| | | | May 2024  First Lady Jill Biden (right), accompanied by U.S. World War I Centennial Commission Chairman Terry Hamby, speaks during a WWI remembrance event in the East Room of the White House. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) | | First Lady Honors World War I Veterans, Advocates Of National WWI Memorial  First Lady Jill Biden delivered remarks in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday during a reception to honor World War I veterans and those involved in the creation of the National World War I Memorial. Staff, volunteers and others involved in the endeavor gathered as Biden and Terry Hamby, Chairman of the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission (left), spoke to a room that included descendants of World War I veterans. "America will always remember your families' sacrifice," Biden said. "Military spouses and children may not wear the uniform, but they serve our country, too. That was true a century ago, and it's true now. … Your work commemorates a generation who changed our world with their courage and their sacrifice." Click here to read the whole story, and watch a video of the entire event at the White House. |  Members of the World War I Centennial Commission, staff members of the Commission, family members and friends, and many who have contributed to the creation of the National World War I Memorial were in attendance at the White House event. Grave Site Ceremony For Hello Girl Puts Spotlight On Congressional Gold Medal  On May 3, 2024, WWI soldier Marie Edmee LeRoux, a member of Unit 4 of the U.S. Army Signal Corps female telephone operators, known as the "Hello Girls" to their fellow soldiers, received a recognition for which she had waited 79 years. An official VA grave marker, noting her military service in WWI, was placed on her hitherto unmarked grave at Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Bladensburg, MD where she had rested since her death in 1945. |  Catherine Bourgin, the granddaughter of LeRoux, reflects on the long and winding road that led to the identification of the gravesite, and how "my grandmother in her unmarked grave symbolized all the Hello Girls who served in their capacity valiantly, courageously, with dedication to the mission, and yet when the war was over, they were dismissed, ignored, and then forgotten by their nation for 60 years." Click here to read the entire thoughtful article, and learn how an offhand question sparked a remarkable ceremony to honor both LeRoux and her fellow Hello Girls for their service in WWI. | Tell Congress That YOU Support A Congressional Gold Medal For America's
First Women Soldiers, The Hello Girls  The U.S. Army Signal Corps telephone operators, respectfully called the "Hello Girls" by their fellow soldiers, made a big difference in WWI. The ability of Marie Edmee LeRoux and her fellow operators to pass rapid tactical information calmly and seamlessly between two allied armies that spoke different languages was a fundamental breakthrough, and helped bring the fighting to an end in the Allies' favor as much as a year earlier than it might have taken without them, according to General Pershing. But when the Hello Girls finally returned home in 1919 after WWI ended, the women who had served in U.S. Army uniforms received a shock. They were denied veterans status and benefits until 1977. |  May Is Your Last Chance This Year To Register! Winners of the April Drawing for a copy of Lest We Forget:
- Mattheus Mitchel of Fortville, IN
- Jill Powers of South Bend, IN
- Sarita Kiehm of Torrance, CA
- Connie Yen of Springfield, MO
- Jay Hess of Farmington, UT
Those who entered in April are already in the running for the May drawing. Good luck to everyone who enters!  The National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC was a notable topic of discussion during the Memorial Day period, when America honors the men and women who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. This includes the 116,516 men and women who did not come home after World War I. Here are a few of the discussions: | Honoring The Past, Inspiring The Future:
Walmart Pays Tribute To Our Fallen Heroes Sculptor Reveals Creative Process Behind Bronze Depicting 'A Soldier's Journey' Coming To The National World War I Memorial In DC Commemorate A Cherished Veteran With A Special Tribute Of Taps At The National WWI Memorial In Washington, DC National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC Will Unveil A New Feature In Fall 2024 Playing Taps Is A Solemn Duty.
He Wanted To Do It Right. During the week of Monday, May 26 through Saturday, June 1, 2024, Daily Taps at the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC will sound in honor of World War I veteran Lyle W. Barnes, who was killed in action on July 17, 1918 in France. Barnes is the namesake of Quimby, IA American Legion Post 398. | Barnes was only nineteen years old when he was killed in action in France during World War I. He had been severely wounded in action while serving with the Rainbow Division in France in March 1918. A bullet passed through his shoulder, although he was fortunate that no bones were splintered. He was awarded the French War Cross for bravery in action. After his injury, he returned to duty and volunteered as a battalion scout, one of the most dangerous types of service. Barnes was killed in action on July 17. An official report confirmed his death on August 20, 1918. The Cherokee Times published two letters in 1919 that were sent to his grandmother, Kate Knight, regarding his service in France. Carl Kringle of Atlantic, Iowa, served as company clerk of M Company, and he wrote, "Barney (as we called him) was a boy whom everybody knew and liked, and if ever a man was deserving of commendation, he was, for he proved himself at all times a good soldier." He noted that Barnes was "brave and fearless." | |  | The Daily Taps program of the Doughboy Foundation provides a unique opportunity to dedicate a livestreamed sounding of Taps in honor of a special person of your choice while supporting the important work of the Doughboy Foundation. Choose a day, or even establish this honor in perpetuity. Click here for more information on how to honor a loved veteran with the sounding of Taps.  National History Day's National Contest in College Park, MD June 9-13 is the culmination of the annual competition cycle and a celebration of student scholarship. In a remarkable turn of events, student teams from two private schools, Whitestone Training Center in Delta Junction, AK and Christ's Household of Faith school in Saint Paul, MN, will be bringing original projects about the WWI Hello Girls, America's First Women Soldiers, to the National Contest. Click here to read about the Alaska project, why the students selected the Hello Girls as their topic, and what they learned about the female telephone operators in WWI. (We hope to have an article about the Minnesota team in our next newsletter.) Good Luck to both teams presenting their projects about the Hello Girls at the National Contest! | 'It Bucked Our Lads Up Wonderfully': The Lightning-Quick Battle That Marked The Birth Of The US-Australia Military Alliance  While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership is not. As Australians reflected on the sacrifices of their soldiers on ANZAC Day (April 25), it's worth remembering the first time Australian and American troops joined forces in battle – in northern France, in the final year of the First World War. One of the important engagements would become known as the Battle of Hamel in northern France, when the Australian overall commander, Lt. General John Monash, spearheaded the first Australian-American attack in history. Monash organized the offensive for July 4, American Independence Day. Click here to read the whole story, and learn how the American supreme commander, General John Pershing, was not pleased with the idea of the attack. |  The date was April 23, 1917. About 2,000 people stood just across the avenue from today's McDonalds at Eighth Street and Second Avenue South in Moorhead, ND. They were caught up in the patriotic fervor and excitement of what would come. Just 17 days earlier, the United States had formally entered World War I. While you can't hear the sounds, or smell the smells of 1917, you can see the action in a home movie of the gathering shot back then by Moorhead's Dr. E.W. Humphrey, a surgeon and amateur film buff. Click here to learn more about the event, the movie, and why the filmed celebration happened in the first place: America had just entered WWI, but clearly, the nation wasn't ready. | Michael Santoro:  This is the uniform group of Charles Elwood Craft, an American sniper of the 1st Division who was maimed for life during the Aisne-Marne Offensive. The group includes his jacket, overseas cap, breeches, dog tag, army discharge, and a myriad of other original personal documents, newspaper clippings, and letters. Born in Memphis, TN, Craft was an artist all his life, working as a sign painter until his death. But click here to learn how, during World War I, Craft was also an artist with a 1903 Springfield Rifle with a 1912 Warner-Swasey Telescopic Musket Sight, and "a pioneer of American sharpshooting." |  | | World War I was The War That Changed The World, and its impact on the United States continues to be felt over a century later, as people across the nation learn more about and remember those who served in the Great War. Here's a collection of news items from the last month related to World War I and America. | And You Have My Axe: The American Lumberjacks Of WWI Legacy.com Honors Doughboy Foundation On Memorial Day 2024 NCA's Cemetery Restoration Project Thrives The Zimmermann Telegram: Mexico & Germany As WWI Allies? French Cross At Brooklyn National Cemetery 'Hello Girls' Of World War I Quest For Veteran Recognition J.P. Morgan's Efforts To Push The U.S. Into WWI Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon: The Machine Gun Approaches 18 Ways World War I Directly Shaped The Way We Live Now Senate Speech: 1st. Presumptive Conditions For WWI Vets 25 Mind-Blowing World War I Facts That Shaped The World Stabilizing Democracy: WWI And Women's Suffrage 25 Interesting Things You Did Not Know About World War I David Ingalls, US Navy Ace In WWI Aircraft Weapons Of World War One .30-06 M1918 American Chauchat – Doughboys Go To France Remember Them All  A man is only missing if he is forgotten. Our Doughboy MIA this month is Lieutenant Samuel Nord, born on January 21st, 1892, in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. He studied at the University of Wisconsin for one year and later attended Officer training at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. In July 1918, he sailed to France as a 2nd Lieutenant with the 338th Infantry, 85th Division. Upon arriving in France, he was transferred to Company "K", 128th Infantry, 32nd Division, where he led his men in some of the fiercest fighting in the Oise-Aisne and Meuse-Argonne sectors. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on November 3rd, 1918. One week later, on November 10th, the third battalion of the 128th Infantry was operating near Lissey, France, advancing towards Peuvillers. Lieutenant Nord led his men toward German positions head-on through heavy bombardment and a thick wall of machine gun fire. The Germans counterattacked, and Lieutenant Nord was wounded by three machine gun bullets. Stretcher-bearers picked him up, but owing to the heavy bombardment, machine gun fire, and the quickly approaching Germans, the evacuation proved difficult. Lieutenant Nord reportedly told the stretcher Bearers, "Boys! Drop me and save yourselves!". They left him at his request, and he died. Would you like to be involved with solving the case of Lieutenant Samuel Nord, and all the other Americans still in MIA status from World War I? You can! Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to our non-profit organization today, and help us bring them home! Help us do the best job possible and give today, with our thanks. Remember: A man is only missing if he is forgotten. | Merchandise from the Official
Doughboy Foundation WWI Store  | | A great keepsake to commemorate
Daily Taps at the National World War
One Memorial in Washington, DC. - A Doughboy.shop Exclusive Commemorative Coin
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| | | | Gladstone Horace Yeuell  Gladstone Horace Yeuell served in World War 1 with the United States Army. His dates of service are October 1917 to June 1919. Chaplain Gladstone Yeuell served with the 313th Field Artillery during the final dramatic days of WWI. Yeuell reported for duty at Camp Lee in Petersburg, VA in November 1917. At a meeting with the regiment's Colonel Herron, he learned his assigned duties were to "play with the Y.M.C.A., preach on Sunday morning, and persuade the men to like bad grub and tough quarters." Little did he know that within one year the 313th Field Artillery would be in France, entrenched on the front lines for the duration of the largest offensive in U.S. Military history. Chaplain Yeuell's letters tell a personal story of joys, hardships, and victories. They crossed the Atlantic on an overcrowded ship, with an untrained crew through heavy fog. Once in France, they were stationed for training in Redon. Yeuell's account of their march from Redon to Vannes illustrates his ability to keep morale high along the way: "Four days in the saddle, thru dust and sun, camping in the beautiful grassy pastures and getting up at four o'clock in the cool of the morning, and on, on moves the light artillery. Wonderful, but tiresome for man and beast. How good the grub tastes, how fine the few short hours of sleep." Letters written from Vannes the last week in August 1918 hint that the 313th would soon be going to the front. They fought on the front lines of the San Mihiel Offensive from 12-15 September. From there they marched directly into the Meuse Argonne. The 313th, along with their Chaplain, were unrelieved throughout the entire 47 days. On Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, Yeuell wrote, "Since the 25th of September I have been continually through flame, smoke, mud, dead beasts and men – thru Hell. The infantry, of course, would be relieved at regular intervals, but this regiment of mine, actually I believe the finest on the front, never ceased. In those two months and a half I have lived ten years, and yet, I would not have missed my part for anything. My hair is long and uncut. I am wearing the same shirt I started with. I have a peach of a moustache. I am lousy, dirty, and well… I am proud of my country as never before, proud of her manhood and womanhood, sorrowing with those who sorrow, rejoicing with those who rejoice." | | | | |
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