In the past few years we have read, heard and viewed quite a lot about the 369th Infantry Regiment, originally a New York National Guard Unit, which was the first non-regular army formation in France. These brave African Americans served under French command and amassed numerous honors. However at the time they might have been more well-known in France for their incredible band, which is credited with bringing jazz to Europe.
Kansas WW1
Commemorating the First World War Centennial in Kansas
Category: Preservation (page 1 of 2)
Last week on the PBS News Hour a story was run about how the dry summer in Europe was revealing images of long gone structures in the United Kingdom. Among these is a brief mention of the Stobs Prisoner of War Camp near Hawick, Scotland. While the entire story is worth looking at, the entry about the camp is seen about 2:32 into the clip below:
A couple of motorcycle enthusiasts from France found a U.S. Army surplus 1918 Harley Davidson in pieces and have restored it to 1918 condition. They have embarked on a 5,000 mile ride around the U.S. and some time in the next few days they should pass through Cherokee County, KS. Folks in Baxter Springs should keep a lookout for them. You can read more about this here and also here.
From the outset it was apparent that the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) would have to build its own logistical network in France; up to 25,000 tons of material would be arriving every day, and by war’s end over eight million tons had been shipped to the AEF. Port facilities had to be built or improved at Brest, St. Nazaire, Nantes, Bordeaux, Rouen, Rochefort, La Pallice, Bayonne, Le Havre and Marseilles. It was also clear that the French rail system wouldn’t be able to move the AEF and its logistical tail around the country. Among other things, they were very short of locomotives. The necessary solution was to bring American railroad equipment to France.
The U.S.S. Texas (BB35) is in serious trouble. For the past 69 years she has been a floating museum located at San Jacinto, TX, near Houston. Beginning in 2012, the ship began to develop serious hull leaks and now the stewards of the ship, the Texas Department of Wildlife and Parks, says that the Texas must either be relocated to a dry site or scrapped. See the full story here.
The United States World War One Centennial Commission and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library has announced the first 50 recipients of grants for the restoration of World War One Monuments and Memorials, and to announce a second round of applications. Full details here: http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/100-cities-100-memorials-home.html
In honor of the centennial of World War I, the Spencer Research Library Blog is going to follow the experiences of one American soldier: twenty-year-old Forrest W. Bassett, whose letters are held in Spencer’s Kansas Collection. Each Monday the library will post a new entry, which will feature Bassett’s letters to fifteen-year-old Ava Marie Shaw from that following week, one hundred years after he wrote them.
The Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections is accepting applications for an Archival Fellowship, in conjunction with the closing year of University of Kansas’ World War I Commemoration.
The Archival Fellow will work with Dole Archives staff to evaluate relevant archival holdings and develop a topic guide and online teaching module based on Senator Bob Dole’s career advocacy on behalf of Armenia. The final product will be used as an introduction to this topic for K-12, university, and general public audiences.
I’m not sure we have examples in Kansas cities about trolleys of World War I vintage, but the point here may be that you never know what might be representative of the home front in 1917:
The Victory Eagle outside the main entrance of Dyche Hall at the University of Kansas
The Victory Highway was supposed to be a tribute to the American soldiers who lost their lives in World War I. It was a transcontinental road, stretching from New York to San Francisco. Across Kansas it would follow an already established route, the Golden Belt Highway. An association was formed in 1921 to create and promote the concept of the Victory Highway.
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