Click here to view a dramatization of the start of the well-known 1914 Christmas Truce. This scene is from the 2005 French movie entitled Joyeux Noël, which, although historically inaccurate, is nevertheless poignant. The film was rated 3 ½ stars by Rotten Tomatoes, 4 stars by IMDB and also 4 stars by Roger Ebert. It was also nominated for an Oscar as the Best Foreign Film of 2005.
Month: December 2019
In October the National Capitol Planning Commission gave its approval to the design for the memorial at Pershing Park in Washington, DC. Subsequently the National Park Service issued a Building Permit and just over a week ago the site work began. You can read more about this in the DC press by clicking here or from The American Legion by clicking here.
The National Guard traces its existence to December 13th, 1636. These citizen soldiers have served in all of our nation’s conflicts, and in the First World War the 26th through 42nd Divisions of the American Expeditionary Force were composed of Guardsmen. You can read more about this here. Happy Birthday to the Guard!
We slip to one World War I program on C-SPAN3 this weekend, and it’s a repeat from last week. Time is Central, of course:
–World War I, African Americans and Civil Rights. Airs at 7:45 a.m Saturday morning, December 14th.
There are still four talks, I believe, from the National World War I Museum and Memorial’s annual symposium held in November. That includes Margaret Macmillan’s keynote. For those of you who couldn’t make the symposium, hopefully the remaining sessions will be aired soon.
This week’s schedule includes some repeats from last week, and one new program offered. All times are Central.
–America Aid in Post-World War I Europe, 1919-1924. From the Annual Symposium at the National WWI Museum and Memorial. Tammy Proctor. Airs at 11:55 a.m. Saturday morning, December 7th.
False Memory: What We “Know” About WW1
In this recorded lecture Stephen Badsey Ph. D (Cambridge) FRHistR, for 19 years a professor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and now on the faculty at the University of Wolverhampton, discusses the myths and misconceptions that have passed down to us about World War 1. Click here to see the whole presentation on YouTube. Settle in, though, because it lasts over 47 minutes.
We have two movies with a World War I theme this month on Turner Classic Movies, and I’m pretty sure we’ve listed them before. As usual, all times are Central.
–Waterloo Bridge (1940). With Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor. Airs on Sunday, December 29th at 7:00 a.m.
A superb documentary film about the Lafayette Escadrille premiered on November 9th at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Ohio. Read the whole story by clicking here.
Also well worth a read is the 2007 monograph entitled Like a Thunderbolt, produced by the Air Force Historical Studies Office. You can download it here, courtesy of The Doughboy Center.