First Illumination of "A Soldier's Journey" At The National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC On Friday, Sept. 13, 2024 Please join The World War I Centennial Commission and The Doughboy Foundation on Friday, September 13, 2024 at sundown
for the First Illumination of the "A Soldier's Journey" sculpture, the magnificent bronze centerpiece of the National World War I Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. The event is open to the public. Find out more about this event, and register to attend in person, or via livestream on the internet.  "A Soldier's Journey" will be the largest freestanding high-relief bronze in the Western Hemisphere when installed. Sculptor Sabin Howard's stunning tribute honoring the 4.7 million Americans who served in our nation's armed forces during World War I is already getting a lot of attention prior to installation. Big articles have recently appeared in a wide range of national and International publications, including The Washington Post, The Epoch Times, Task and Purpose, and others. | You can view pictures of the enormous sculpture's arrival at the National World War I Memorial site here. The sculpture speaks to all military members and families as it tells the story of a soldier leaving home to serve a greater cause, experiencing intense battle and the cost of war, and returning home a changed man. Sabin Howard and the WWI Memorial Design Team have been working on this project since January 2016. Learn more about the National World War I Memorial, and register to attend the First Illumination. Keep Helping To Answer Their Call! Hello Girls Congressional Medal Legislation Forging Ahead, But Your Active Assistance Is Still Needed!  As Congress heads off to its August recess this week, we are happy to report that the legislation has earned 190 cosponsors in the House of Representatives to date! We thank everyone who has been in contact with their Representative to request their support of the measure. All your calls, emails, and letters make a difference! But we are far from done: the measure is exactly 100 short of the required 290 cosponsors needed to bring the measure to a vote in the House of Representatives. But Congress not being in session in D.C. means that all the Representatives are all back home in their respective districts in states across the nation. That means that you now have a great opportunity over the next month to contact your Representative in their home office, and ask them to become a cosponsor of this important legislation now. You can make your voice heard on this issue right from your computer! Go here for our online toolkit that makes it easy to reach out by email to your Representative. But during the recess, you can also call the local district offices of your Representative, since you know that they are there, and tell them that YOU want them to cosponsor the Hello Girls Congressional Gold Medal legislation in the 118th Congress. |  The Hello Girls made an enormous difference in WWI. The ability of the bilingual female operators to pass critical tactical information calmly and seamlessly between two allied armies that spoke different languages was a fundamental breakthrough in tactical communications on the Western Front. The service of the Hello Girls 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 John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces. |  After the Armistice, the Hello Girls even stayed on duty in Europe when the Doughboys went home, to support President Woodrow Wilson during the Versailles peace talks. But when the Hello Girls finally returned home in 1919, these women who had served in U.S. Army uniforms received a shock. They were denied veterans status and benefits, not receiving them until 1977. The brave Hello Girls earned and deserve the recognition of a Congressional Gold Medal, and you can join Team Hello Girls in advocating for passage of the Hello Girls Congressional Gold Medal legislation! | When their nation called in 1918, the Hello Girls answered!
Will YOU answer their call for recognition in 2024? DAR Chapter Knits Poppies To Support Mission of The Doughboy Foundation During the week of July 14, 2024, Daily Taps at the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC was sounded in honor of WWI veteran SGT Darrel Dunkle. Dunkle was KIA while rendering aid to an injured fellow Doughboy. Extracts of a letter written by Captain C. E. Chase, Company A, 4th Engineers, to D. W. Dunkle, Darrell's father: "On July 18, last, my organization was in the advance between Soissons and Chateau-Thierry, and while passing over a hill we were under exceptionally heavy shell fire. Corporal Coleman was hit in the leg by a piece of shrapnel and your son, who was near him, stopped to bandage and assist him. While doing this a shell burst very close, killing them both instantly. They were inseparable friends, slept together and chummed together. This all happened near Chevillon, France, on the morning of July 18, 1918." SGT Darrel Dunkle is the namesake of Reno, NV American Legion Post 1. | |  | 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.  "People often ask me when I first learned of the Choctaw Code Talkers of World War I." says author Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer, a
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Tribal Member. "I can't recall a time not knowing about them. Since I was born in 1985, the story of the original code talkers was ingrained in the Choctaw Nation narrative by the time I was old enough to tell a story. The fact that no one I met outside of that circle knew about the original code talkers surprised me." But Sawyer discovered later that there was more to the story: "What I didn't know at the time, was the standout story of one of those code talkers—Otis W. Leader who was of Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, and Irish descent." Read all about Sawyer's journey of discovery, in the U.S. and France, to uncover and tell the story of "The Ideal American Doughboy" in her new book. |  | | 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. | July 8, 1918: Ernest Hemingway is wounded in World War I When Did "Armistice Day" Become "Veterans Day" in the USA? There's A WWI Trench In Tennessee. Here's Why Was the U.S. Army Really the "Decisive" Force in World War I? Attack on a WWI Hospital Ship Changed War Crime Prosecution A Forgotten WWI Tragedy: The Sinking of RMS Leinster Aspects Of The War Guilt Clause: What It Tells 'The Last Front' Is Basically 'Die Hard' Set in WWI Europe A Piece of WWI History Rests By a Resort Pool in Dallas  A man is only missing if he is forgotten. Our Doughboy MIA this month is Sergeant Joseph Walter Beattie. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 2nd, 1897. Before the war, he worked for the Magar Car Company and was vice-president of the Sacred Heart Club. He attended St. Peter's Academy and lived with his mother and three sisters. On May 8th, 1916, Sergeant Beattie enlisted in the New York National Guard and saw service on the Mexican border with Company "K," 23rd Infantry of the New York National Guard. At the start of the U.S. involvement in the First World War, the New York National Guard became federalized, and his unit then became Company "K" 106th Infantry, 27th Division. He sailed for France in May of 1918. In August, Sergeant Beattie was not on the front with his Company due to injured feet and a swollen arm. Sergeant Beattie met with his friend, Corporal Joseph Luliano, who was slightly wounded. He told Sergeant Beattie about the Company's recent action on the Frontlines. Corporal Luliano later recalled: He looked at me and said, "Old boy, it doesn't look good for me to stay back here, and the rest of the boys are getting killed." I said, "Now don't be foolish and go up there in the air - they will be relieved tomorrow, so there will be no use of your going up." Anyway, after talking to him for a while, he said he wouldn't. Fifteen minutes later, he said, "I have a funny feeling; let's go to church; I want to go to confession." The two men went to church, and afterward, around 4 pm, wagons were loaded with rations for the men at the front. The Mess Sergeant had heard of Sergeant Beattie's desire to join the men at the front, and he asked him if he could bring the rations up. Men told the Mess Sergeant about the condition of Sergeant Beattie's feet, but he insisted on going. He said, "Yes, I'll go." Fifteen minutes later, his pack was rolled, and he was off to the front. Would you like to be involved with solving the case of Sergeant Joseph Walter Beattie, 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  This book is the first work to salute America's official centennial World War One memorials. As selected by the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, Chicago, the Congress-appointed World War I Centennial Commission, these 100 diverse monuments represent equally varied and moving stories of dedication, sacrifice, and heroism. With more than 230 archival images, vintage posters, and new photographs, this richly illustrated volume journeys from Hawaii to Maine, Idaho to Florida, and Arizona to Illinois to celebrate tributes formed of metal, stone, and memory. The compelling text provides a deeper understanding of each memorial and salutes the many organizations today that bridge past and present to maintain and honor these expressions of the nation's heritage. "100 Cities 100 Memorials" is much more than a picture book. Through the powerful and personal narratives it tells, this volume stands as an eloquent testament to those who answered the call of duty and shaped one of the most consequential eras in American history. You can purchase a copy of this amazing book at The Doughboy Shop here. This and many other items are available as Official Merchandise of the Doughboy Foundation. |
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