WWI DISPATCH May 2026,update

 

May 2026 Four celebrations of American Music make up the Doughboy Foundation's 2026 Summer Concert Series. (top) June 25: 250 years of American music, highlighting the nation’s rich history through sound; (lower right) July 23: From the Trenches to Broadway! The show-stopping tunes of Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan, and others in a high-energy tribute to the legends of the American stage; (lower middle) August 27: A World United! An international gathering of cultures, one massive American sound; (lower left) September 24: From Ragtime to Swing, America Finds its Rhythm! The rhythms of jazz legends and swing classics, honoring the legacy of James Reese Europe and the Harlem Hellfighters, and showcasing the evolution of jazz and community dance since WWI. Summer Concert Series at the National World War I Memorial kicks off June 25 celebrating 250 Years of American Music The Summer Concert Series at the National World War I Memorial kicks off on June 25, 2026 at 5 p.m. and this year’s opening is extra special. We are proud to present a special concert celebrating 250 years of American music, highlighting our nation’s rich musical history in advance of the semiquincentennial of the United States of America.  RSVP to join us at the Memorial for a free evening of music in a truly historic setting, as we take you and your family through a journey of American music from the Revolutionary War to battle hymns to the Raiders March and modern patriotic favorites. Doughboy Foundation honors America’s fallen heroes on Memorial Day 2026 This Memorial Day, the Doughboy Foundation honored America’s fallen heroes through a series of deeply moving tributes in Washington, D.C. The commemorative events included: a wreath-laying at the National WWI Memorial by the Gold Star Mothers (shown above); a synchronized 16-bugler salute across the National Mall; and an appearance by the AEF Headquarters Band in the National Memorial Day Parade. Read more about and watch video of these moving commemorations honoring the legacy of the 4.7 million Americans who served in WWI while paying respect to all U.S. service members who have given their lives for their nation for 250 years. National Donut Day World Donut Eating Championship June 5 at the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC Donut fans, fierce competitors, and lovers of classic American traditions—join us June 5 at the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C., for an unforgettable celebration. A beloved annual tradition, The Salvation Army and BakeMark’s National Donut Day World Donut Eating Championship brings together history, heart, and high-stakes indulgence in a setting that honors a defining chapter of our nation’s story. Learn more about the WWI Donut Dollies, and find out how you can attend this all-consuming event June 5 honoring generations of service, compassion, and resilience that continue to define the American spirit. Gold Star mothers collect soil in France to restore 1929 World War I memorial at Arlington that was all but lost to history Soil collected from six World War I battlefields in France will soon be brought to Arlington National Cemetery, restoring a memorial that disappeared from the hallowed U.S. military burial ground nearly a century ago. Gathering the soil for the memorial brought five American Gold Star mothers across northern and eastern France over the past week, retracing battlefields and cemeteries tied to some of the war’s bloodiest fighting involving U.S. troops. Earth from each of the sites was originally sealed inside the Sacred Soil Marker at Arlington, designed in the 1920s by French World War I veteran and sculptor Gaston Deblaize to provide a tangible remembrance for families of service members who died in the war. Read more, and learn why the U.S. monument did not last long, and how the restoration project carries a deeply personal motivation for the five Gold Star mothers: preserving remembrance of the sacrifices of those who, like their sons, served and died for the United States. Lake of the Ozarks Military Bugler To Perform At National World War I Memorial In Washington D.C. Lake of the Ozarks veteran Mike McCain, 78, Sunrise Beach Honor Guard Bugler for American Legion Zach Wheat Post No. 624, will sound Taps in Washington, D.C. at the National WWI Memorial & Museum on June 3, 2026. McCain served in the Army National Guard and Reserves Military Police from 1970 to 1976 in Iowa and Missouri. He will perform the 24-note call at 4:30 p.m., EST. The WWI Memorial was dedicated on April 16, 2021. The inscription on the memorial states, “We were young, they say, we have died, remember us.” Read more about McCain and his special bugle, and learn how, through the National WWI Memorial, memorial, a grateful nation honors the service, valor, courage, and sacrifice of the 4.7 million American sons and daughters who served in the great war. Finding the Hello Girls: May 2026 updates The U.S. Army Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators of WWI, known as the Hello Girls, were finally awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in 2024, thanks in large measure to the hard work and diligence of a small group of descendants of Hello Girls and several dedicated researchers. In 2025, the group evolved into the Hello Girls Military Honors and Remembrance Program (M-HARP), a new Special Program of the Doughboy Foundation, with the mission of honoring and preserving the legacy of these 280 women. Pacific Northwest Connections Historian and researcher Lisa Oberg recalls that "'Goodbye U. of W.; Hello France' was the headline in a Seattle-area newspaper I came across while researching the University of Washington’s response to World War I. It has led me on a decade-long pursuit of the women featured in the article who had enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps as telephone operators – AKA 'Hello Girls' – and their compatriots."  Learn how Lisa's award-winning research and writing led to her joining M-HARP, as she is dedicated to "preserving the history of the Hello Girls and ensuring that their descendants and future generations understand the significance of their service." One Week, Two Cities: Our Mission Continues Catherine Bourgin, granddaughter of Hello Girl Marie Edmée LeRoux, and M-HARP Founding Member, reports a busy month of May on the Finding the Hello Girls mission. In New York City, she and other team members identified the graves of two Hello Girls, and attended a working performance of the Hello Girls Musical that may help send it to Broadway next year. Later in Washington, DC, a flurry of activities connected M-HARP she and other team members with diplomats from Belgium, the ancestral homeland of eight Hello Girls. Read Catherine's entire report, and find out more about how "From an unmarked grave in Queens to the steps of the National World War One Memorial, the Hello Girls’ mission continues." Michael Santoro: “Perhaps the Best Known Athlete in Texas” "This is the courageous story of Captain Gustave C. “Pig” Dittmar, commander of Company C, 360th Infantry Regiment, 90th “Tough ‘Ombres” Division. Dittmar would be awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action near Bantheville, France on November 1st, 1918, but only two years prior was in the middle of an outstanding Gridiron career."  Michael Santoro’s explores more of the hidden history to be found in WWI artifacts. Read more about how Dittmar's football career ended in WWI, but despite his wounds, his military service to the nation continued on through WWII. Kiffin Rockwell: Fighting for All Humanity Steve Tom became aware of  American WWI aviator Kiffin Rockwell by way of a 16th birthday present from his great-great aunt. Fascinated by the pilot's story, Tom started searching for a biography, "but to my surprise there were no biographies of him."  When that was still the story fifty years later, says Tom "I decided to write one myself. I believed this remarkable American deserved to be remembered."  Learn how a lifelong interest in a virtually forgotten American hero led to the publication of his book chronicling the fascinating story of an idealist who volunteered—long before his country drafted its first soldier—to fight, and ultimately die, in defense of civilization. Daily Taps at the National WWI Memorial Honoring Pvt. James Roy Sone On Thursday, May 5, 2026, Daily Taps at the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC was sounded in honor of WWI Pvt. James Roy Sone. Pvt. James Roy Sone was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Sone of Jefferson City, Missouri. Pvt. Sone was killed in action on October 4, 1918 during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, one of the final and largest Allied offensives of the war. Sone was killed during the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge as part of the larger Meuse-Argonne campaign. Four years after the end of World War I, a group of local veterans came together in Jefferson City to form their own VFW post in honor of a fallen comrade. Officially organized on October 25, 1922 during a meeting of local WWI veterans at the Cole County Courthouse, the decision was made to name the newly established VFW Post 1003 for Pvt. Sone. The Daily Taps program of the Doughboy Foundation 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. Bronxville High School Students Deepen Their Understanding of Memorial Day Bronxville High School students participated in the “Lest We Forget: A Memorial Day Gallery Event,” an immersive and interactive program designed to deepen their understanding of service, sacrifice and remembrance through primary sources and reflection.  Military historian and archivist Mitch Yockelson shared inspiring stories of remembrance and discussed the significance of Memorial Day, as well as its connection to the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States. Read more, and see how a student-organized program for the event "allowed students to connect historical events to broader themes of remembrance and national identity." British divers locate wreckage of long-lost WWI U.S. Coast Guard vessel More than a century after one of the deadliest maritime losses in American military history, the wreckage of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tampa has been located deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean, the Coast Guard said Wednesday, April 29. A team of British technical divers confirmed the discovery after a three-year search, identifying the long-lost vessel roughly 50 miles off Newquay, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, according to a Coast Guard news release. The wreck lies more than 300 feet below the surface. Learn how this find may help bring new clarity to a tragedy that unfolded in the final weeks of WWI, when the Tampa was struck by a German torpedo and sank in a matter of minutes. The Mysterious World War I Service of Hortense Schoenfeld Doob It began with discovery of this compelling photocopy in the files of the Beacon Historical Society in New York, labeled on its rear as simply, “Hortense Schoenfeld Doob.” Nothing more. Fortunately, some sleuthing has helped the Society to shed at least a little light on the service by this Beacon woman – while also illustrating how historical research has been revolutionized by the internet. Read more, and discover how the accidental find revealed the story of Hortense and the Dutchess County unit of the Women’s Motor Corps, the only such unit in New York State to be called into active service during World War I. Why Sir Barton’s 1919 Triple Crown Win Was America’s First Postwar Triumph Nowadays, racing is followed across the whole of the United States, with the Triple Crown races capturing the mainstream attention. However, it could be argued that the success of racing in this modern day wouldn’t have been achieved had it not been for Sir Barton’s domination in the 1919 Triple Crown, the year after the end of World War I. FInd out how Sir Barton’s win in the Derby signalled that life in the U.S. was back to normal, with major sporting events getting back into the swing of things. Breaking the Hindenburg Line Writes author Don Brown: "'Time will not diminish the glory of their deeds.' General John J. 'Black Jack' Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I, spoke those words about America’s Doughboys of the Great War. They ring as true today as they did a century ago. Yet while time has not diminished their glory, it has, tragically, diminished the memory of who they were — these American soldiers of the “Great War” — and what they sacrificed."  To help combat that forgetting, Brown remembers one WWI division that sacrificed extraordinarily: the famed “Old Hickory” Division — the 30th Infantry Division — that led the breakout against Imperial German forces in 1918.  World War I Connecticut Guard Dog Sgt. Stubby Honored with Statue The Connecticut State Library unveiled a new statue of the famous World War I canine Sgt. Stubby, who was adopted by a Connecticut Guardsman, was able to smell incoming gas attacks before humans, and is widely considered the first U.S. Military working dog, during an April 20 ceremony at the Library. April 4 marked the 100th anniversary of Stubby’s death. Learn more about the statue, and Stubby, who was more than just a mascot and friend of the 102nd; he was an integral part of the team.  World War I Liberty Loan operation produced some of the 20th century’s most recognizable commercial art Every major American war has been paid for with some combination of taxes, borrowing, and — in a few cases — inflation. On the Crest Capital website, they take a look at the borrowing part: the war loans and bonds the U.S. Treasury has sold to the American public, and occasionally to foreign governments, to raise the capital a war requires. It walks the long arc from Revolutionary War loan certificates through the Civil War’s Jay Cooke operation, the five WWI Liberty Loans, the $186 billion WWII Series E campaign, and today’s TreasuryDirect savings-bond program. Learn how poster artists like Howard Chandler Christy, James Montgomery Flagg, and Joseph Pennell created images that were printed and distributed in the hundreds of thousands to sell WWI Liberty Loans.  As World War I Broke Out in Europe, America Lost a First Lady When Woodrow WIlson won the U.S. Presidency in the election of 1912, his wife Ellen Axson Wilson was elevated First Lady when she moved into the White House with her family in March 1913.  As First Lady, Ellen focused her attention on several Whitge House projects, including the West Garden, the forerunner to the modern Rose Garden. She also advocated for improvements in the local community in Washington, DC. But her time as First Lady was cut short tragically by illness. Learn how she has been overshadowed in history by her husband's second wife, Edith Wilson, but is, nevertheless, considered one of the more underrated, intelligent, and influential First Ladies of the early 20th century. On National Nurses Day, remembering three World War I nurses from Montana On the Our Montana website, host Mike Pemfold interviews historian Ed Saunders about three World War I nurses with ties to Montana. Saunders shares his research into these three incredible woman who served in the armed forces in an episode recorded on National Nurses Day - May 6, 2026. Watch the entire episode here, and learn the stories of three "unsung heroes" from Montana whose achievements Saunders has worked to preserve because "our committment to recognition of their valor has no statute of limitations." America’s Flaming Bayonet in WWI As the American Expeditionary Forces prepared to face battle-hardened German troops in France in early 1918, the bayonet was a vital component of the Doughboys’ combat equipment. It is difficult for many people today to understand the importance the U.S. military placed on “cold steel” during the Great War. Beyond the material components of a long blade fixed to the end of a battle rifle, the American concept of bayonet fighting was as much spiritual as it was physical. But learn how, with the fighting spirit of the bayonet in mind, U.S. Ordnance sought to give the Doughboys’ bayonet charges a unique advantage: a small flame projector attached to the rifle muzzle — creating a flaming bayonet! World War I News Digest May 2026   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 interesting news items from the last month related to World War I and America.   Charles Gates Dawes Tells Off Congress & Becomes a Celebrity WWI showed hemispheric insecurity could constrain U.S.power What WWI Still Teaches: History and the Making of Future Officers Reading Under Fire: Arming Minds & Hearts During Wartime First World War weatherman who saw the future of forecasting 7 Everyday Products That-Came Out of WWI The Sinking of the Lusitania WWI Stifled the Peace Message of Early Mother’s Days 10 Interesting WWI Images from NY Public Library Digital Archives Where Did General Pershing Get His Initial Division for the AEF? “She Was Glorious”—The Pre-Sinking History of RMS Lusitania Doughboy MIA for May 2026 A man is only missing if he is forgotten. Our Doughboy MIA this month is Corporal Howard Dailey. Born June 10th, 1894 in Scottsburg, Indiana, Corporal Howard Jackson Dailey was a farmer before joining the pre-war army seeking to be part of the ‘adventure’ of chasing Poncho Villa down on the border. He enlisted August 5th, 1916 and trained at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. Assigned to Company M, 16th Infantry Regiment, he got something of his wish and his first duty station was at Eagle Pass, Texas. Following the declaration of war he cooled his heels in Texas while waiting for orders. Eventually sent to New York, he embarked for overseas duty in November, 1917. Once in France he was transferred to Company C of the 30th Infantry (3rd Division) and was killed in action on July 20th, 1918 in the heavy fighting at Soissons. He was buried near the Paris-Soissons road, but his remains were never located Would you like to be involved with solving the case of Corporal Howard Dailey, 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. Merchandise from the Official Doughboy Foundation WWI Store Limited Supply! 2018 Centennial WWI Silver Dollar Commemorative Coin Struck by the United States Mint to commemorate the centennial of America’s involvement in World War I and honor the more than 4 million men and women from the United States who served. Obverse: The obverse (heads) design, titled “Soldier’s Charge,” depicts an almost stone-like soldier gripping a rifle. Barbed wire twines in the lower right hand side of the design. Inscriptions include “LIBERTY,” “1918,” and “IN GOD WE TRUST.” Reverse: The reverse (tails) design, titled “Poppies in the Wire,” features abstract poppies mixed in with barbed wire. Inscriptions include “ONE DOLLAR,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” and “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” Proceeds from the sale of these items will help Doughboy Foundation keep watch over the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC. This and many other items are available as Official Merchandise of Doughboy Foundation. Click or scan the QR Code below to download the Virtual Explorer App for the National World War I Memorial. Our WWI Memorial Apps let you experience the WWI Memorial ‘In Person’ or Virtually from anywhere in the world! NEW! Desktop Explorer Use the new "WWI Memorial: Desktop Explorer" to learn about the National WWI Memorial in the classroom or at home. Both Mac and PC apps are available. Check them out here: 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. Pershing Sponsors Louis Zepherin Daris A Story of Service from the Stories of Service section of doughboy.org Submitted by: Charles Daris {son} Louis Z. Daris was born in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, United States in 1895. Louis Daris served in World War 1 with the United States Army. His enlistment was in 1917 and his service was completed in 1919.  Daris enlisted and did boot camp in Syracuse, New York, and then went to training in Camp Green, N.C. Daris was attached to the 4th Division, 47th Infantry as a sergeant. He saw combat in St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne. Daris also served in the Army of Occupation in Germany. Writing the memoirs of his participation in the American Expeditionary Forces twelve years after the end of the First World War, my father proudly declared that the time he was in uniform was “the greatest experience of my life.” Reading them, one can sense that he relished every minute of it, including terrifying moments in combat or coping with mind-numbing mud, whether in the trenches or on his never-ending marches. But he never lost his sense of humor. The ubiquitous mud and frequent rain often prompted him and his buddies to remark with no little irony: “sunny France!” Throughout his service he wrote copious notes in the small diaries he kept with him. These treasured memories made it possible for him to narrate his adventures in detail years later. He also researched the origins of the U.S. participation in the war and the history of his own regiment and incorporated his findings into his memoirs. In his memoir Louis Zepherin Daris comes across as an honest, humble, devoted, and courageous young man who lived in an America notably more innocent than what it has become. He experienced fear from U-boats during his Atlantic crossing, and bravely led a patrol on a reconnaissance mission behind enemy lines. Throughout, he did his job well, was promoted twice, and unlike so many of our soldiers, he was fortunate enough to live to return home and write about his experience. His Memoir is a gift to remind us of the ordeal the soldiers endured for America and the world.  Submit your family's Story of Service here. Contact Form: [Click Here] Mailing Address: Doughboy Foundation  1455 Pennsylvania Ave NW Suite 400 Washington, DC 20004 Website: www.doughboy.org Telephone: (202) 380-0725 Carrier Pigeon: Please call first!          WWI Dispatch is a monthly publication of Doughboy Foundation Publisher: CAPT Chris Christopher, USN (Ret.)      Chief Technologist: Theo Mayer

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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.

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