Featured Articles
The mystery on the Western Front
One of the main reasons for working with my research is the connection to the individuals I discover through my intense work trying to find as much facts as possible to be able to tell [...]
The Harlem Hellfighters: A Legacy of Lasting Impact
NEW YORK - In the past few years, the name Harlem Hellfighters evoked confusion for some, intrigue for others and great pride for those who know the stories of valor and triumph. Lesser known are [...]
How American Intelligence Was Born in the Trenches of World War I
The Great War forced the US to create a modern spying and analysis apparatus In 1920, a perceptive British correspondent titled a book he’d just written about the conflict that had so recently laid waste [...]
Portraits of War: Two Mississippi Doughboys in France, 1918
Finding vintage photography to post to the site that has meaningful background history has been a tough mission the last few years. I was recently inspired to start posting to the blog more often from [...]
Iowa, USA, and the Great War
In the early 20th century, Iowa was an even more distinctly rural state that it is today. In the 1910 census out of a population of 2.2 million over 70 percent of Iowans lived on [...]
America’s First Women Soldiers of WWI Deserve the Congressional Gold Medal
Over 100 years ago, Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), issued the call for women telephone operators to serve overseas in France. Prioritizing military necessity over the Army's prohibition against [...]
East Tennessee Love Letters that Crossed Oceans: A WWI Story of Patriotism, Courage and Devotion
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The McClung Historical Collection was sent a piece of history that tells the story of a love during World War 1 from an East Tennessee couple’s perspective. James M. Hawk is the [...]
Survival and Rescue at Sea: The First Mission of Ensign Kenneth R. Smith, USN
Newly commissioned Kenneth Smith was a 1917 graduate of Yale University and member of the First Yale Aviation Unit. The story of his first combat mission is an epic one. Kenneth Smith (R) and [...]
The Truth About WWI “Trench Guns”
During the First World War, the Winchester M1897, fitted with the M1917 bayonet, (colloquially called the “trench gun” by collectors) became perhaps the most iconic and immediately recognizable American small arm of the conflict. It is unusual, [...]
