One of the greatest fighter pilots in American History was born on Oct. 8, 1890. He was born Eddie Rickenbacher to Swedish immigrants. He later changed the spelling to Rickenbacker to be less German-looking. He added the middle name Vernon because he thought it sounded classy. He was a wild Read more…
America was so ill-prepared for WWI that we had to borrow tanks from the French. Those tanks were pretty good. They were Renault FT light tanks. These revolutionary tanks had traversable turrets and the engine in the rear. It had either a 37 mm. cannon (male) or an 8 mm. Read more…
When Pershing brought the A.E.F. to France, he was adamant about it fighting as an American army, not as reinforcements for the British and French. The American divisions were scattered throughout the Western Front to train with the British and French. The French commanding general, Gen. Petain, hoped that they Read more…
Military communication made great strides in WWI. At first, wireless telegraphy was used to connect generals to their armies (or admirals to their fleets), but the system was problematical because the messages could be easily intercepted. This led to the use of codes which resulted in an expansion of the Read more…
In honor of Memorial Day, here is a very well done song with slides using the famous poem about WWI fallen.
It was Christmas eve on the Western Front in France in 1914. The Germans were singing “Silent Night” and when the song drifted over to the British, they joined in. After the song ended, a German stood up and waved his arms above the trench. No Tommy shot at him Read more…
As teachers of history, we’re always looking for media that can enhance the learning process. War movies can be excellent history lessons, but who has the time to show one? A good alternative might be to show a short war film. Recently I was clued in about a 22 minute Read more…
Today is Veterans Day and many don’t realize it is associated with the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918. The poem most associated with the war is “In Flanders Field” by John McRae. McRae was a Canadian soldier, doctor, artist, and poet. His unit was shipped to Flanders Read more…