The U.S. World War I Centennial Commission and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library announced the final 50 WW1 Memorials to be awarded grants and honored with the official national designation as "WW1 Centennial Memorials". Now the 100 selected memorial, which each will receive a $2,000 matching grant, towards the restoration, conservation and maintenance of these local historical treasures, are hard at work on bringing their respective memorials up to top condition.  Read more about the final fifty selectees, and where 100 Cities / 100 Memorials goes from here.

While the 100 Cities / 100 Memorials competition is over, the job of finding and cataloging all of the thousands of World War I Memorials in the United States continues. The Commission' s Memorial Hunters Club program is designed to create a catalog of the WWI memorials around the entire country, so we can be aware of them, and help preserve them. WW1CC Intern Betsy Sheppard walks us through this great program, and shows how you can get involved here. 

The movie Journey’s End opened widely across the U.S. in April. Journey’s End tells the story of Captain Stanhope and his British regiment during World War I. The regiment of about 120 soldiers goes back to a front line with knowledge of an enormous upcoming attack and the knowledge that they will likely be on the front to face it. The film portrays how these men waited as time tick by until the attack and the ways in which each of these individuals deals with their fear. The World War I Centennial Commission had a chance to interview director Saul Dibb on our weekly WW1 Centennial News podcast a few weeks ago about his vision for the film. Read the entire interview here.

Lifelong friends Ed Nef and Doug Hartley, are both 84 years young, and they recently undertook a remarkable project -- to create a documentary film about Doug's uncle, Charles Fletcher Hartley. One hundred years ago, Charles Fletcher Hartley was an American living overseas, who left a comfortable life in order to join the British Army. He served in the trenches as an infantry officer with the famous Coldstream Guards. The film, An American Martyr, is a remarkable finished project. We caught up with Ed and Doug recently to find out more about their movie.

A new scholarly journal tackles a dual subject - Pennsylvania oil and World War I - and outlines how the two topics were closely intertwined.  The special Oilfield Journal edition, timed to mark the 100th anniversary of America's entry into the War to End All Wars, lays out "the impact of the global war on the local region." Petroleum products, from lubricants to gasoline, played a crucial role in World War I, and nowhere was that impact more dramatic than in Pennsylvania's oil patch. Read more about the surprising connections between Pennsylvania oil and World War I here.

By the time German forces launched Operation Michael on the Western Front on March 21, 1918, only six full American divisions had arrived in France. Desperate to ramp up the American contribution as fast as possible, AEF Commander General John J. Pershing and French Generalissimo Ferdinand Foch agreed to increase the tempo of troop shipments across the Atlantic Ocean. It was time to send in the draftees of the so-called. The first of these divisions departed New York City one hundred years ago: the 77th “Metropolitans” and the 82nd “All-Americans”. Read more about the impact these two New York units had when they arrived "Over There" in 1918.

The Boys’ Working Reserve, a branch of the U.S. Department of Labor, was organized in the spring of 1917 and designed to tap into an underutilized resource to help address that labor deficiency. “Its object was the organization of the boy-power of the nation for work on the farms during the school vacation months.” In 1918, the the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Association was grappling with the effects the war was having on the state and the nation, and in particular, on Michigan high school sports. Read more about how the conflicting priorities and competing equities were balanced, and how “the boys who last spring left their high school studies and as members of the United States Boys’ Reserve have helped the Michigan division to add $7,000,000 to the food production of the nation.”

The WW1 Centennial News Podcast is about WW1 THEN: 100 years ago this week, and it's about WW1 NOW: News and updates about the centennial and the commemoration.   

Available on our web site, iTunes, Google Play, Podbean, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio on Demand. NEW Now listen on Spotify.

Episode #66
Highlights: April 1918 Preview

April 1918 Preview Roundtable - Dr. Edward Lengel & Katherine Akey | @ 02:50
Spring Offensive on Easter - Mike Shuster | @ 14:50
War in The Sky - Pilots and PTSD - Mark Wilkins | @ 18:30
Basketball in WWI - Dr. Lindsay Krasnoff | @ 27:05
100 Cities / 100 Memorials - Round#2 awardees announced | @ 32:50
Speaking WWI - “over the top” | @ 36:05
WWI War Tech - The Paris Guns | @ 37:15
Dispatch 4/3/18 highlights | @ 39:20
Centennial Social Media - Katherine Akey | @ 41:00

Break of Day - Poet Isaac Rosenberg

“Dawn has never recovered from what the Great War did to it,” writes Paul Fussell in The Great War and Modern Memory. This week's post explores the unprecedented notions of dawn in the WWI poetry of British soldier, Isaac Rosenberg, who died on Easter Sunday, 1918. Dawn, an almost-universal symbol for renewal, became one of the most painful times of day for soldiers in the trenches because it revealed the reality of the nightmares that battle brought them in the dark. Don't miss this post on one of the most important, prolific poets of the Great War, Isaac Rosenberg.

Woolen U.S. Army Blanket

Keep warm while showing your American pride with this classic green woolen U.S. Army blanket.

Still proudly Made in the USA by Woolrich, Inc., the oldest continuously operating woolen mill in the United States since 1830, the blankets were originally purchased by the U.S. military to supply our troops. Designed to be used by soldiers in the barracks, this Limited Edition blanket features a heat-marked “U.S.” emblem on the center and an exclusive fabric garment label commemorating the U.S. centennial of World War One. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this item will help fund the National WW1 Memorial in Washington, D.C. Fabrics and Features: 66”W x 84” L; 24 oz. 65% wool/35% recycled wool. Overseamed at all four sides. Made in USA.

This and many other items are available as Official Merchandise of the United States World War One Centennial.

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