Sir Christian Turner KCMG CVO, His Majesty's Ambassador to the United States, will make the keynote address.

Bells of Peace commemorates the end of World War I and honors the 4.7 million Americans who donned the uniform and the 116,516 who lost their lives in that conflict. November 11 is now Veterans Day, a day to recognize all military Veterans of the United States Armed Forces. Originally called Armistice Day, the date marked the end of hostilities in WWI and is observed as Remembrance Day in other countries.  

At the National WWI Memorial, while honoring our Veterans, we will also honor and uphold the original purpose of November 11 through a multi-national commemorative ceremony, and observe the day by remembering the 4.7 million American military members who served in WWI and all those from other nations who served alongside them. Dignitaries from the embassies of a number of nations and many organizations will particpate in the ceremony and lay wreaths honoring those who served during the Great War.

Marie Alexine Lassalle emigrate to America from France in 1908 at age 17. When war broke out in Europe in 1914, Marie Lassalle worried about her family back in France, especially her brother, Jean-Baptiste, who had been taken prisoner of war.  In 1917, Marie was one of more than 7,000 women who applied to become U.S. Signal Corps bilingual telephone operators, and she was selected as one of the first 450 to received training from AT&T. Two hundred and twenty-three women were ultimately selected for active service. Marie was one of them. Read the entre article by her granddaughter Melody Lassalle, and learn how Marie and the other operators, known as "the Hello Girls," made a huge contribution to the American Expeditionary Forces on the front lines.

Visitors to the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. are struck by the emotionally compelling way it depicts one soldier’s experience during the Great War, as well as the remarkably accurate, detailed renderings of uniforms, weapons and equipment of its thirty-eight figures. Yet many of these visitors don’t realize that they have convenient access to an excellent local resource to further explore their interest in our Army’s participation in World War I—the National Museum of the United States Army. Learn more about the Army’s premier museum, which opened on Veterans Day 2020, and see why those with an interest in the United States Army’s experience in World War I should ensure they visit the facility in Virginia.

The Sequoyah National Research Center (SNRC) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock launched a brand-new website, Modern Warriors of World War I, this September. The website is a searchable database of American Indians and Alaska Natives who served in World War I. The purpose of the site is to create a central repository for the archival records related to their service. Read more about this new project, and its mission to identify all 12,000 Native men who served  in WWI, and honor their courage by providing an historical account of their service.

"I am honored to share the story of a Harvard graduate that excelled in his work in France enough be sent home as an instructor in April of 1918, but having been slightly gassed in France, he was extremely vulnerable to the Spanish Flu, which took his life in January 1919, while he was still in the service of the Army. This is an incredible grouping that I had to piece together from a total of four different eBay listings from three different sellers, over the course of two months. I can only assume the family’s estate recently sold or went up for auction, and there were a couple of other items that I didn’t end up getting." Michael Santoro explores more of the hidden history to be found in WWI artifacts. Learn more about Lieutenant George K. Sabine Jr., and how the spirit in which his work in the Army was done appears in a single sentence from a letter written in France to his father: “Whatever I do in this war, whatever part I play, it is my best, and it is done out of love, honor, and respect for the people I adore, worship, and think about always.”

"While scrolling through Facebook one day, I came across someone selling a group of 4 letters from WWI, I didn’t know where they were from or if they were even from the same family, but thought it was worth a shot."  World War I researcher Cici Lee recounts the discoveries she made looking into the human history revealed in orphan correspondence.  Read more, and learn the intimate history, and the sad surprise ending, of her deep dive into this letter written by the mother of two World War I U.S. Army soldiers.

George Whitehair is the Executive Director of the Boston Legacy Foundation, and he has led the years-long charge to ensure that the life and legacy of Pennsylvania World War I doctor and medical pioneer Dr. Frank E. Boston is recognized and honored. In this precise summary, Whitehair enumerates the many ways and places that Dr. Boston's legacy legacy "is now recognized across Pennsylvania and the nation.". But find out how one mystery still looms prominently: "Why has the leadership of the community he served so faithfully never provided comparable civic recognition?"

Too soon to think about the Christmas season? Catherine Bourgin thinks "The holiday season is upon us and there is still time to honor a veteran in a meaningful way."  As the coordinator for Wreaths Across America (WAA) at historic Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Brentwood, Maryland, Catherine, granddaughter of WWI Hello Girl Marie Edmee LeRoux, is working toward a goal of 1,000 sponsored wreaths for this year’s ceremony on 19 December 2026. Learn how you can "do good twice" by sponsoring a wreath this year: you'll both honor the veterans resting at Fort. Lincoln, and also help the Hello Girls Military Honors and Remembrance Project (M-HARP) ensure that every WWI Hello Girl buried in an unmarked grave receives the Veterans Affairs grave marker that they earned.

The Western Front Association East Coast Chapter Fall Symposium has been scheduled for Saturday, November 21, 2026, once again at the Maryland Veteran’s Museum in Newburg, Maryland. Plan to be at the Museum (1100 Crain Highway, Newburg, MD  20664) for a great day of Great War discussion and programming.  Renew friendships and make new ones with fellow Great War scholars, students, and enthusiasts. See the outstanding lineup of speakers on tap for the Symposium, and find out how you can register to attend this exciting day-long program in World War I History!

When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the country wasn't ready. Its army was small, factories needed to ramp up production, and there weren't enough ships to carry American troops and supplies across the Atlantic. The country had to act quickly. New shipyards opened, factories switched to military production, and thousands of Americans went to work supporting the war effort. World War I changed how America built ships, employed workers, and cared for veterans. It also increased demand for industrial materials like asbestos, whose long-term health risks would take decades to fully understand. Learn how exposure to asbestos from the Age of the Doughboy throughout much of the twentieth century was finally recognized as the cause of several serious illnesses, including mesothelioma.

Aircraft of World War I began as fragile eyes above the battlefield, then became scouts, artillery spotters, fighters, bombers, and instruments of public fear. In 1914, most combatant nations had only a handful of military airplanes, used chiefly to locate enemy positions and correct artillery fire. Four years later, pilots were dueling above the trenches, raiders were reaching London, and a few machines had become enduring symbols. Read more about the rapid growth of aviation as an essential part of military activities, and how, of roughly 55,000 aircraft built during World War I, only about 20 originals still remain airworthy 100 years later. 

Kirby Hill “Kal” Segrist, Sr., professional baseball player and Texas state representative, grew up in the Texas Hill Country. A consequential figure in Lone Star State history, he received his education at Hico public schools, John Tarleton Agricultural College (now Tarleton State University), and Simmons College (now Hardin-Simmons University). He began his professional baseball career with two seasons (1914–15) in the Class D Central Texas League. But his baseball career was interrupted by Workld War I. Learn how his service in the U.S. Navy as a second-class hospital apprentice, which ended in 1919, set him on course to success in college, minor-leage basebal, farming, and Texas politics.

Suzanne Raguin served during WWI on the staff of the US Army’s Emory Base Hospital 43 in Blois, France. She was adored by many of her soldier patients, and eventually wrote a detailed diary of her visit to America in 1920 to see many of them.  Her diary of that visit has now been edited into a book by the daughter and son-in-law of one of the former patients who she visited on that journey: Lt. Robert Fletcher (pictured with Raguin at left), who lost both legs in combat in France. Read more about this remarkable book, and how Nurse Raguin, known to her Doughboy patients in France during the war as "Little Mother,” remembered them and was remembered by them.

In the latest chapter in the "What's Old Is New Again" book, Russia has begun using balloon barriers first deployed during World War I to protect its oil refineries from Ukrainian drone attacks. Balloon barriers, known as barrage balloons, were first deployed during World War I by nations including France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom to counter low-flying enemy aircraft. While they were highly effective as a passive defense, denying low-altitude flight paths and significantly disrupting bombing accuracy, whether they will work in the age age of highjly-manueverable, speedy drones remains to be seen. But see how Russia's 21st. Century version may have new tricks up its sleeves to deal with drones that  can easily fly over a static net like those used during World War I.

Two captured German WWI cannons became a disputed Cape Girardeau Teachers College memorial before being scrapped for World War II in 1942. The donation of the cannons was announced in October 1925, but by the time the guns arrived in November, there was already “a split in the student body of the Teachers College" about the plan. The opposition fizzled, and the memorial was dedicated on May 25, 1926. Learn how the Memorial to those college students who died during the First World War ultimately fell victim to the need for iron in the Second.

A man is only missing if he is forgotten.

Our Doughboy MIA this month is Private Curtis Dye, Company B, 313th Machine Gun Battalion, 79th Division.

Private Dye was killed in battle on October 6th, 1918. He was buried on the battlefield with another soldier of his unit in a shellhole grave. When GRS later went to recover his remains, they encountered some difficulty in locating the exact position. Upon further investigation, it was determined that the graves may have already been excavated and that Private Dye could be among the Unknowns buried in France, although there is much room to speculate that his remains were not, in fact, recovered and he still lies on the battlefield. Doughboy MIA has launched an investigation into this case to attempt a determination and believes his remains were NOT recovered. (Thanks to volunteer team member Ben Woodard for the picture of Private Dye!)

Would you like to be involved with solving the case of Private Curtis Dye, 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.

Poppy Lapel Pin

A Doughboy Shop Exclusive!

Commemorative Poppy Lapel Pin features the iconic poppy design.

• Red and white coloring.
• Soft enamel color design
• Approx. 1.5 inch in diameter
• Standard military clasp

Wear this beautiful pin on November 11, 2026 to honor all veterans who served the United States of America in uniform through the first 250 years of our nation's history!

Proceeds from the sale of these items will help keep watch over the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC.

This and many other items are available as Official Merchandise of the Doughboy Foundation.

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