“The Generation that Changed the World: Voices from the Great War”
Inaugural World War I Symposium
Friday, September 12, 2025; 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
First Amendment Lounge, National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW Washington, DC
$25 registration fee
9:30 a.m. Coffee
Welcome: Denise Doring VanBuren, Chair, The Doughboy Foundation
Speaker #1
10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Mitchell Yockelson
Forty-Seven Days: How Pershing’s Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in WWI
Speaker #2
11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Marvin W. Barrash
The Mysterious Disappearance of the U. S. S. Cyclops
Speaker #3
12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. Theo Mayer
WWI Education Through Technology
12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Lunch on your own at a nearby restaurant
Speaker #4
2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Dr. Frank Blazich
Feathers of Honor: U.S. Army Signal Corps Pigeon Service, 1917 – 1918
Speaker #5
3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Jim Leeke
From the Dugouts to the Trenches: Baseball during the Great War
Speaker #6
4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Jari Villanueva
Bands of World War I
4:45 p.m. Closing Announcements and Adjourn to National World War I Memorial
5:00 p.m. Taps, wreath laying ceremony and brief history of “A Soldier’s Journey”
Mitchell Yockelson
Forty-Seven Days: How Pershing’s Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in World War I
Military historian Dr. Mitch Yockelson earned a Bachelor’s degree from Frostburg State University, a Master’s from George Mason University and a Ph.D. from the Royal Military College of Science, Cranfield University. Mitch is on the staff of the U.S. National Archives where he leads the Archival Recovery Program. He also teaches history at Norwich University through the college’s online master’s program and regularly leads battlefield tours in Europe. Additionally, Mitch lectures on military history and has been featured on 60 Minutes, PBS, and C-SPAN, and in newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Washington Post, as well as numerous podcasts. Mitch has published widely in the field of military history, including articles and book reviews in various journals and magazines, and is the author of five books. His presentation draws from his 2018 book: Forty-Seven Days, the story of General Pershing and the Doughboys who Fought in the Meuse-Argonne. HIs next book, the Lion and The General, about the unique friendship between Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower, will be published in 2026. A life-long resident of the greater D.C. area, Mitch lives in Annapolis, Maryland.
Marvin W. Barrash
The Mysterious Disappearance of the U. S. S. Cyclops
Marvin W. Barrash was introduced to the U.S.S. Cyclops at an early age. His father told him that his great uncle was lost with the Collier Cyclops during the First World War. That bit of family history made an impression on him. Years later, he authored three books concerning the U.S.S. Cyclops. Following his initial thirteen years of extensive research of surviving Cyclops documentation, his book, U.S.S. CYCLOPS, the comprehensive history of the ship, was completed. His next volume was, Murder on the Abarenda, a pre-history of the Cyclops saga that delved into the prior sea service of the ship’s only commanding officer. His third book, U.S.S. CYCLOPS, Volume Two, focused on the men who perished with the ship and provided information that was not previously available. Mr. Barrash’s decades of research of the Cyclops’ history never ceased. He continues with the hope that the ship will be located and studied; not salvaged. The cause of the ship’s demise and the terrible loss of life with her must be ascertained. Barrash retired after more than four decades of service with the U.S. Department of Defense. His military service was in the Maryland Army National Guard. He resides in Maryland.
Theo Mayer
WWI Education Through Technology
Theo Mayer is a distinguished technologist, educator and WW1 enthusiast, renowned for blending innovation, storytelling and public engagement. As Chief Technologist and Program Manager at the U.S. World War One Centennial Commission (2015-2024), Theo led strategic initiatives to commemorate the Great War’s legacy and impact on America, including through interactive educational programming and public outreach. His passion for history shines through his work with The Doughboy Foundation, where he helped create an AR/VR-infused mobile app that overlays interpretation onto the new National WW1 Memorial, bringing wartime narratives to life for visitors and students. Featured on NPR’s Teaching Matters podcast, Theo discussed how this immersive tool empowers middle and high school learners to explore WW1 history on their terms and in the media of their generation. An entrepreneur, writer/producer, and lifelong educator, he harnesses technology to preserve historical memory and inspire future generations. At the symposium, he will demonstrate how modern digital platforms unlock new avenues for interactive learning, bridging 1914 – 1918 with today for both classrooms and adult enthusiasts. His session combines insightful perspective and a practical framework for educators, museum curators, history enthusiasts and technologists eager to rethink history education in experiential terms.
Dr. Frank A. Blazich Jr., PhD
Feathers of Honor: U.S. Army Signal Corps Pigeon Service, 1917 – 1918
Curator of Military History at the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution since 2017, Dr. Blazich is a native of Raleigh, NC, who specializes in the American military experience in the twentieth century. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he holds a doctorate in modern American history from The Ohio State University. Following his doctoral studies, Blazich served as the historian at the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum in Port Hueneme, Cal., before moving to Washington, D.C. to serve as a historian in the History and Archives Division of Naval History and Heritage Command. His first edited book, Bataan Survivor: A POW’s Account of Japanese Captivity in World War II, was published in 2017. His second book, Honorable Place in American Air Power”: Civil Air Patrol Coastal Patrol Operations, 1943-1943, was published in 2020. His second edited (and first translated) book, UnAméricain dans la Légion: Mémoires Inédits d’un Copagnon de la Libération, was published in May 2025. He has published articles, essays, blog posts, book reviews and delivered public talks on numerous topics relating to modern American military history. In December 2022, his article Notre Cher Ami: The Enduring Myth and Memory of a Humble Pigeon, published in The Journal of Military History, received a 2022 Smithsonian Secretary’s Research Prize. In 2024, he received the Literary Award from the Orders and Medals Society of America for his article, The American Expeditionary Forces and the Order of Prince Danilo I. That same year the French government awarded him the Médaille de la Défense nationale in bronze with “ARMY” and “FOREIGN LEGION” clasps. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife Nicole and son William.
Jim Leeke
From the Dugouts to the Trenches: Baseball during the Great War
Jim Leeke is a former print journalist, sportswriter, agency copywriter and creative director. He was born and grew up in the Midwest, and he studied journalism at The Ohio State University after serving in the U.S. Navy. Jim then began his writing career in daily newspapers as a reporter, columnist and sportswriter. He later worked in communications with technology clients across North America and worldwide. He has written and spoken extensively about baseball during World War I and contributed to several books and articles, as well as for the biographies of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). A U.S. Navy veteran, Jim also writes about military and aviation history. His numerous books include From the Dugouts to the Trenches: Baseball during the Great War, winner of SABR’s 2918 Larry Ritter Book Award. He is also the author of The Gas and Flame Men: Baseball and the Chemical Warfare Service during World War I. The Gas and Flame Men is the first full account of Major League ballplayers who served in the Chemical Warfare Service during World War I. Four players, two club executives, and a manager served in the small and hastily formed branch, six of them as gas officers. Remarkably, five of the seven—Christy Mathewson, Branch Rickey, Ty Cobb, George Sisler, and Eppa “Jeptha” Rixey are now enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown. His latest book is Big Loosh: The Unruly Life of Umpire Ron Luciano. He lives and works in Columbus, Ohio.
Jari Villanueva
Bands of World War I
Jari Villanueva retired from the U.S. Air Force after spending 23 years with The U.S. Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. He is regarded as the country’s foremost expert on military bugle calls, particularly the call of Taps. He served as the Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge of The USAF Band’s State Funeral Plans and held the position of NCOIC at the command post at Andrews AFB, overseeing the arrival and departure ceremonies for late Presidents Reagan and Ford. As a ceremonial trumpeter, Villanueva participated in more than 5,000 ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery and served as an assistant drum major, leading The USAF Ceremonial Brass in funerals. Between 2008 and 2017, Villanueva worked for the Maryland Military Department, serving as the Director of Veterans Affairs, Maryland National Guard Honor Guard, which provides funeral honors to more than 3,500 veterans each year. He also served as conductor/commander of the Maryland Defense Force Band and retired in 2017 at the rank of Lt. Colonel.
In August 2023, Villanueva was appointed Executive Director of The Doughboy Foundation, which supports programs, projects and activities that educate the public about America’s participation in World War I. Villanueva has received numerous military awards and decorations, including the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters. He earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 1978 from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. In 1984 he received a Master of Music degree from Kent State.
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