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2017 eclipse spanning U.S. recalls wartime total eclipse 99 years ago
In 1918 newspapers across America, tucked in among reports about U.S. regiments fighting overseas and war bond propaganda, were reports about the Total Eclipse casting the moon’s shadow over the country. Just as in 2017, in 1918 the path of the eclipse started south of Japan, went across the Pacific Ocean, and then across the United States. And, just as in 2017, Americans were avidly interested in the amazing cosmic phenomena, despite a preoccupation with the war. Click here to see some of the coverage and analysis of the solar eclipse a century ago.
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"Never Such Innocence" is a non-profit program dedicated to educating young people about the First World War, its impact and legacy. The program takes its name from a line in Philip Larkin’s poem "MCMXIV", which reflects on the changes caused by the First World War. To mark the centenary of the First World War, Never Such Innocence is running an annual poetry and art competition for young people. This year's 2017 edition of the competition explores the different stages of the First World War, and it aims to provide young people with an objective and insightful account of the events that unfolded between 1914 and 1919. It has been designed so that students can select topics that interest them most, and uses poems and artwork from the war period to help stimulate responses to the competition. We talked to the person who was the vision behind it all, Lady Lucy French.
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David O’Neal acquired his first artifact when he was 16 years old. It was a 37mm tank round from WWI, dated 1917. Some 40 years later, he is still an avid student of the Great War....and still collecting WW1 artifacts. But now he is restoring priceless relics of World War I back into their original condition, so that their stories can be told to new generations. We caught up with David to see what is going on now at his award-winning WWI Preservation Collection. (In case you were wondering: yes, he still has the 37mm tank round.)
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A group from the US Army Brotherhood of Tankers (USABOT) is creating a new memorial to those service members 100 years ago who created the tank corps during World War I. The memorial will feature General George Patton, who famously led the experimental tank group during World War, and who would go on to achieve combat victory as the foremost tanker in the world during World War II. The memorial is getting some help from an unusual source -- the people of Bourg, France. Bourg is where General Patton's World War I tank headquarters, and school, was located. The town is very proud of the key role that they played to support those tankers 100 years ago. We discuss the memorial project with Karlen Morris, a retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant, and career tanker.
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This upcoming September 16-17, Fort Jay on Governors Island, New York, will be hosting Camp Doughboy, a weekend of free events and exhibitions dedicated to commemorate the American participation in the Great War. We caught up with the organizer for the event, Kevin Fitzpatrick. Kevin is the program director of the World War One Centennial Committee for New York City. He’s also the author and editor of seven books tied to city history, including his most recent, “World War I New York: A Guide to the City’s Enduring Ties to the Great War” (Globe Pequot Press). Kevin fills us in an who & what there will be to be seen at Camp Doughboy.
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Hawaii's World War I Centennial Task Force gets state support
Hawaii Governor David Y. Ige has signed a letter as the Honorary Chairman, pledging state support to Hawaii's World War I Centennial Task Force. The task force is the focal point for planning and organizing commemorative events in Hawaii, which contributed significantly to the war effort on both the military and civilian fronts. Hawaii's Centennial Commemoration began on April 2, 2017 and will continue through June 28, 2019. Read more about this official state support here.
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Nurses We Remember:
Clara D. Noyes
Well before the U.S. entered World War I, the War Department and its medical auxiliary, the American Red Cross, sought a carefully guided process to recruit nurses for a global cause – caring for sick, wounded and dying soldiers at home and abroad. By training, by aptitude, and by circumstance, Clara Noyes – Roger Noyes' great-great-aunt and the subject of his new book– was the ideal candidate to help lead what became the first large-scale mobilization of women (20,000 in all) to serve in wartime. Read this author's account of Noyes' significant and enduring contributions to the war effort and the nursing profession here.
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The WW1 Centennial News Podcast is about WW1 THEN: 100 years ago this week and its about WW1 NOW: News and updates about the centennial and the commemoration.
Available on our web site, iTunes, Google Play, and TuneIn.
EPISODE 32 HIGHLIGHT
The American Red Cross - Part 2
Storyteller & Historian: The Herbert Hoover Food Administration
Mike Shuster: Where did “Doughboy” come from?
Feature: The US Mint WWI Commemorative Coin
NEW: Speaking WWI this week “Slaker”
Event Picks: Portland Maine, Los Angeles
100C/100M: Neil Urban on Veterans of WWI of the USA Monument in Arizona
Media: Professor Sir Hew Stachan & Catriona Oliphant on Podcast Docudrama - “Enter The Peace Broker”
Articles: National Guard, Rainbow Division and The Wool Brigade
The Buzz: Katherine Akey on Social Media
And more…
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Proudly wearing the WWI 100 Years lapel pin is a fantastic way to let the world know that we still honor those who served our country one hundred years ago.
We thank Admiral Mullen for making that choice as he appeared on television's longest running show.
This satin nickel lapel pin is a simple, yet meaningful, way to display your pride and remember those who sacrificed throughout our nation’s great history.
Get your at the official WWI Centennial Merchandise shop.
Check out the many other great commemoration items while you are there.
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Submitted by: T.J. Cullinane
Lester W. Chase served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The dates of service are: Known 1916 - 1918.
The First to Fall; a Dreaded Milestone
Private Lester W. Chase, a shoemaker turned soldier, was the first service member from Derry, New Hampshire, to die of wounds sustained in combat during the First World War. Even with the 100th anniversary of his death fast approaching, his name remains firmly rooted in the fabric of the town as his fellow veterans elected to designate their meeting place as the Lester W. Chase Post Nine of the American Legion. Three generations of Legion baseball players have taken to the field with his name emblazoned on their chest, just one example of the community activities conducted in his good name.
Chase was pre-deceased by two Derry soldiers who succumbed to pneumonia. Charles E. Bitgood died in France on February 3, 1918, while assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division’s 15th Artillery Regiment. Just 22 years old, he was buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, in Romagne, France. An excerpt from the Derry Enterprise published on February 12, 1918, contained the following sentiment, “Charles E. Bitgood's memory will ever be honored as being the first soldier boy enlisted from Derry to answer the last roll call on the soil of France, while engaged in the service of his country in that foreign land.”
In spite of this exhortation, it is the memory of Lester W. Chase that remains honored rather than that of Bitgood. Such is the “glamor” of death in combat. As we’ll soon see, the death of Lester Chase was anything but glamorous.
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