to the war he was working for the Western Union Telegraph Company in Louisville, Kentucky, when he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on November 29^th, 1917. He received his training at Parris Island, South Carolina, and went overseas in March of 1918. There he was assigned to the 83^rd Company of the 6^th Marine Regiment, 2^nd Division and saw much action in the heavy fighting that summer at Belleau Wood and the Chateau Thierry sector, where he was killed on July 19^th, 1918 near the village of Vierzy. Despite attempts following the war and an additional special attempt again in 1984, his battlefield grave was never found. The American Legion Post in Argos, Indiana is named in his honor.

However, Doughboy MIA has been researching his case for several years and we now believe that both expeditions were actually looking in the wrong place – and we also believe that we know where he really is. Plans are being worked out to make a reconnaissance to France, perhaps as early as 2023, to attempt to locate his grave as well as that of another Marine buried with him. Our research is solid and will be including ground-breaking tech we used once already. The best part is YOU can be part of the search and discovery!

How? By donating to the cause. Every dollar you donate to our 501(c)3 organization is tax deductible and goes toward our mission: making as full an accounting as possible of the 4,423 of our missing servicemen from WW1. Do it today and help us as we launch another mission to France in 2023. We are closer than ever before to possibly attempting a recovery. Why not help us? Your participation is certainly appreciated by us AND their families! Donate today!

Can you spare just ten dollars? 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.

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