A Soldier's Journey: First Illumination
At The National World War I Memorial
In Washington, DC, September 13, 2024 On Friday, September 13, 2024, The World War I Centennial Commission and The Doughboy Foundation will unveil A Soldier's Journey, a 58.5-foot long bronze sculptural wall, years in the making, to serve as the centerpiece of the National World War I Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue. Please join us at sundown for the First Illumination of A Soldier's Journey. A viewing area will be set up at Freedom Plaza for the general public, or you can attend that night from anywhere via livestream. Learn more here and register to attend the event in person or via livestream.  A Soldier's Journey will be the largest free standing high relief bronze in the western hemisphere. 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. Sculptor Sabin Howard and the WWI Memorial Design Team have been working on this project since 2016. |  World War I is important for our nation to remember. 4.7 million Americans served; 116,516 gave their lives. It shook the world with technological advances. It marked the beginning of the American Century, the beginning of the women's suffrage and civil rights movements. It laid the groundwork for World War II, and all the other global conflicts that have followed.. |  WWI Living History Weekend At National World War I Memorial September 14-15 The WWI Living History Weekend will take place at the National World War One Memorial in Washington, DC on Saturday and Sunday September 14-15, 2024. There will be WWI reenactors and vehicles on display, and a full schedule each day of presentations and musical performances. That weekend is also the first opportunity to get an "up close and personal" look at the magnificent bronze sculpture that will complete the National WWI Memorial. See the current schedule of events here, and sign up for updates so you can plan your visit to the WWI Living History Weekend September 14-15. Please Answer Their Call!  Congress is still out on its August recess, but progress toward the required number of cosponsors to gain passage of H.R.1572, the Hello Girls Congressional Gold Medal legislation, is still continuing. As of the date of publication of this newsletter, the bill has earned 218 cosponsors in the House -- 75% of the number needed! Again, we thank everyone who reached out to their Representative to ask for their support of the legislation. All your calls, emails, and letters are making this happen! As of now: the measure has closed to within 72 of the required 290 cosponsors needed to bring it to a vote in the House of Representatives. (The companion Senate legislation has already gained the required number.) |  The Hello Girls made an transformative difference for the American Expeditionary Forces 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 rapid 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 one year earlier than it might have taken without them, according to General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces. |  Even after the Armistice in 1918, the Hello Girls stayed on duty in Europe after most of the other Doughboys went home, so that they could support President Woodrow Wilson during the Versailles peace talks. But when all the Hello Girls finally returned home, these women who had served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and wore U.S. Army uniforms, received a shock. They were denied veteran 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 1917, the Hello Girls answered!
Will YOU answer their call for recognition in 2024? During the week of Monday 8/19/24 thru Saturday 8/24/24, Daily Taps at the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC was sounded in honor of WWI veteran 1st Lt. Leonidas Barkdull Faulk. The American Legion Post 13 was named after 1st Lt. Leonidas Barkdull Faulk, who was a 29 year old old surgeon in Monroe, LA when he enlisted in the British army at the outset of World War I. As a surgeon he cared for the wounded and dying on the field of battle. He survived a gas attack, and was badly wounded in the Second Battle of the Somme on March 24, 1918, and realizing that he could not be saved, he insisted that the stretcher bearers save themselves. They did so reluctantly. Barkdull's body was never found, and his family held out much hope for many months that he had been taken prisoner and would one day return home, but it was not to be so. His remains are laid to rest with the many unknowns at the Somme American Cemetery and Memorial, Picardie, France. | |  | 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.  On Friday morning, Aug. 23, almost 126 years after World War I ended, some 150 civilians and members of the military gathered at the St. Francis Solano Catholic Cemetery in Sonoma to remember and honor Juliette Louise Courtial Smith at her grave site. She moved to Sonoma, where she lived for 19 years before her death. She was buried without a headstone in the St. Francis Solano Catholic Cemetery. Through the efforts of Maeve Smith, director of Sonoma Live Arts Theatre Company, and Lillian Meyers, a local Sonoma businesswoman and community leader, she was finally getting a headstone, one that honors her service to her country. Find out more about the ceremony and Courtial Smith, one of 7,000+ women who responded to General Pershing's call for a small unit of women to serve as telephone switchboard operators and real-time translators to join his campaign in France. | Michael Santoro:  | | 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. |  A man is only missing if he is forgotten. Our Doughboy MIA this month is Corporal William Franklin Ingram, born on May 10th, 1898, in Rocky Springs Township, North Carolina. Little is known about his civilian life. He enlisted in the North Carolina National Guard on September 16th, 1916, and served on the Mexican border with the 3rd Infantry Regiment. On July 25th, 1917, his unit was federalized, becoming the 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Division. On August 2nd, 1918, while in the Canal Sector near Ypres, Belgium, Corporal Ingram participated in a daring raid on a system of German pillboxes alongside Lieutenant Williams and Corporal Teachey. The three men successfully killed 12 Germans, but Corporal Ingram was fatally wounded during the operation. While Lieutenant Williams and Corporal Teachey safely returned to their lines, Corporal Ingram was left missing in no man's land. Corporal Teachey was later Killed in Action on September 29th, 1918. There was no evidence or documentation to suggest that Corporal Ingram had been captured, and he was officially listed as "Missing in Action." In March 1919, Private James Baker provided the Graves Registration Service with information regarding Corporal Ingram's disappearance and possible recovery. He reported: "Corporal Ingram, along with others, was raiding a pillbox of machine guns. Ingram did not return with the others and has not been seen since. Sometime later, a body was found near there, and the burial party said the tags identified the body as Corporal Ingram. This was at Ypres. He was on patrol." Unfortunately, this information could not help the Graves Registration Service solve the case, and he could not be identified from a set of "Unknown" remains." He was never identified and remains Missing in Action to this day. In August 1933, Laura Ingram traveled to France with the Gold Star Mothers Pilgrimage, where she visited the Somme American Cemetery. Corporal Ingram is memorialized here on the Tablets of the Missing. Would you like to be involved with solving the case of Corporal William Franklin Ingram, 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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