Ahead of the upcoming ‘Posters as Munitions, 1917’ exhibition featuring war posters, the National World War I Museum in Kansas City is asking the public to vote for their favorite WWI poster. The winning poster will be featured as part of the year-long exhibition opening in February 2017.
Month: January 2017 (Page 2 of 4)
1st Lieutenant Johnson Chesnut Whittaker, Jr. appears on the list of Kansans that went to Fort Des Moines, but he was in a way an accidental Kansan. Born September 25, 1896 in Sumter, South Carolina, Whittaker was raised in Oklahoma City, but in 1917 he was a student at the University of Kansas. That certainly qualified him for the officers’ training school.
This weekend C-SPAN 3 airs a couple of WWI programs.
First up is “The Peace Coalition That Almost Prevented U.S. Entry,” airing at 6:00 p.m. CT Saturday, January 28th, and again at 5:00 a.m. CT Sunday morning the 29th. The online schedule doesn’t give a description, but we believe this must be Michael Kazin’s talk at the National World War I Museum and Memorial’s symposium in early November.
In 1917 Inauguration Day was held not on January 20th–that would not change until Franklin Roosevelt’s second term in 1937–but on March 4th. As it happened, the 4th was on a Sunday that year, and in deference to the Sabbath, the President was often sworn in quietly to preserve the continuity of government. The next day the President was publicly sworn in, and all festivities associated with the Inauguration took place.
Memorials to the Missing: Lafayette Escadrille
I’ll be up front with you: this isn’t really about a memorial to the missing, although five of the men commemorated on its walls are, in fact, among the missing. But this is perhaps the most unique US WW1 memorial, and its location in the Paris ‘burbs makes it a high profile one, too. In fact, it’s just a few hundred yards away from the Memorial to the French Resistance of WW2.
Always happy to pass along programs that others are doing for WWI–you never know when you might find a program worth stealing . . . er, emulating. The State Historical Society of Iowa is conducting programs for students that will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the American entry into the war on April 6th and 7th. For more information, see the link:
The US Army Center for Military History has opened their WW1 website. Click here.
C-SPAN3 continues to show talks this weekend from the National World War I Museum and Memorial’s symposium this past November. The talks airing this coming weekend have been shown previously.
First up is John Kuehn’s talk, World War I at Sea. Kuehn is a history professor with the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. His talk airs at 12:20 p.m. CT on Saturday, January 21st, and again at 6:05 a.m. CT Sunday morning the 22nd.
In recognition of the anniversary of World War I, the Kansas Museum of History created a special exhibit about a Topekan who experienced both world wars. Captured: The Extraordinary Adventures of Colonel Hughes has been extended through May 2018.
Hughes’ story is both common and exceptional. He was born in Topeka in 1888. The timing of his birth, the influence of his military father, and the impact of world politics shaped his life. He began his service as a member of the Kansas National Guard and was sent to the Texas border with the American Expeditionary Forces in 1916. As a member of the U.S. Army he served from 1917 to 1948 and fought in both world wars. He left many detailed records of his time in service. He photographed battlefields and towns in Europe, recorded his daily survival as a Japanese Prisoner of War (POW), and saved many belongings from the wars that were later donated to this museum. In essence, he captured his life.
Yesterday on KCUR-FM (Kansas City, MO) was the discussion about “The Fight to Stay Out of World War I” on their Up to Date program. Included in the discussion were Michael Kazin, author of War Against War: The American Fight for Peace, 1914-1918, and Doran Cart, Senior Curator of the National World War I Museum and Memorial.