WW1 Centennial News for Wednesday April 5, 2017

Highlights

1. WW1 Then - Heading into "Bloody April" in the Great War In The Sky | 06:00
   
   
2. Guest - Ed Bilous Artistic Director for "In Sacrifice for Liberty and Peace" Kansas City event | 09:00
   
   
3. News - Indiana and Florida WW1 sites goes live at ww1cc.org/indiana and ww1cc.org/florida | 16:10
   
   
4. News - National focus by major media on WW1 rises as we approach April 6, 2017 | 18:45
   
   
5. WWrite blog - Gulf War veteran Seth Brady Tucker explains the influence of WWI poetry on his own writing | 19:55

Much more...

Get links below - Watch the podcast above

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WW1 Centennial News - Weekly Podcast

World War One Centennial News:
April 5, 2017

Opening

Welcome to World War One Centennial News. It’s about WW1 news 100 years ago this week  - and it’s about WW1 NOW - news and updates about the centennial and the commemoration.
WW1 Centennial News is brought to you by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library. Today is April 5th, 2017 and I’m Theo Mayer - Chief Technologist for the World War One Centennial Commission and your host today.

Tomorrow, April 6th, marks the centenary of our nation’s entrance into first global conflict of the modern era, World War One.

Thank you to all of our listeners out there - who have been with us on this amazing journey coming up to this pivotal moment. And if you thought the run up was dramatic - you will be amazed at what happens to our nation, our culture, our politics, our technology and our position in the world over the coming months.

World War One THEN

100 Year Ago This Week

The headline reads - Danish Virgin Islands transfer to the United States.
The Americans were concerned that the Germans might seize Denmark’s colonies, giving them a submarine base in the Caribbean.
To prevent this, the United States and Denmark signed a treaty in 1916 to buy the islands for $25 million.  Denmark ratified the treaty in December - after a national referendum - which approved the measure by nearly two-to-one.  
The Danish flag was lowered over the Virgin Islands two days before Wilson was expected to ask Congress for a declaration of war on Germany 100 years ago this week.
Link: http://today-in-wwi.tumblr.com/post/159046372293/danish-virgin-islands-transferred-to-united-states

Great War Project

Joining us next is former NPR correspondent Mike Shuster from the Great War Project.  Mike - thanks for sending me the post…  
Your story on the Great War Project takes us all the way up to TODAY April 5th 100 years ago -  and there is still a huge reluctance to cross the line to war… tell us about it Mike…
LINK:
www.greatwarproject.org/
Thanks, Mike Shuster and the Great War Project blog.

War in the Sky

We are heading into a very tumultuous time.
The month becomes known as “Bloody April.”
In overview, The UK’s Royal Flying Corp, while supporting the Arras offensive, loses 245 aircraft—140 in the first two weeks—out of an initial strength of 365. Aircrew casualties are 211 killed or missing and 108 captured. The opposing Germans lose only 66 aircraft.
Jasta “Boelcke” - you remember them - the squadron named after the man who defined the original techniques for air to air combat - well the squadron shoots down 21 allies, Jasta 11 downs 89, and Von Richthofen alone shoots down  20 allies this month. It’s a bad month for allied air operations.
On April 4th, the British begin the air offensive for the Battle of Arras, aimed to capture Vimy Ridge. We will be talking more about that from a broader point of view in the coming weeks.
The British, with numerical superiority, expect victory, but their aircraft are still qualitatively inferior to the Albatros D. IIs and IIIs of the GAF.
In the 6-day period, April 4-9, the RFC lose 75 aircraft.
On April 5th, a new Allied aircraft  - The Bristol 1 and ½ strutter -is introduced to the air war by the 24th squadron. Unfortunately on this first day of operations the planes comes across the Richthofen’s Jasta 11’s Albatros D. IIIs and it does not go well.  The squadron would later recover from this poor beginning 100 years ago this week in the great war in the sky.
You can follow the events on our site with RG head’s comprehensive timeline at ww1cc.org/warinthesky
LINK: http://ww1cc.org/warinthesky

The Great War Channel

As we have mentioned, our friends from Germany at the Mediakraft Networks produce - - - The Great War channel on YouTube. The channel that shows you the history of the First World War, exactly 100 years ago - from a more european perspective.
We encourage our listeners to check it out.
This week - the Great War Channel’s new episodes include:

• The Forgotten Ally - Portugal in WW1
• Visiting the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery
• Lenin Takes The Train - First Battle of Gaza
   

Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar

World War One NOW

There is only really one story for us this week - and that is the commemoration of the US declaration of war.

Interview with Ed Bilous - Artistic Director for In Sacrifice for Liberty and Peace
Here in Kansas City, we are holding an event called - In Sacrifice for Liberty and Peace: The Centennial Commemoration of the U.S. Entry into World War I
With us today is Ed Bilous the Artistic Director for the program here in Kansas City - Ed is also the Director of the -  Center for Innovation in the Arts at the Juilliard School - Ed Welcome.

Activities and Events

Nationwide Events Commemorating U.S. Entry into World War I
Tomorrow while we are here in KC  there will be centennial commemoration events held around the country - some scheduled for the coming weekend and the coming week . You can go to the link at ww1cc.org/ww1now and use the menu to check out all the activity or go to our events register at ww1cc.org/events and filter down to your local area to see if there is something scheduled there.

Link: http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/sacrifice-events-around-the-country.html

http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/communicate/press-media/wwi-centennial-news/2112-nationwide-events-commemorating-u-s-entry-into-world-war-i.html

Updates From The States

Indiana
The Indiana state commission site is now online. Congratulations to everyone who worked hard to get this valuable resource out to the public. On this site you can find contact information for commission members, dates for their next committee meeting, and more information on their centennial celebration which will be held tomorrow at the Pershing Auditorium. You can get the site by going to ww1cc.org/indiana.
Link: ww1cc.org/indiana

Florida
The good folks from Florida really worked hard to get their site published before April 6th. The content for the site was developed and provided by the Florida Department of State from the resources of the Division of Library and Information Services, Florida Memory and Florida Division of Historical Resources.
They did a great job in telling Florida’s WW1 story. You can check it out at ww1cc.org/florida
Link: ww1cc.org/florida

International Report

The dogs of war: The animals that played a vital role during WWI, from rescue hounds to a pig used as a pillow!
From the UK the headlines read: The dogs of war: The animals that played a vital role during WWI, from rescue hounds to a pig used as a pillow! Last week, Cindy Rullman from Brooke USA was on the show to talk about the horses and mules that served in the war. This week, we have an article about all the other four legged creatures that found their way onto the battlefields of Europe. From mascot pigs, foxes, and circus elephants, the soldiers of world war one used what they could to get the job done. Don’t miss this article.
Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4359902/The-animals-played-vital-role-World-War-One.html

Portraits of the Great War: Searching for descendants through art
Coming from the BBC this week the headlines read: Portraits of the Great War: Searching for descendants through art. Doug Jenkinson, a retired British doctor, is hoping to trace the descendants of allied soldiers and nurses portrayed in a celebrated collection of World War One pastels. Using the work of Swiss artist Eugene Burnand, Doug hopes that the descendants of the people depicted in this artwork will come forward to reclaim a little of their family history.
Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39406141

Posts and Articles

USA Today
The US WW1 Entry in War made the front page of USA today - continuing to dominate most of the second page.
It is an interesting article with some definite points of view. It is pretty fantastic to have WW1 front and center in the media - then and now a very controversial subject - take a read - and if you have any comments - let us know at ww1cc.org/contact. The national conversation on WW1 has officially begun!
Link: http://www.pressreader.com/usa/usa-today-us-edition/20170405/281513636003643

Centennial Commission salutes indispensable role of women in WWI
The entry of the United States into the War had a significant impact on women, their standing in society, and their civil rights. Commissioner and Chief Historian Emeritus at the History Channel, Dr. Libby O’Connell has an article on our site this week about how women helped expand the war effort. Women’s history month may be over, but we will still want to celebrate their sacrifice in service of a greater cause. Don’t miss this article.
Link: http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/communicate/press-media/wwi-centennial-news/2135-centennial-commission-salutes-indispensable-role-of-women-in-wwi.html

WWrite
This week on the wwrite blog Gulf War veteran Seth Brady Tucker explains the influence of WWI poetry on his own writing about veterans of contemporary wars. Tucker is an award winning author and is the founder and co-director of the Seaside Writers' Conference. Currently, he teaches poetry and fiction workshops at the Lighthouse Writers' Workshop at the Colorado School of Mines. This week he recounts his time in iraq and his first encounter with the war poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen. Check it out when you can.
Link: http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/articles-posts/1705-gulf-war-veteran-seth-brady-tucker-discovering-wwi-poetry-in-an-iraqi-foxhole.html
Also this week, the WWrite blog presents its Writerly News. This time it features:

1. "Raindrops on Your Old Tin Hat" by Fulbright Scholar and WWI Poetry Expert, Connie Ruzich
2. The Remembering WWI App from the U.S. National Archives
3. Veteran Writers Talk about WWI at the Pen/Faulkner Event

If this conversation interests you, be sure you subscribe to the blog at ww1cc.org/w-w-r-i-t-e.
Link: http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/articles-posts/2107-wwrite-weekend-update-april-2nd.html

The Buzz - WW1 in Social Media Posts

This is a very busy week in social media for WW1- instead of specific stories - we will send you to our social media wall at ww1cc.org/social where you can see a mashup of all the stories posting on our facebook and twitter feeds.
The hashtags for WW1 for posting - reposting or searching for the conversation are:
#WW1CentennialKC, #WW1, #LestWeForget, #WWI
Link: http://ww1cc.org/social

Great! That’s it for today. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day!
We want to thank our guests Mike Shuster and Ed Bilous for coming on to the show today.
WW1 Centennial News is brought to you by the US WW1 Centennial Commission and the commission’s founding sponsor the Pritzker Military Museum and Library. The videos can be found at ww1cc.org/cn. Don’t forget to sign up for our  eNewsletter the Weekly DISPATCH.
Our twitter and instagram handles are both @ww1cc and we are on facebook @ww1centennial.
Thanks for joining us. and….
Don’t forget to commemorate!
So long.

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