The Doughboy Foundation will sponsor a World War I Living History event at the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC. The one-day event will take place on Saturday, September 13, 2025, at the National WWI Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue, between 14th and 15th Streets.
It will coincide with the birthday of General John Pershing, the commanding officer of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). Pershing will be honored with a wreath-laying ceremony at 11:00 at the Pershing statue at the memorial, followed by a concert by the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) Headquarters Band at 3:30 pm and the daily sounding of Taps at 5 pm. There will be hourly presentations, along with live WWI historians and original vehicles displayed near the Memorial.
The event is free and open to the public.
If you’re a WWI Reenactor, please email Jari Villanueva, Executive Director, Doughboy Foundation
[email protected]
Colonel Gerald York, grandson of Medal of Honor Recipient Sergeant Alvin York will be present for the event
Displays and presentations all day including:
GENERAL JOHN PERSHING (as portrayed by Chas Rittenhouse)
VISITFLANDERS is the official tourist office of Flanders, Belgium, dedicated to promoting the region as a premier travel destination. One of its key focuses is the remembrance tourism program, which highlights the many World War I heritage sites across Flanders Fields. Through partnerships with museums, memorials, and local communities, VISITFLANDERS helps visitors connect with the history and stories of the Great War, whether through visits to battlefields, cemeteries, and museums or through special commemorative events. Its mission is to ensure that the legacy of WWI is preserved and shared with travelers from around the world, while also showcasing the broader cultural, culinary, and artistic treasures of Flanders.
HELLO GIRLS DISPLAY
29TH DIVISION DISPLAY
US ARMY MEDICAL CORPS DURING THE GREAT WAR
THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES (AEF) HEADQUARTERS BAND
The AEF Headquarters Band was formed as part of the Doughboy Foundation’s Educational Outreach. The band recreates the music heard from 1918 to 1919 at the AEF HQ in Chaumont, France, along with popular music of the time. The band wears reproductions of the doughboy uniforms worn by musicians of the time, with the insignia of the AEF HQ on their left shoulder.
The AEF Headquarters Band performs music of the period including marches by John Philip Sousa, Over There, Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag, Keep The Home Fire Burning, K-K-K-Katy, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, and It’s a Long Way To Tipperary. Composers like Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan, Percy Grainger, and Kenneth Alford are represented. The band also performs music written by African America composers, James Reese Europe, W.C. Handy, Nobel Sissle and Eubie Blake.
1918 STAFF CAR
Knit Your Bit! Knitting during WWI Bailey Zindle
Women on the Home Front Stephanie Vickers
As the Great War raged in Europe, American men, women, and youth galvanized their patriotic spirit into practical action for the war effort in their local communities. One organization, the Four Minute Men, urged volunteer orators to make appeals for various causes, such as the Red Cross. They were organized three months after the U.S. entered WWI in 1917 and their name comes from the four minutes it took to change the film reels in movie houses, the primary platform for the speakers. Locations quickly grew to anywhere a crowd might be gathered: church socials, school auditoriums, city parks, boardwalks, and railroad stations. Its members were vital in disseminating the government’s war messages and information; by the time the organization was dissolved, over 75,000 citizens had participated in the program.
The YMCA in WWI Jay Callahan
BOOKS
The event is free and open to the public.
Schedule of Events
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