This month the Doughboy Foundation welcomed its first official Director of Development, Morgan Ewing. Morgan has well over a decade of experience in development, having worked on political campaigns and with various nonprofit organizations. Most recently, he served as Development Director at the Human Trafficking Legal Center. A native of Minnesota, Morgan has lived in Washington, D.C., since 2015. Read more about Morgan, find out why he took the job, and learn why he thinks that "The Doughboy Foundation is at the beginning of an exciting new chapter."

On February 3rd, 2025, His Excellency Laurent Bili, Ambassador of France to the United States, hosted a reception at his residence to celebrate a gift from the French Armed Forces to their US counterpart: a bronze statue of the farewell handshake between Generals Foch and Pershing at the end of World War I. The work of French sculptor Luc de Moustier, the statue is inspired by a black-and-white photograph of the farewell between Marshal Foch and General Pershing standing on the deck of the U.S. warship Leviathan.  They are exchanging a particular look of shared purpose and values, of a closeness forged by months spent in the fiercest of wars. Read more about this event, the two sculptures presented, and how the bronze figurines highlight "the everlasting bond between the United States of America and France."

Have you ever wondered how historians transform the primary source materials they find in archives into a book? If so, check out the recording of historian (and friend of the Doughboy Foundation) Allison S. Finkelstein‘s November “Made at the Library” webinar with the Library of Congress. During this program, historians with the Library’s Manuscript Division interviewed Finkelstein about how she scoured their collections for sources that revealed American women’s creative approach to commemoration after World War I. Watch the entire video, and learn how these sources became critical components of Finkelstein‘s book, Forgotten Veterans, Invisible Memorials: How American Women Commemorated the Great War, 1917-1945.

"During the pandemic in mid-April 2021, I started researching Noble Sissle, Sr. There were a few pages about Sissle in my first book, Indiana Avenue – Life and Musical Journey from 1915 to 2015. At live book presentations, audience members asked the most questions about him and marveled at his success as a young Black man in the early 1900s. My mentor, Dan Wakefield encouraged me to share the story of one of our native sons and prolific entertainer." So begins author Aleta Hodge's recounting of the origin of her new book about "one of the most important neglected figures in modern day American history.”  Read more about how Hodge was able to overcome many challenges to complete this important new book on "one of our native sons and a prolific entertainer."

From the years 1914 to 1918, much of the fighting in WWI took place in a desolate, dangerous and muddy area called No Man’s Land between the opposing trenches on the Western Front in Europe. Filled with twisted barbed wire, land mines, craters, remnants of lethal, tear gas and constant gunfire and explosions, it was a scary place to be for any soldier. Now just imagine…if you were a dog. This is the historical backdrop for Frank Detrano's Hearts of Valor feature animated film currently in development. Learn more about this great project that follows a loyal Mercy Dog leading his canine companions on an inspiring journey to rejoin their unit, set in the closing days of WWI.

Irving Berlin's famous song "God Bless America” was Introduced by singer Kate Smith on her CBS radio show on November 10, 1938. Smith called the song "one of the most beautiful compositions ever written, a song that will never die." Time has proved Smith right, as the song remains a patriotic favorite 86 years later. But it wasn't until 1954 that Berlin revealed that the song was actually written in 1918 during World War I. Read more about the WWI origin on one of America's favorite songs, and find out why Berlin didn't have it performed until the eve of WWII.

The World War I Historical Association is excited to announce its inaugural “14-18 Book Club” online session. The first selection is Herbert Corey’s Great War: A Memoir of World War I by the American Reporter Who Saw It All (Louisiana State University Press, 2022) edited by Peter Finn and John Maxwell Hamilton. The first book club will be 28 June (2 EST; 1 CST; 12 MST; 11 PST) via Zoom. A Zoom link will be posted in the May edition of Dispatch. More information (when available) can be found on the World War I Historical Association website.

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. In 2024, the finally Hello Girls received long-overdue recognition for their  pivotal contributions in WWI with passage of legislation awarding them a Congressional Gold Medal.

In a surprising twist that’s exciting the numismatic world, a coin minted over a hundred years ago is capturing headlines once again. The 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter — a relic from the World War I era — is now being hunted by collectors with near-obsessive intensity. Once dismissed as just another vintage coin, it’s now being treated with the same value and urgency as rare gold. Find out more about the coin, first introduced in 1916, and what makes the 1916 version so unique that it has become "one of the most coveted coins among serious collectors."

A new recording of Joseph Turrin’s “And Crimson Roses Once Again be Fair”,  a 45-minute Cantata based on poetry from World War I, has been released on the Naxos label and recorded in New York. The poets include Charlotte Mew, Bruno Frank, Siegfried Sassoon, Alfred Lichtenstein, John McCrae, Wilfred Owen, Albert-Paul Granier and Vera Brittain. The new released was reviewed in the January 2025 issue of Gramophone magazine. Learn more about this powerful work, and find out how it was originally inspired by a poem by Vera Brittain, who lost her fiancé, brother, and two close friends during WWI.

Black men drafted into the U.S. Army during World War I were significantly more likely to join the NAACP and to play key leadership roles in the early Civil Rights Movement as a result of the discrimination they experienced while serving the country, according to a new study by Harvard Kennedy School economist Desmond Ang and Sahil Chinoy, a doctoral student in economics. Read more, and find out how significant discrimination that Black troops faced while serving in World War I compelled many veterans to challenge the status quo after 1918.

World War I left a lasting imprint on cities worldwide, shaping their landscapes and preserving stories of sacrifice. For those moving to a city with WWI history, exploring battlefields and memorials offers a unique way to connect with the past. Whether through well-preserved memorials or forgotten landmarks, these remnants of war provide a powerful reminder of the global conflict. This guide will help newcomers discover, respect, and engage with the history around them. Learn more about how WWI not only changed the course of global politics but also influenced migration patterns in the United States, as the war effort drove industrial expansion in cities, leading to significant population shifts.

The 29^th Division Association is leading the efforts to construct a monument to honor the contributions of the 79^th, 29^th, and 33^rd Divisions to the great Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The Offensive was a key part of the overall Allied effort to end WWI attacks along the entire Front in Europe, leading to the defeat of Germany and the end of the war. The monument will be prominently located in the town square of Consenvoye, near the banks of the Meuse River. Read more about how the memorial, first suggested in 1931, will be dedicated on October 8, 2025, commemorating the date of the town’s liberation in 1918.

During the First World War, American and British ships were widely painted with unique zig-zag and checkered geometric shapes and stripes in shades of grey, black, or white to confuse German U-boat captains as to the vessels’ speed and direction of travel. However, a new study suggests that the effectiveness of the iconic dazzle camouflage could be “substantially overestimated.” Learn how the new study finds that another type of illusion called the “horizon effect” was more influential in confusing enemies at sea during the Great War.

A little under fifteen years from the day the US Navy purchased their first submarine, the future of the small craft was still not settled. In 1915, the United States faced a number of challenges as it observed the growing war in Europe. The U.S. had long neglected their navy and army despite Teddy Roosevelt’s attempts to make his country a global force. But the sinking of the RMS Lusitania off the coast of Ireland by a German U-boat on the afternoon of May 7, 1915, made the nation and the Navy take notice that "a relatively smaller investment would change the course of any global contact." Read more about the sea change in thinking after the event, as people understood that "if our navy department has turned its face deliberately away from the consideration of any correction of the present deficiencies of submarines, it is safe to prophesy that the United States will in a short time no longer possess a modern navy."

The promise of the American Dream—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—has inspired people from all corners of the globe to make their home in the land of the free. For many immigrants, military service has provided an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to their adopted homeland. On April 30, Ford’s Theatre welcomes historians Dr. Allison S. Finkelstein from Arlington National Cemetery and Zack Wilske from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to delve into the citizenship stories of specific service members from the Civil War, WWI and WWII who are interred in Arlington National Cemetery. 

World War I brought about new types of injuries caused by modern, mechanized warfare, such as those from machine guns, poison gas and heavy artillery. At the same time, it acted as a driving force for advancements in medical practices, public health and the professionalization of research methodologies. Following the war, with a dramatic increase in the number of Veterans—roughly 150,000 more than before—there was a growing recognition of the need for medical research to improve care for these individuals. Learn how Dr. Philip Matz, who served as the first director of research at VA from 1925-1938, kickstarted Veteran-specific studies on a wide range of issues. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Fort Moore, Georgia will once again be named Fort Benning, but this time it will honor Army Cpl. Fred G. Benning, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism during World War I. “This change underscores the installation’s storied history of service to the United States of America, honors the warfighter ethos, and recognizes the heroes who have trained at the installation for decades and will continue to train on its storied ranges,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot said in a statement. Read more, and learn how WWI CPL Benning "was the living embodiment of the Infantryman’s Creed: He was ‘swift, determined and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win.'"

The new namesake is a Nebraska native awarded the military’s second-highest honor for his battlefield courage as an 18-year-old corporal in 1918, near the end of World War I. The military noted that Benning later served as mayor of the small Nebraska town of Neligh, but it did not mention that he ran a bakery, opted to have his Distinguished Service Cross mailed to him rather than presented at a military ceremony, and didn’t discuss his wartime experiences. Learn more about the small town hero who died in 1974, and was quoted in 1928 as responding to queries about his wartime experience by saying "Most of the fellows who did the real fighting don’t talk about it.”

A man is only missing if he is forgotten.

Our Doughboy MIA this month Robert Brown Gilbreath, born in Columbia, Tennessee on January 13^th, 1893. He graduated with honors from Columbia High School and later attended Columbia Military Academy. He later moved to Texas, where he enrolled at the University of Texas and took a teaching position at the State Orphan Home.

In May 1917, Robert enlisted in the U.S. Army at Camp Travis, Texas. He was assigned to Company “A” of the 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Division. On June 20^th, 1918, he sailed for France aboard the HMT Canada, arriving in Liverpool, England, on July 2^nd. He arrived in Le Havre, France on July 7^th, 1918.

On September 26^th, 1918, the 358^th and 359^th Infantry conducted a raid on German positions west of Prény in the St. Mihiel sector. The objective was to hold enemy troops in this sector, making them believe the raid was part of the more significant attack along the Argonne Forest. At 5:00 a.m. the men advanced toward the Hindenburg Line. After covering 500 yards, they came under heavy machine gun and artillery fire, forcing them to fall back with severe casualties. Lieutenant Gilbreath never made it back to the American lines. 

Read Lt. Gilbreath's whole story

Would you like to be involved with solving the case of Lieutenant Robert Brown Gilbreath, 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.

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