On the First World War front, I recently had the pleasure of giving an overview of World War One to an excellent Teacher’s Symposium hosted by the Virginia World War I and World War II Commemoration Commission. It was a rewarding experience to interact with so many dedicated teachers and to highlight some of the local stories that I’ve featured on this blog. Also, I have completed an essay for the International Encyclopedia of the First World War that is currently undergoing peer review by some of the top WWI historians in the world (no pressure.) I will feature a link on this page as soon as it is posted to the site.
My day job with the National Museum of the US Army has been keeping me on my toes as well. One of the most rewarding aspects of my job are the articles that I get to contribute to On Point: The Journal of Army History featuring some of the amazing artifacts that will be featured in the museum. One that might be of particular interest to readers of this blog has to do with a gas alarm rattle used by a soldier in the 33rd Division (see here).
And speaking of the National Museum, I’m both sad and excited to announce that I will be departing the museum this month to enter the world of secondary education. While I’ve been blessed to work on the NMUSA project for the past 22 months, I’ve decided it’s time to put my teaching license to use. I’ll be teaching High School History and Government at a local school this fall and am excited to see what happens when I teach the topic of the First World War to my students!
I still have plenty of blog posts featuring Virginians who fought in the Great War lined up, I just need to find the time to complete them! I was happy to see that Dr. Jeffrey Sammons commented on my post featuring the Harlem Hell Fighter D. Lincoln Reid, but since I wrote that post I’ve found 20 more Virginians who fought in the 369th Infantry! Also, I’m gathering information on two cousins of Hunter Pannill who fought in the AEF. Lastly, look for an interview with Matthew J. Davenport regarding his excellent book First Over There: The Attack on Cantigny, America's First Battle of World War I.
