The Story of Rose in rehearsals now | WWI Medal reviews | WWI Canine Connection | WWI Memorial sculpture praised | How WWI changed America



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January 2025
Rehearsal photo Story of a Rose [ [link removed] ]

Tony-nominated singer Melissa Errico rehearses with pianist and music director Tedd Firth for the upcoming production of the WWI musical memoir The Story of a Rose, which will premiere May 7 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.




"The Story Of A Rose" To Bring Experience Of World War I Immigrant To Life In Song

Rehearsals are well underway for *The Story of a Rose; A Musical Memoir of the Great War [ [link removed] ]* which the Doughboy Foundation will premier at the Kennedy Center on May 7th.  Tony-nominated star and Friend of the Doughboy Foundation Melissa Errico, and music director Tedd Firth, are creating a superb benefit concert.  The Foundation is planning future performances around the country.

Ms. Errico opens a door to the real-life lost world of her immigrant family during the experience of wartime during WWI.  The music of the time connects her to that time and she ends knowing that we are all still shaped by things that happened long ago.

Tickets are now on sale at The Story of a Rose | Kennedy Center [ [link removed] ].

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Indigenous WWI Veterans Get Long- Awaited Medal Of Honor Review

Cpl. Otis W. Leader

Corporal Otis W. Leader and other WWI code talkers — service members who used Indigenous languages to create undecipherable communications — still haven’t received the recognition they deserve. But now a group of Indigenous veterans are currently being reviewed as potential recipients of the Medal of Honor — more than a century after they served. In all, roughly 12,000 Native Americans served during World War I. Learn more about how the Valor Medals Review is looking at actions by non-white veterans who served in World War I to determine whether select acts of valor warrant the nation’s highest military honor. [ [link removed] ]



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Will Hispanic Doughboy From El Paso Get Medal Of Honor For WWI Heroism?

Pvt. Marcelino Serna [ [link removed] ]

Pvt. Marcelino Serna’s heroics and lethal effectiveness on the battlefield, where he killed more than two dozen enemy soldiers in a single fight, made him one of the most decorated U.S. soldiers in World War I. But he never received the Medal of Honor. Civil rights groups and friends of the late veteran — who died in 1992, two months shy of his 96th birthday — say he deserved the nation’s highest award for gallantry in combat but didn’t get it because he was Hispanic. Read more, and learn how the latest effort to get the award for Serna was left unanswered at the end of the Biden administration this month. [ [link removed] ]



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Warrior Canine Connection Puppy Named For WWI Hello Girl Minnie Goldman Selig

Minnie and Minnie [ [link removed] ]

The Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) enlists recovering Warriors in a therapeutic mission of training service dogs for their fellow veterans. The WCC has announced that their new service dog puppy trainee has been named "Minnie" in honor of United States Army "Hello Girls" Signal Corps Operator Minnie Goldman Selig. Read more about Warrior Canine Connection, and how Minnie Selig and her fellow Hello Girls fought 60 years for recognition as soldiers after WWI ended. [ [link removed] ]



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The Forgotten African American Soldiers Of World War I: Their Fight For Equality

African American WWI Soldiers [ [link removed] ]

World War I, often referred to as “The War to End All Wars,” profoundly shaped the American nation, not just in terms of global positioning but also in domestic social dynamics. Among the millions who served were nearly 400,000 African Americans, a fact often overlooked in traditional histories of the conflict. These soldiers’ experiences on and off the battlefield planted seeds for the Civil Rights Movement and exposed the contradictions of a nation fighting for freedom abroad while denying it to many at home. Sam Jacobs explores these pioneers of WWI who challenged the systemic racism of their time and laid the groundwork for future civil rights advancements. [ [link removed] ]



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Wyoming Sleuths Help Return WWI Dog Tags Buried In France For A Century

WWI dogtag [ [link removed] ]

A French treasure hunter found an abandoned U.S. dog tag in 2012 that had been buried for nearly 100 years in a farm pasture where American forces had camped during World War I, an area that was known as the “mud camp.” This unexpected discovery started a quest to reunite the dog tag with the descendants of the soldier in America. Read more about the ""Wyoming tag-team effort"" that would eventually ""reunite seven World War I dog tags to their respective communities"." [ [link removed] ]



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"*Daily Taps at the National World War I Memorial [ [link removed] ]*"

Honoring 2LT Harold A. Healy, USA

During the week of *"January 13-18, 2025"*, Daily Taps at the National World War I Memorial  [ [link removed] ]in Washington, DC was sounded in honor of WWI veteran *2LT Harold Allen Healy, 8th Machine Gun BN, 3d Division, AEF [ [link removed] ]*, posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and two Silver Stars, and namesake of Norton, MA American Legion post 222.

* [ [link removed] ]"Headquarters, 3d Division, A.E.F., Citation Orders No. 22 (July 8, 1919)"*

"By direction of the President, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved July 9, 1918 (Bul. No. 43, W.D., 1918), Second Lieutenant (Infantry) Harold A. Healy, United States Army, is cited (Posthumously) by the Commanding General, 3d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, and a silver star may be placed upon the ribbon of the World War I Victory Medals awarded him. While serving with the 8th Machine Gun Battalion, 3d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, upon crossing the Marine in the attack on Le Charmel, France, Lieutenant Healy volunteered with another officer to bring in two wounded Frenchmen lying in the edge of the woods where enemy shells and machine gun fire were concentrated, successfully accomplishing his mission.. [A Distinguished Service Cross was awarded for this action.]"

2LT Harold Healy obit [ [link removed] ]

The Daily Taps program of the Doughboy Foundation [ [link removed] ] 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. [ [link removed] ]

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Naturalized WWI Soldier Frank Capra

Frank Capra [ [link removed] ]

After the United States entered the First World War, Congress passed the Naturalization Act of May 9, 1918, to expedite naturalization for alien members of the U.S. armed forces. Eventually, hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, and marines took advantage of this opportunity to become U.S. citizens under this act. Among them was Francesco Capra, a young Sicilian immigrant who had arrived in the U.S. in 1903 at the age of 6. While his WWI military service was short, his contributions to his new nation thereafter were extraordinary.  Read more about how legendary Hollywood director Frank Capra, winner of three Academy Awards for Best Director, rejoined the military in World War II and received the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Service Medal for his service. [ [link removed] ]



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When Art Goes To War: On Sabin Howard’s New World War I Sculpture

Memorial snip [ [link removed] ]

Writing for "The New Criterion", James Panero takes an in-depth look at the years-long efforts of sculptor Sabin Howard that produced the amazing sculptural centerpiece of the now-completed National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC. Calling on his decades-long familiarity with Howard's work and career, Panero charts the tortuous path that eventually led to the installation of ""a sculptural statement on the First World War that manages to make its century-old realities newly real."" Read the entire thoughtful article, and learn how Panero came to regard the work as an ""unalloyed triumph"." [ [link removed] ]



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The Williams Show: Courage, Creativity, And Innovation In World War I Aviation

Rodney D. Williams [ [link removed] ]

In the evening strike on August 23, 1918, aviator Rodney D. Williams presented yet another installment of what other pilots described as the ‘Williams Show’: a series of miraculous events that demonstrated the creativity of early aviators, especially Williams. As he swung down to lay a strike on a German convoy and machine gun nest, Williams got hit by machine gun fire. The bullets struck him in the hip, causing him to slowly lose consciousness, and in the gas tank of his plane, causing the gasoline to pour out of the side of his aircraft, all during an hour flight away from base. What came next can only be considered amazing… Learn how Williams’ experience illustrated that the introduction of airplanes and the innovative tactics of pilots during World War I fundamentally transformed military combat by breaking through the stalemate of trench warfare.  [ [link removed] ]



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How World War I Sparked Population Shifts in the United States

American soldiers in training in 1917 [ [link removed] ]

World War I was a global conflict that left a lasting mark on nearly every corner of the globe, including the United States. While the war is often remembered for its devastating battles and profound political consequences, its impact on American society extended far beyond the battlefield. One of the most significant outcomes of the war was the population shifts that transformed the demographic landscape of the United States. Find out more about how World War I sparked population shifts in the United States that can be traced through a combination of economic, social, and political changes that emerged during and after the conflict. [ [link removed] ]



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This Cape Cod Town Was Shelled By Germany During World War I

U-156 [ [link removed] ]

Were you aware that Germany attacked Cape Cod during World War I? It happened on July 21, 1918, in Orleans, some 65.2 miles east of New Bedford. The attack, involving a German U-boat, was the first on the US mainland since the War of 1812 and the only attack on US soil during World War I. The German shelling was part of an  attempt to incite fear and anti-war sentiment along the Eastern Seaboard. Read more about how this lone German U-boat ""attacked just off the coast of Orleans, raiding a tugboat and its four barges – and even incidentally shelling the beach where eyewitnesses gathered in awe".” [ [link removed] ]



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USS Texas: The Homeless Battleship That Fought In World War I And World War II

USS Texas bow on [ [link removed] ]

The USS Texas, a storied battleship that served in both World Wars, is undergoing a $35 million restoration at the Gulf Cooper Shipyard in Galveston, Texas. Known for its roles in the North Sea during WWI and at D-Day during WWII, the USS Texas is being outfitted with restored guns, a new camouflage paint scheme, and refurbished steel decks. While the restoration nears completion, debates continue over its permanent mooring location in Galveston. Learn more about how, despite logistical challenges, the Battleship Texas Foundation is determined to see the ship become a major tourist attraction, showcasing a vital piece of naval history. [ [link removed] ]



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Filipino Discovers Tombstone Of Pinoy World War I Soldier On Own Property

Phillipine tombstone [ [link removed] ]

A Filipino reportedly unearthed the tombstone of a soldier who served in the U.S. Army  during the First World War. The Facebook group “Philippine Old Photos Collection” shared photos of the tombstone on Tuesday, January 21. The post stated that the discovery was made by someone’s father on their property. Read more about the remarkable discovery, which intrigued members of the Facebook group where it was posted, amassing 3,700 likes and wow reactions, 249 shares, and over 640 comments so far. [ [link removed] ]



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This World War I Innovation Built The Global Kleenex Empire

Kleenex box [ [link removed] ]

YouTuber Grauben Lara asks: ""Did you know that the humble Kleenex owes its origins to World War I? In this video, we dive into the fascinating story of how a product originally designed for soldiers became a household staple. But there’s more to this story than you might think"." Watch the video yourself, and learn the surprising history behind Kleenex, how World War I innovation led to a global product, and the role of emergent order in everyday life. [ [link removed] ]



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Sculpting Our Nation’s Story With America’s Michelangelo

WWI memorial sculpture snip [ [link removed] ]

""In 2015, the World War I Centennial Commission launched a design competition to support the creation of a National WWI Memorial in our nation’s capital. When artist and Master Sculptor Sabin Howard was selected to craft the monument that would be the focal point of the Memorial, he brought a worldview that through art, we can return to the values system that has driven Western Civilization for over 2,000 years."" Writing on the "Philanthropy Roundtable" website, Candice Greaux does a deep dive into Howard's design and execution of the monumental sculpture. Read the whole article, and learn how ""the focus of his story is the "Everyman" – who answered the call to serve, toiled and triumphed for the flag, and returned home a different version of himself"."  [ [link removed] ]



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When Americans Spent Christmas And New Year’s Freezing In Russia

US soldiers in Russia

106 years ago, American troops were in a pitched battle for control of villages in northern Russia, fighting on a mission tied to a war that had ended a month prior. It was Dec. 30, 1918, and American soldiers from the Midwest were outside the village of Kadish, preparing to launch an offensive that would move from town to town, regaining territory ceded to Bolsheviks a month prior. It was part of one of the biggest fights between Americans and Russian communists, but it was years before the outbreak of the Cold War. Learn more about  this mostly-forgotten expedition, and how “"when the last battalion set sail from Archangel, not a soldier knew, no, not even vaguely, why he had fought or why he was going now, and why his comrades were left behind — so many of them beneath the wooden crosses."” [ [link removed] ]



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World War I News Digest January 2025

Gas Mask movie tight

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.



Best Movies about World War I [ [link removed] ]

‘Hello Girl’ from MD wins gold medal for WWI service [ [link removed] ]

America’s failed attempt to create WWI tank out of a tractor [ [link removed] ]

A Hundred Years of Native American Veteran Care [ [link removed] ]

Top 5 Powerhouse Aircraft Of World War I [ [link removed] ]

Doughboy Foundation String Quartet performs in D.C. [ [link removed] ]

Snow at National WWI Memorial doesn't stop Daily Taps [ [link removed] ]

100 Cities, 100 Memorials Project aided Legion posts [ [link removed] ]

Commemorating Christmas Truce [ [link removed] ]

""It has been a true thrill to work with the Doughboy Foundation" [ [link removed] ]"

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Doughboy MIA for January 2025

Private Eugene Sharpe [ [link removed] ]

A man is only missing if he is forgotten.

Our Doughboy MIA this month [ [link removed] ] is Private Eugene Sharpe, born on May 31st, 1896 in Winnfield, Tennessee. Before the war, he worked on the family farm and later as a brakeman for the Southern Railroad, operating the line from Oakdale, TN, to Chattanooga. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1916 and served along the Mexican Border with the Tennessee National Guard. After his discharge, Eugene later enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in Chattanooga on February 13th, 1918. He soon sailed to France and was assigned to the 17th Company, 5th Marines, 2nd Division.

On July 18, 1918, during the Aisne-Marne offensive, Private Sharpe was reportedly wounded near the village of Chaudun. Despite efforts by the Graves Registration Service and the Marine Corps to locate witnesses to his wounding or possible burial, no further information could be obtained. PVT Sharpe was reported missing, and his family clung to the hope that he would be found alive in a hospital or Prisoner of War camp.

That hope shattered in late August when his sister, Ms. Jennie Sharpe, received a letter from a French soldier. 

Read Eugene Sharpe's whole story. [ [link removed] ]

Would "*you*" like to be involved with solving the case of PVT Eugene Sharpe, 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 [ [link removed] ], and help us bring them home! Help us do the best job possible and give today [ [link removed] ], with our thanks.  Remember: "A man is only missing if he is forgotten".



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Merchandise from the Official
Doughboy Foundation WWI Store
Poppy Flag [ [link removed] ]
WWI Poppy Flag 5’X7′ [ [link removed] ]

* A Doughboy.shop Exclusive
* Premium, Dual sided Poppy Design
* 5’ x 7’ Digital Nylon
* Grommets for rigging
* Limited Edition
* Made in USA

WWI Poppy Lapel Pin
Poppy Lapel Pin [ [link removed] ]

* Exclusive Commemorative WW1 Poppy Lapel Pin
* Soft enamel color design
* Approx. 1.5 inch in dia.
* Standard military clasp

Proceeds from the sale of these items will help us keep watch on the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC. [ [link removed] ]

This and many other items are available as Official Merchandise of the Doughboy Foundation [ [link removed] ]. [ [link removed] ]



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App image 3 [ [link removed] ]

Click or scan the QR Code below to download the Virtual Explorer App for the National World War I Memorial [ [link removed] ], and explore the Memorial from your phone, at home or onsite.

QR Code for Virtual Explorer App download [ [link removed] ]
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Story of a Rose [ [link removed] ]QR Story of a Rose [ [link removed] ]
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Taps Sponsorship VS1 [ [link removed] ]
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"NEW!" Desktop Explorer
Desktop App screen

Use the new “*WWI Memorial: Desktop Explorer*“ to learn about the National WWI Memorial in the classroom or at home. Both Mac [ [link removed] ] and PC [ [link removed] ] apps are available. Check them out here:

MAC Desktop App [ [link removed] ]Windows Desktop App link [ [link removed] ]
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Education Thumb Drive image [ [link removed] ]

*Free Self-Contained WWI History Web Site on YOUR computer*

*Sources, lessons, activities, videos, podcasts, images*

We have packaged all the content we created for “How WWI Changed America” into a format that is essentially a web site on a drive. Download the content onto any drive (USB, external, or as a folder on your computer), and all the content is accessible in a web site type format even without an internet connection. Click here to learn more, and download this amazing educational resource for home or classroom use. [ [link removed] ]

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Genealogy Guide VS2 [ [link removed] ]
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Doughboy MIA [ [link removed] ]
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Pershing Sponsors

Pershing Sponsors sidebar w-founding sponsor [ [link removed] ]
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Legacy Society [ [link removed] ]
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Valor Medals Review [ [link removed] ]
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Irving Alexander Slicklen

A Story of Service from the Stories of Service section [ [link removed] ] of "doughboy.org"

Irving Alexander Slicklen

*Submitted by: Gayle Reynolds (great niece) *

Irving Slicklen served in World War 1 with the the United States Coast Guard. His enlistment was in 1918 and his service was completed the same year. The story of Irving Slicklen is told by his great-niece, Gayle Reynolds: Irving was said to be tall and looked older than his actual age, so, being very patriotic, he decided he'd try to enlist after school one day. He obviously pulled the wool over the eyes of those in the recruitment office and found himself an instant member of the Coast Guard. Puffed out with pride, he went home and told his mother.

Great-Grandma Slicklen was so appalled that a 15-year old could have been signed up for war that she grabbed her coat and dashed out of the house, forgetting she was wearing her bedroom slippers. She ran all the way to the recruitment office, where she breathlessly begged for Irving to be released from service. Unfortunately, she was told that he had signed the official papers, which were already being processed, and there was no way he could be released from active duty. His father, an attorney, was then called home from his office and put his argumentative skills to work to no avail. Since Irving felt so honored to be part of the Coast Guard, giving a better argument for his service than his father had against it, he was reluctantly granted his parents' blessings. The date was 1 March 1918.

Irving attended the Coast Guard Academy and was eventually assigned to the USS Tampa. On 2 September 1918, the Tampa was torpedoed: all hands, plus civilian passengers, were lost. No bodies were ever recovered. Several family photos show Irving preferred wearing sailor shirts from the time he was very young. Apparently being a sailor was his lifelong dream.

Submit "your" family's Story of Service here. [ [link removed] ]


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* [ [link removed] ]www.doughboy.org [ [link removed] ]

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The Dispatch is a monthly publication of the Doughboy Foundation.

Publisher: CAPT Chris Christopher, USN (Ret.)      Chief Technologist: Theo Mayer






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"The Doughboy Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit funded by philanthropic contributions. Our mission is to keep the story of WWI in the minds of all Americans, so that the 4.7 million who served in the Armed Forces, and how WWI changed America, will never be forgotten."

Stay Connected with The Doughboy Foundation through our Social Media Channels Facebook [ [link removed] ]   Twitter [ [link removed] ]   you tube [ [link removed] ]   instagram [ [link removed] ]   Govdelivery [ [link removed] ] [ [link removed] ] SUBSCRIBER SERVICES:
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