In recent years there have been several films made about animals in the First World War. Some examples are A Bear Named Winnie (2001), War Horse (2011) and Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero (2018). Sled Dog Soldiers (2012), which was produced for television in Canada and France, also belongs on this list.
Commemorating the First World War Centennial in Kansas
Author: James Patton (Page 1 of 31)
James (“Jim”) Patton BS BA MPA is a retired state official from Shawnee, Kansas and a frequent contributor to several WW1 e-publications, including "Roads to the Great War," "St. Mihiel Tripwire," "Over the Top" and "Medicine in the First World War." He has spent many hours walking the WW1 battlefields, and is also an authority on British regiments and a collector of their badges.
An Army Engineer during the Vietnam War, he does work for the US World War 1 Centennial Commission and has memberships in the WW1 Historical Association, the Western Front Association, the Indian Military Historical Society and the Salonika Campaign Society.
During this pandemic isolation period many of us have found extra time on our hands. Recently I learned from the Western Front Association (WFA) of two worthwhile volunteer efforts that World War 1 researchers and students are working on. These are called Project Alias and Project Hometown.
Click on this link to read about the contributions of the Army Nursing Service in 1918-19.
This Friday the US World War 1 Centennial Commission’s weekly webinar will feature an in-depth visit with sculptor Sabin Howard. Learn more about his massive creation by registering at this link. Blank out my name and e-mail address and enter your own.
Ever since 1934 a memorial ceremony has been held at dawn on April 25th to commemorate the service of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey. You can read about this in an earlier post by clicking here.
Due to COVID-19 Pandemic, on March 17th the governments of Turkey, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand agreed to cancel this year’s activities. Since it is only appropriate to observe ANZAC Day on ANZAC Day, there will be no observance at Gallipoli in 2020. You can read more about this from a British perspective here and from a Turkish perspective here.
Last Post Ceremony Continues
Awhile back when I posted about the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium I covered the Last Post Ceremony which has been held every evening beginning in 1927, except for when the Germans occupied Ypres from 1940-44. You can read that post by clicking here.
By agreement between the Belgian authorities, the Last Post Association and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the nightly ceremony is continuing, with one bugler and NO AUDIENCE. You can read about this by clicking here.
A message from the U.S. World War One Centennial Commission:
‘On Friday, April 17, 1:00 p.m. EDT, you are invited to join us for the first public look at the WWI Memorial Virtual Explorer. We will introduce our webinar guests to the “Augmented Reality” smart phone app that will allow you to place a 3D model of the entire National WWI Memorial being built in Washington DC into your living room to experience, explore and discover many aspects of WWI.
By clicking here, you can sign up for a LIVE virtual tour of the project site on Friday April 3rd. Architect Joseph Weishaar, sculptor Sabin Howard and the project managers will be the guides.
Even though they’re are observing the distancing protocols in place in DC, construction hasn’t stopped.
History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.
attributed to Mark Twain
We now find ourselves in a quandary similar to that of 1918. Of course, there is no one left who went through the Great Influenza Pandemic, but there are still some of us who knew someone who did. One such person was my mother-in-law, Priscilla Hicks (1908-2004). Her stories as told to her daughter resonate today.
One hundred three years ago in France, the German Army performed Operation Alberich, a withdrawal to their newly constructed defenses known as the Siegfried Stellung or, to the British, the Hindenburg Line. This new fortress work was a masterpiece of military engineering that made the British positions in the Loos sector that were discussed in the previous article look rather ordinary. Read the Wikipedia entry on The Hindenburg Line by clicking here.
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