In 1919 the French government refused to allow the American dead to be repatriated. Among their concerns was competition for the labor that would be required when there were millions of French dead that needed to be re-buried properly – the Americans could afford to pay higher wages for this work. Eventually though, in 1922 the French government relaxed the ban. The American Battle Monuments Commission then polled the next of kin wherever possible and 59% of them opted to have their loved one returned to the U.S. for local re-burial. Most of these remains were transported down the Meuse Canal on barges for dispatch by ship from the port of Antwerp. You can read the whole story by clicking here.
Category: Monuments & Memorials (Page 1 of 17)
After a two-year hiatus, the April 25th Gallipoli Dawn Observance from ANZAC Cove resumed this year. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s live stream broadcast is now available for FREE on You Tube. Click here to view. Noteworthy in this presentation are the absences of any member of the British Royal Family, Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand. In his defense, Morrison was embroiled in the final weeks of an election, which his party ultimately lost. The crowd size was obviously smaller than in prior years, and there was more pageantry recognizing the indigenous peoples of the Antipodes. The performance of the three national anthems was moved up in the program schedule to ensure that, if the broadcast ran long, the New Zealand anthem wouldn’t be cut as it was in 2014.
The USS Olympia C-6 was built as a fast sail-capable commerce-raider. Launched in 1895, it was built by the Union Iron Works of San Francisco. No other ship of its class was ever completed. The Olympia served as the flagship of Dewey’s squadron at the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898. During WW1 the Olympia was re-designated as CA-15 and performed escort duty in the Atlantic. In 1921 it was again re-designated from CA-15 to CL-15 and carried the Unknown Soldier back to the U.S. Mothballed in 1922, in 1931 the Navy re-designated it again to Relic IX-40 in recognition of its historic value. Since 1957 Olympia has been berthed in Philadelphia. The present owner, The Independence Seaport Museum, now needs to raise $20 million to dry-dock the ship and properly repair the hull. You can read more about this here.
Congressional Gold Medal Awarded to the 369th Infantry, the “Harlem Hell Fighters”
Although the 369th Regiment Armory still stands at 142d St. and Fifth Ave. in New York, the regiment itself was disbanded in 1946 and its heritage passed to other units, now the 369th Sustainment Brigade, NY National Guard. The original 369th Infantry, widely known as “The Harlem Hell Fighters”, served with the French in WW1, and has been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal (CGM).
Take the “Insider Tour” by clicking here. Bear in mind that the 58 foot wide bronze sculpture panels won’t be installed until 2024.
WW1-era US Submarine wreck found
Searchers say that they have located the wreck of the R-Class submarine R-8, later designated SS-85, which was intentionally sunk in 1936 during naval exercises off of the Delmarva Peninsula. In all, twenty-seven R-Class boats were built under non-cancellable contracts issued in April, 1917. Thirteen R-Class boats were launched prior to the Armistice but none were commissioned in time to see war service. The R-8 itself was commissioned on July 21st, 1919. You can read more about this by clicking here.
The following virtual programs are upcoming from the National WW1 Museum and Memorial:
Tues. April 6th 7:00 CDT Pershing Lecture Series: The Armenian Massacres
Tues. April 13th 7:00 CDT Modernity and Culture Change
Sun. April 18th 2:00 PM CDT Lawrence of Arabia: A Life and a Legacy Part 1
The Location of the Sgt. York site still in dispute
The ‘battle’ over the site of Sgt. Alvin York’s heroic deeds on October 8th, 1918 continues. Recently the research of ret. Col. Douglas Mastriano, Ph. D, has been called into question, with at least one critic accusing him of academic fraud. Mastriano, the driving force behind The Sgt. York Discovery Project, is an historian who frequently appears on CSPAN and has lectured at the U.S. World War One Museum in Kansas City as recently as 2018. If you don’t know much about Sgt. York you can read his story by clicking here, and if you’re not familiar with the saga of the searches for the site you can read more about that by clicking here. To read more about the latest news, including the accusation of academic fraud, you can click here.
Preparations have begun for the observance of this historic event on November 11th, 2021. Read more about this by clicking here.
Michael Neiberg on How Armistice Day became Veteran’s Day
Since 1954 the U.S. has observed every November 11th as Veteran’s Day, while in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand the day remains known as Remembrance Day. Why did Americans make this change? Read Dr. Neiberg’s article by clicking here.
