From Dispatch Newsletter <[email protected]>
Subject WWI DISPATCH November 2025
Date November 20, 2025 3:58 PM
  Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
  Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
Christmas Truce 12/12 at National WWI Memorial | Wreaths Across America | Forgotten Comrades | WWI & opiates | WWI Marines guard the US Mail



update subscription preferences [ [link removed] ]




View this in your browser [ [link removed] ]





Header 10292020 [ [link removed] ]



November 2025
2025 Christmas Truce header image [ [link removed] ]


Join the Doughboy Foundation and the French Embassy for the ""1914 Christmas Truce"" at the National WWI Memorial on Friday, December 12, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.

On Christmas Day in 1914, just months into what would be one of the bloodiest wars in human history, carols were heard in trenches across the front lines. Without instruction from their commanders or countries, men met in the bloody fields of No Man’s Land. Before returning to their trenches and the war, they traded cards and rations, kicked a football around, and joined together in celebration.

Chorale de l’Ambassade de France

On *December 12, 2025*, the Doughboy Foundation and the French Embassy to the United States will honor and celebrate that miracle of shared humanity with the *1914 Christmas Truce Concert at the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC*. After Daily Taps at 5:00 pm, the *Chorale de l'Ambassade de France* will sing a selection of carols starting at 5:15 pm. The concert is *open to the public at no charge.  Learn more and RSVP here. [ [link removed] ]*



Doughboy Foundation AEF Brass Band

Following the carols at the Memorial, we hope you’ll join us for a festive cocktail reception to benefit the Doughboy Foundation, which will include a special performance by the Doughboy Foundation’s American Expeditionary Forces HQ Band Brass Quintet. The group will play holiday and patriotic music appropriate to the season. *Find out more, and buy tickets to attend the 1914 Christmas Truce Cocktail Reception.* [ [link removed] ] Cheers!



________________________________________________________________________


2025 Wreaths Across America header image
Wreaths Across America Ceremony Noon On Saturday, Dec. 13 At The National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC

You are cordially invited to the annual Wreaths Across America ceremony on *Saturday, December 13, at noon* at the National World War I Memorial in Washington DC. Please join us as we celebrate the mission to Remember the fallen, Honor those who serve and their families, and Teach the next generation the value of freedom. Wreaths will be presented on behalf of the US Army, US Marine Corps, US Navy, US Air Force, US Space Force, US Coast Guard, US Merchant Marine, and MIA/POW. The National World War I Memorial [ [link removed] ] is located on Pennsylvania Ave between 14th and 15th Streets NW. To find out more information and to RSVP, to attend, please visit: www.doughboy.org/event/wreaths-across-america/ [ [link removed] ] The ceremony is *free* and *open to the public*.

________________________________________________________________________



WWI Historical Association “14-18 Book Club” presentation December 2 free online

December 2025 14-18 book club [ [link removed] ]

*"Italian Aviation in the First World War, Vol. 1, Operations"* by James Davilla, MD. will be the topic of discussion at the December 2 online session of the World War I Historical Association’s “14-18 Book Club”. The host discussant will be Steve Suddaby. He was the first president of World War I Historical Association in 2011 with the merging of the Western Front Association – US Branch and The Great War Society.  Suddaby has published articles in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia on World War I aerial bombing campaigns.  Read more, and learn how to attend this free online event. [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



My Dear Mabel: A book containing the World War I letters written between two patriots from East Tennessee

JamesHawk [ [link removed] ]

""On Thursday, July 10, 2025, Daily Taps at the National World War I Memorial was sounded in honor of my grandfather, Private Roy Hawk, U.S. Army, Sixth Infantry Division (1918-1919). While watching the bugler find his spot below the American Flag on a warm summer evening, I gratefully remembered the countless hours I spent with letters written by Roy Hawk and Mabel Ruth Thornton, my grandparents, between 1917 and 1919"."  Those countless hours spent by author James Hawk (left) yielded a wonderful and timeless book about two Americans who answered their country’s call during The Great War. Learn more about "*My Dear Mabel*", which celebrates " [ [link removed] ]"the lives of two young patriots whose future happiness was inextricably tied to the dangerous and worrisome events of an era" [ [link removed] ]." [ [link removed] ] 



________________________________________________________________________



Forgotten Comrades of Henry Johnson & Neadom Roberts

Map of the fight at CG 29 by Lt. Harold Landon snip [ [link removed] ]

Historian Richard Walling  takes a look at the fateful events of May 14, 1918 that created heroes and a legend, but left questions that should be considered: ""When two men of the 15th New York fought against a raiding party in the very early morning hours of May 14, 1918, their story became a cause celeb and national news. Three other men present that night, two of whom were replacements, were left out of the narrative"."  Read about the circumstances that made heroes of Henry Johnson and Neadom Roberts,but have seemingly obscured the names of three other Doughboys who perhaps ""became superfluous to the story."" [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



The Evolution of a Doughboy Reenactor

Eli Taylor mug [ [link removed] ]

"“How did you get started?” " It's a question that WWI Doughboy reenactor Eli Taylor gets a lot – in fact, it's ""Hands down the most common question I get asked at any event I go to.""  So it all started out as a senior year project...but let's let Eli tell the whole story. Learn how a fascination about ""military history and its evolution through the ages"" was the catalyst for Eli's deep dive into WWI reenacting, and how ""Even though I feel like I’ve just started, I’m excited about what I have done and look forward to more events in the future"." [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



World War I Veterans: Wounds, Opioids, and Addiction Treatment

Wounded American soldiers hospital Francve WWI [ [link removed] ]

Often regarded as the first modern war, World War I was the first conflict to use machine guns, tanks, planes, and chemical warfare on a mass scale. This, coupled with the international nature of the conflict, led to unprecedented casualties on the battlefield. Morphine was a common drug of choice for military physicians hoping to provide pain management to injured soldiers, and it was especially effective for men who had been gassed or contracted tuberculosis. The prescribed use of morphine during the war, however, often resulted in an addiction that followed Veterans when they returned home. Read more, and see how, while the American public generally praised World War Veterans for their service, Veteran drug addicts frequently struggled to reassimilate into a society that equated addicts with dangerous criminals. [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



Maryland author speaks at inaugural World War I symposium in DC

Marvin Barrash at Doughboy Foundation WWI Symposium [ [link removed] ]

Sharing tales personal to his family and lesser known aspects of an already often overlooked war, a Maryland author and veteran joined fellow historians during the inaugural Doughboy Foundation's World War I Symposium [ [link removed] ] at the National Press Club Building in Washington, D.C. in September. For decades, Marvin Barrash of Stevensville, MD has diligently researched and published work on a topic that runs in his blood and he has become more than familiar with, although it happens long before he was born. Find out how Barrash's family connection to the U.S.S. Cyclops has led to three books about the ill-fated ship, which sank in the Caribbean somewhere between Barbados and Puerto Rico during World War I. and has never been found. [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



"*Daily Taps at the National WWI Memorial [ [link removed] ]*"

Honoring 2LT Fred H. Sexton

On November 7, 2025, Daily Taps at the National World War I Memorial [ [link removed] ] in Washington, DC was sounded in honor of 2nd Lt. Fred H. Sexton, U.S. Army, who gave his life in France on Oct. 21, 1918. 

South Carolina American Legion Post #1 was named for 2nd Lieutenant Fred H. Sexton (1890-1918), killed in France in World War I. Sexton, a native of Union, moved to Florence in 1911. He enlisted in the S.C. National Guard and was promoted to 2nd lt., 113th Infantry, 29th Division, in 1918. He was killed in the Meuse-Argonne in Oct. 1918 and posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest American military honor. The citation reads: ""For extraordinary heroism in action near Molleville Farm, France, October 17, 1918. During the thickest of the fight in the attack on Molleville Farm Lieutenant Sexton set out alone to locate enemy machine-gun positions. While on this mission he was killed"."

Fred Sexton [ [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] ]

________________________________________________________________________



The saga of George ‘Nevin’ Oswald, a Washington County, MD veteran of WWI

George ‘Nevin’ Oswald [ [link removed] ]

On July 13, 1918, George “Nevin” Oswald found himself 2,000 miles off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, sailing for France with 20,000 other soldiers of the 79th Division. “"I think I can take care of myself,"” Nevin wrote in a letter to his parents while at sea, “"and trust me, I won’t be foolish."” Little did Nevin know that his division would ultimately fight in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, one of the deadliest campaigns in American military history and the final Allied offensive of World War I. Learn more about Nevin’s story, preserved in his letters, one example of Washington County’s many veterans who served in the Great War. [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



In the post-WWI “Roaring Twenties” the U.S. Marines guarded the U.S. Mail

Mailguard Marine snip [ [link removed] ]

During the past 250 years, the United States Marine Corps has admirably defended the liberty of our nation from myriad enemies around the globe—from the “Halls of Montezuma” to the “Shores of Tripoli” and in such well-known campaigns as Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, Inchon, Khe Sanh and Kabul, just to name a few. However, in the 1920s, the Marines were deployed in a little-known role a lot closer to home. In 1920 and 1921, there was a rash of violent robberies of the U.S. Mail that resulted in the deaths and wounding of some postal employees and the theft of large sums of money. Read more about these postwar troubles, and find out how the ultimate solution was, as so many times it has been for our nation, to "Send in the Marines". [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



Women’s Work: Honoring All Who Served, from the WWI Hello Girls to Today’s Women Veterans

Pershing inspects Hello Girls snip [ [link removed] ]

In 1919, the United States Army awarded Grace Banker a Distinguished Service Medal. According to the medal citation, Grace “"served with exceptional ability as chief operator in the Signal Corps exchange at General Headquarters, American Expeditionary Forces, and later in a similar capacity at 1st Army Headquarters…"” during WWI. Despite this honor, neither the United States government nor the Army considered Banker a veteran of World War I until 1977. Find out more about Banker and the thousands of other American women who served their country without ever being recognized as servicemembers or veterans in their lifetime. and why honoring veterans means continuing to see — and name — all who have served. [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



WWI History Hidden Under Chamblee, GA

Camp Gordon, GA WWI [ [link removed] ]

Over the past decade, the construction and development in Chamblee is mind-boggling, unrecognizable with a population swell of business, apartments, and motorists. Chamblee’s past is mostly forgotten because its future seems bigger, brighter, more interesting. Learn how this once-small town once housed one of the biggest American military bases in the country, an anchor for American involvement in World War I.  [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



Tracing Family Roots: Moving to Explore Ancestors’ World War I Experiences

Doughboys listening [ [link removed] ]

Some people move for jobs, others for love. But a small, curious group packs up boxes for something else – an echo. They move to explore ancestors’ WWI experiences, following faint stories across borders and generations. For them, the act of relocation is less about geography and more about continuity. Streets, fields, and old train stations become living archives. The air holds family residue – loss, otherworldly courage, and the strange poetry of survival. Take a closer look at how, a century ago,WWI forced millions to scatter, and how descendants now trace that dispersal backward, closing the loop. [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



Rescued From a WWI Battlefield, This Dog Became Hollywood’s Biggest Star, Saving Warner Bros. From Bankruptcy

Rin Tin Tin in chair [ [link removed] ]

On Sept. 15, 1918, Corporal Lee Duncan walked through the bombed-out ruins of a German camp near Flirey, France. There, he found a kennel that housed military-working dogs meant for the German army. Most were dead, but he discovered a starving German shepherd mother with her litter of five newborn puppies. Their eyes hadn’t even opened yet. Duncan had no idea that one of those puppies would soon become the face of Hollywood and save a then-unknown film studio called Warner Bros. from bankruptcy. Read more about how a woebegone puppy smuggled home from the French battlefields earned $1,000 per week at Warner Bros.—more than most human actors—and starred in 27 films between 1922 and 1931. "Woof!" [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



World War I Message in a Bottle Found in Australia and Delivered to Families More Than a Century Later

WWI message in a bottle [ [link removed] ]

Australian soldiers slipped the letters into a bottle, closed the cap, and pitched it overboard from a ship in the Pacific Ocean as World War I battlefields beckoned them both. The bottle was a time capsule that would be delivered by fate—and it arrived for overjoyed ancestors last month—more than 100 years after the bottle first hit the water. On October 9, Peter Brown and his daughter Felicity found the Schweppes-brand bottle resting just above the waterline at Wharton Beach on the south coast of Western Australia. Learn how, nestled inside the bottle, were letters written by two Australian Army privates, Malcolm Neville and William Harley, originally dated August 15,1916, and what messages their missives carried a century later. [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



This Day in History: World War I Hero Lt William Vail’s Courageous Actions

Vail receives medal [ [link removed] ]

On November 6, 1918, a United States Army Air Service pilot engages in an action that would earn him a Distinguished Service Cross. William “Bill” Vail was then flying a Spad fighter plane over the skies of France. His action was one of the final aerial battles of World War I. First Lt. Vail was on patrol with another pilot that day. He and Lt. Josiah Pegues were flying near the Argonne Forest, with Pegues in the lead. Suddenly, the two pilots spotted a German observation plane. Pegues dove toward it, since he was in the lead. Read more, and see how neither pilot saw that more enemy were directly overhead, and now those enemy had set their sights on Pegues, forcing Vail to engage the nine enemy planes, a virtual death sentence. [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



In 1917, during World War I, a German newspaper in Cincinnati was raided by the United States government

Cincinnati Post front page 1917 [ [link removed] ]

On Oct. 6, 1917, Federal agents raided the offices of the Cincinnati Volksblatt, a German-language newspaper, and confiscated letters, records, newspapers and pamphlets written in German, looking for evidence of sedition or treason.
This came six months after the United States declared war on Germany, finally entering the global conflict that had been raging in Europe for three years. FInd out why this raid, and many more like it, took place in 1917, and  how the Trading with the Enemy Act passed that year gave the postmaster general almost unlimited powers to suppress publications suspected of being treasonous. [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



How many times have they stood up Appleton’s ‘Doughboy’ statue?
Here’s the history

Appleton Doughboy Statue snip

“The Spirit of the American Doughboy” statue has stood on Memorial Drive in honor of Appleton, Wisconsin's veterans killed in World War I since 1934, though has gone through repairs and even a replacement over the years. Writing for the  the Appleton Post-Crescent newspaper, reporter Mara Wegner digs through the paper's archives to piece together the Memorial's story from 1934 to the present, over which time it has seen a lot of ups and downs. [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



“The young grow old quickly here”: Ruth Charlotte Bush, WWI YMCA entertainer

Ruth Charlotte Bush mug

Ruth Charlotte Bush was born in February 1894 to Civil War veteran Theodore Bush and his wife, Charlotte Ann Arney Bush, in Kentland, IN. She had three sisters—Adah, Marie, and Alice—and writer George Ade was a cousin. After she graduated from Shortridge High School, she studied at the Bush Temple of Music in Chicago. When the U.S entered WWI she  joined the YMCA and sailed for France in February 1918 for 16 months of singing for servicemen. Read more about Ruth Bush's work entertaining wounded soldiers, and how she reflected that ""how God can put smiles there amid so much suffering is a miracle I can not understand"."  [ [link removed] ]



________________________________________________________________________



World War I News Digest November 2025

US_64th_regiment_celebrate_the_Armistice snip

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.



 

Presidential message honors World War I victory [ [link removed] ]

Trip Report: Visit to U.S. World War I memorials in France [ [link removed] ]

The Kansas Shoe Repairman Responsible for Veterans Day [ [link removed] ]

Nearly 1,000 Irish died serving US army in World War I [ [link removed] ]

Remembering the World War I Generation This Veterans Day [ [link removed] ]

Letters from an American: November 11, 2025 [ [link removed] ]

Veterans Day’s roots in WWI: Why Nov. 11 remains sacred  [ [link removed] ]

The 11th Hour Legacy: “Black Jack” Pershing’s Final Push [ [link removed] ]

The U.S. Army – Its History of Fighting On Foreign Soil [ [link removed] ]

The origins of Veterans Day [ [link removed] ]

War on Film: the American Cinema and World War I, 1914-1941 [ [link removed] ]

Schaghticoke, NY WW I Veterans: 3 happier stories [ [link removed] ]

WWI shall never be forgotten [ [link removed] ]

________________________________________________________________________



Doughboy MIA for November 2025

Vernon Webb [ [link removed] ]

A man is only missing if he is forgotten.

Our Doughboy MIA this month [ [link removed] ] is Private Vernon Fenton Webb Jr. Born 04JULY1895 and generally known by his middle name of Fenton, Pvt. Webb was a resident of Union County, Lanes Creek Township, North Carolina and working on his family farm when he was inducted into the army on 19SEPT1917. He received his induction training at Camp Jackson before being sent to Camp Sevier and assigned as a member of Company D, 119th Infantry, 30th Division. With that unit he departed from Boston, MA aboard the transport Laomedon for overseas service on 12MAY1918. The 30th ‘Old Hickory’ Division was one of two US divisions permanently brigaded with the British during the war. Killed in action on 29SEPT1918 in the Somme Valley sector during the great ‘Final Offensive’, word of his death was received on November 5th and his father, Vernon Sr., was so brokenhearted that he died that December at the age of just 46. Pvt. Webb is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at The Somme American Cemetery, Bellicourt, France. Nothing else is known about his case at this time.

Would "*you*" like to be involved with solving the case of PVT Webb, 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".



________________________________________________________________________



Merchandise from the Official
Doughboy Foundation WWI Store

With Thanksgiving Day approaching next week, it is time to start thinking about that other big holiday featuring turkey that's coming up next month. Now is a great time to grab any of these great books that tell important stories of the United States during and after World War I. Those history aficionados on your shopping list will thank you!

There Will Come Soft Rains book cover [ [link removed] ]
There Will Come Soft Rains [ [link removed] ]

In her attempt to understand war from the soldiers’ perspective, historian, poet, and photographer Briana Gervat traveled solo along the Western Front Way amidst stifling heat and torrential rain to record the early 20th century scars that remain within the landscape. Tolling bells at various hamlets can still be heard and the regrowth of fragrant, blossoming wildflowers can still be seen permeating throughout the overgrown trenches, rusted fences, and scraggly barbed wire. *There Will Come Soft Rains [ [link removed] ]* details the sights she witnessed, the people she encountered, and the fears and joys she experienced as she traveled along WWI’s terrain to complete her personal odyssey to “"Remember Them"”.



Lest We Forget: The Great War [ [link removed] ]

Lest We Forget Book Cover [ [link removed] ]

The story of WWI and America is told in this lavishly illustrated book through the memorable art it spawned―including posters from nations involved in the conflict―and a taut narrative account of the war’s signal events, its major personalities, its tragic consequences, with timely period photographs that illustrate the awful realities of this revolutionary conflict. Most importantly,* Lest We Forget: The Great War [ [link removed] ]* is a tribute to those who served in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps (and what would become the Air Force). It serves as a lasting reminder that our world ignores the history of World War I (and the ensuing WWII) at its peril―"lest we forget".



Trench Talk Trench Life [ [link removed] ]
Trench Talk/Trench Life [ [link removed] ]

This handsomely illustrated hardcover book provides a succinct introduction to life on the Western Front as experienced by the Allied soldiers. Using the unique colloquial language that was developed by the men in the front-line trenches, the reader will become familiar with the wartime circumstances of the British Tommy Atkins, the French Poilu, and the American Doughboy. Based on extensive research, *Trench Talk/Trench Life [ [link removed] ]* is a compassionate look at the muddy, chilly, wartime conditions for the steadfast soldiers of the Western Front.



Proceeds from the sale of these books will help the Doughboy Foundation to keep watch over the new National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC. [ [link removed] ]

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

________________________________________________________________________





________________________________________________________________________



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] ]. Our WWI Memorial Apps let you experience the WWI Memorial ‘In Person’ or Virtually from anywhere in the world!

QR Code for Virtual Explorer App download [ [link removed] ]
________________________________________________________________________


CFC 2025 sidebar ad [ [link removed] ]
________________________________________________________________________


Taps Sponsorship VS1 [ [link removed] ]
________________________________________________________________________



"Over There:"
"In the Footsteps "
"of the Doughboys
"

Sept 27-Oct 5, 2026

Over There tour sidebar image [ [link removed] ]

*Learn how you can walk
some of the most significant battlefields of WWI,
and experience
historical sites [ [link removed] ] **from
the Somme to the Marne
to Verdun, guided by
noted military historian
Mitch Yockelson. [ [link removed] ]*

*A Doughboy Foundation*
*Special Event*

________________________________________________________________________



"NEW!" Desktop Explorer
Desktop App screen [ [link removed] ]

Use the new "*WWI Memorial: Desktop Explorer [ [link removed] ]*" 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:

APPLE APPSTORE image [ [link removed] ]MICROSOFT APPSTORE image [ [link removed] ]
________________________________________________________________________


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] ]

________________________________________________________________________


Genealogy Guide VS2 [ [link removed] ]
________________________________________________________________________


Doughboy MIA [ [link removed] ]
________________________________________________________________________


Legacy Society [ [link removed] ]
________________________________________________________________________


Valor Medals Review
________________________________________________________________________



Pershing Sponsors

Pershing Sponsors sidebar w-founding sponsor [ [link removed] ]
________________________________________________________________________



________________________________________________________________________






________________________________________________________________________



Alvin J. Strand

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

Alvin J. Strand

*Submitted by: Gary Strand {grandson}*

Alvin Strand served in World War I with the United States Army. His enlistment was in 1917 and his service was completed in 1919. Alvin J. Strand was inducted into the Army on October 2, 1917, and was sent from his hometown of Ridgway, Pennsylvania to Camp Lee, Virginia. He sailed to France on May 26, 1918, as part of the 305th Ammunition Train – Company C where he served as a wagoner driving ammunition to the front lines in France which included the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in 1918. After serving his country, he was honorably discharged on June 9, 1919.

On returning home, Strand was very involved with veteran organizations in Ridgway and served as mayor from 1938 until 1942. In December 1944, during WWII, tragedy struck his family when they heard the USS Spence, a Fletcher Class destroyer, had capsized in the Pacific while trying to refuel during a typhoon. Strand’s oldest son, Robert, a machine mate second class, was stationed in the engine room and could not escape the ship’s fate. Rather than being defeated by this tragedy, Strand immediately began working on a project to ensure that all who did not return from war would be remembered. As president of the Gold Star Mothers and Fathers Association, he coordinated community efforts to raise funds to cast and mount bronze Keystone plaques listing the names of local servicemen and women who lost their lives in both World Wars. Eventually, in 1947, the needed $1,400 had been raised to pay for seven memorial plaques which were mounted on each elementary school in Ridgway and neighboring townships. Fundraising continued until a principle amount was collected so the interest would furnish prize money for a yearly spelling bee. Money was awarded to the fifth or sixth grade student who could correctly spell the most names listed on the plaque. The spelling bees were held to ensure those who made the ultimate sacrifice would never be forgotten.

This is the final paragraph from the report written by the Commanding Officer of the 305th Ammunition Train to the Commanding General sent on November 16,1918: ""I do not feel at liberty to conclude this report without touching on the splendid spirit of the officers and men of the train, who while under fire a great part of the time, with the full knowledge that they could not reply in kind, with severe road conditions and with the almost hopeless mechanical state of motor transportation kept supplied all the while a greatly augmented artillery brigade constantly on the advance and most of the time firing fairly heavily. It might be said that a Commanding Officer should not praise his own organization, but I do so now, that the services of this train in these last operations should not pass into utter oblivion. John C. Fairfax, Lieut. Colonel, T.S. Commanding"."

Recently, Alvin J. Strand’s grandson Gary (who was, coincidentally, born on Alvin's 70th birthday) was the structural engineer who helped design and coordinate structural aspects of the new National World War I Memorial lin Washington DC. He also provided design services to help execute the installation of "A Soldier’s Journey", the nearly 60’ long statue which highlights the impressive Memorial.

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


________________________________________________________________________





Footer Image pigeon messages

*Contact Form:
*[Click Here] [ [link removed] ]

*Mailing Address:
*The Doughboy Foundation 
1455 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20004

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

*Telephone:
*(202) 380-0725

*Carrier Pigeon:
*Please call first! 

 

 

 

 

WWI Dispatch is a monthly publication of the Doughboy Foundation
Publisher: CAPT Chris Christopher, USN (Ret.)      Chief Technologist: Theo Mayer






________________________________________________________________________

 

"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 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:
Manage Subscriptions [ [link removed] ]  |  Unsubscribe All [ [link removed] ]  |  Help [ [link removed] ]
________________________________________________________________________

This email was sent to [email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Doughboy Foundation · PO Box 17586 #123 · Arlington, VA 22216 GovDelivery logo [ [link removed] ]
body .abe-column-block { min-height: 5px; } table.gd_combo_table img {margin-left:10px; margin-right:10px;} table.gd_combo_table div.govd_image_display img, table.gd_combo_table td.gd_combo_image_cell img {margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px;} table.govd_hr {min-width: 100%;}
Screenshot of the email generated on import

Message Analysis

  • Sender: n/a
  • Political Party: n/a
  • Country: n/a
  • State/Locality: n/a
  • Office: n/a
  • Email Providers:
    • govDelivery