World War One Centennial Commission project to feature African American experience in Great War

WASHINGTON, December 21, 2014 – The World War One Centennial Commission announces that it has undertaken a memorandum of understanding with S&D Consulting Services to produce The 369th Experience, a series of public performances and education programs depicting the American, African American, and French experience in World War One through the eyes of the 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as the "Harlem Hellfighters."

The production is an official project of the Commission in line with its charge to educate the people of the United States about the history of World War One, the United States' involvement in that war, and the war's effects on the remainder of the 20th century, and to commemorate and honor the participation of the United States and its citizens in the war.

The three proposed productions will feature music honoring the bravery of the 369th's solidarity and bravery in the face of stateside prejudice as well as European battle, as well as the contributions of the 369th's regimental band in disseminating and winning hearts for the then-emerging art form of jazz.

"On the battlefield, the storied 369th Infantry Regiment or 'Harlem Hellfighters' valorously fought both the enemy and racial prejudice, eradicating the prevailing notion that African-Americans were not fit to fight. The regimental band, led by Lieutenant James Reese Europe and Drum Major Noble Sissle introduced jazz to Europe, and influenced the musical arts on both sides of the Atlantic. It is fitting that we should introduce a new generation of Americans to these heroes on the anniversary of their accomplishments" said Commission Chairman Colonel Robert J. Dalessandro, USA (Ret).

Dr. Julian E. White, retired director of the renowned Florida A&M University Marching 100 band, will recreate the band's complete repertoire. Dr. White is currently Director of Music Outreach for Goodwill Industries, Inc. and Consultant Clinician for Duvall County Public Schools in Jacksonville, FL. The new band will be comprised of 65 music students competitively selected from Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) across the nation.

"It is truly my honor to participate in The 369th Experience," said Dr. White. "I look forward to introducing the students to the music of that era and recreating some of the magic that the Harlem Hellfighters were known for."

The 369th Experience will include performances of “Charleston Olio”, a new musical featuring TONY Award-winner Phylicia Rashad, and “Jazz for a New Century”, a concert performance to be held at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Under the agreement, S&D Consulting will be solely responsible for all aspects of production as well as all financial responsibility for production, performers, musicians, venues, and additional project vendors.

About the 369th Infantry in World War One: The 369th Experience takes its name from the 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as the Harlem Hellfighters. In April 1918, the unit was assigned to the French Army for the duration of World War One. Although these American soldiers faced racial prejudice while training in South Carolina, the French welcomed them as comrades.

The men served in the Meuse-Argonne offensive and captured the village of Séchault, for which the French government awarded the unit the Croix de Guerre with silver star. Men from the 369th earned two Medals of Honor and several Distinguished Flying Crosses.

The 369th’s regimental band became noted throughout Europe and introduced the new jazz music to Europeans. After the unit’s return to the United States, on February 17, 1919, the band paraded through New York City, displaying its patriotism for all Americans to see.

About World War One: World War One was fought between July 28, 1914, and November 11, 1918. Sixteen million combatants and civilians lost their lives. The United States entered the war on April 6, 1917. While the first American fatalities in the war occurred November 3, 1917, the most intense period of American fighting along the Western Front occurred from late May to November 11, 1918. More than 116,000 American soldiers and sailors died during the war – more than in Korea and Vietnam combined.

About the World War One Centennial Commission: The Commission was created by the U.S. Congress in January 2013 by Public Law 112–272. Its twelve members are appointed by the President, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the National World War One Museum in Kansas City. The Commission's mission is to educate the people of the United States about the history of World War One, the United States' involvement in that war, and the war's effects on the remainder of the 20th century, and to commemorate and honor the participation of the United States and its citizens in the war. For more information, visit our website at www.worldwar1centennial.org.

CONTACTS:

Chris Isleib, U.S. World War I Centennial Commission, Public Affairs Director; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Stephany B. Neal, The 369th Experience, Executive Producer; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Centennial Conference & Trade Fair held in Washington, DC June 14, 2014 

WASHINGTON, DC -- The United States World War One Centennial Commission held a "trade fair" for historians, educators, curators, cultural programmers, authors, re-enactors, students, and other enthusiasts in Washington, DC on June 14 to discuss the upcoming centennial commemoration, share information, and develop partnerships.
Participants receivde a briefing by the Commission on its strategic plan. Discussion of opportunities to partner with the Commission took place. Individuals and organizations made presentations on their centennial programming.
The event provided the opportunity to display materials on commemorative programs and capabilities to attendees seeking ideas and services for state and local commemoration activities and events.

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U.S. Centennial World War One Commemoration Effort Gears Up

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2014 – It was called The Great War even as it was going on. It engulfed the world, and the world is still feeling its effects.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One, and U.S. officials are gearing up to mark the centennial.

In his day job, Robert J. Dalessandro is the deputy secretary for Headquarters Operations at the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). He also is the chair of the World War One Centennial Commission.

The Great War began in July 1914 with the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This triggered an interconnecting network of alliances to spark mobilization, bringing in the empires of Europe. England, France and Russia lined up against Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

A generation of men died in battle on the fields of France. The Somme, Verdun, Ypres and Meuse-Argonne became killing grounds. On the Eastern Front, millions of Germans, Austrians and Russians battled. Overall, about 16.5 million people were killed in the war.

At first, the United States stayed out of it. In fact, when President Woodrow Wilson ran for re-election in 1916, his campaign slogan was "He kept us out of war."

But on April 7, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany and the other Central Powers and raised a military force of more than 4 million men. The United States lost 116,516 service members in World War One. Another 205,690 were wounded.

While the United States didn't enter the war until 1917, the U.S. commemoration commission is beginning its mission of education now to provide Americans some context for the epochal war.

"You can't just drop into World War One in April of '17 without understanding the road to war," Dalessandro said in an interview. "It was complex politically and internationally, and Americans today need to know what Americans then thought about the war."

This summer begins the centennial, Dalessandro said, calling the archduke's assassination "the Fort Sumter of World War One," referring to the site of the U.S. Civil War's first engagement.

Congress chartered the commission to encourage private organizations and state and local governments to organize activities commemorating the centennial. The panel will coordinate activities throughout the United States tied to the centennial and will serve as a clearinghouse for the dissemination of plans and events, he said. While its charter covers the United States, the commission also is looking at international events, and will mark those appropriately, he added.

"We want to lead efforts that raise awareness, that encourage a spectrum of organizations to plan programs and develop an education program targeting America's youth," Dalessandro said.

The education aspect may be the commission's most important challenge, he added. "We need to wake up the interest of a new generation of Americans on the effects of World War One," he said.

Americans today need to know that World War One changed everything for America, Dalessandro said. In the short term, he explained, the experience of the slaughter of the Western Front turned America away from entangling alliances in Europe. But the lesson for leaders, he added, was 180 degrees from that. "They learned we have to be engaged in Europe and involved in business," he said.

While the Civil War saw a draft, Dalessandro said, World War One saw the first universal draft.

"The first question is if you have a universal draft for men, what do you do with African-American men?" he said. African-American leaders were determined that black men fight as combat soldiers and fight in integrated units. They also pushed for black officers, Dalessandro said. "Part of that happened," he added.

For many African-Americans, he noted, the experience in France was their first taste of an environment without Jim Crow laws. "There, they are looked on as equals and that is a revelatory experience," he said.

World War One was the first time masses of American women entered the workforce, Dalessandro said. There were nurses, "yeomanettes," telephone operators, Red Cross workers, "Doughnut Dollies" and women working in factories. And at the end of the war, women had the vote.

"In the Civil War, you have Irish and German immigrants in great numbers in the Army," Dalessandro said. "But in World War One, you have Italian-Americans, Eastern Europeans, Jews, large numbers of Russians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks -- soldiers from ethnic groups that have emigrated, and it's a quick road to citizenship."

The question was whether these men would fight together -- whether they would consider themselves Americans, he added. And the answer was yes, he said.

Some historians call The Great War just Act 1 of a greater war that includes World War Two and the Cold War. Fascism grew out of the experiences in the war. Revolution took hold in Russia, and the Soviet Union was born. The Versailles Peace Treaty set the stage for Act 2 in 1939.

The Battle of Meuse-Argonne was the largest American battle up to that point. More than 500,000 doughboys and Marines fought, and many died, on the fields and forests of France. They faced not only bullets and artillery, but also poison gas, tanks and planes. And yet, the American impression of the war is "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" or movies such as "All Quiet on the Western Front," "Paths of Glory" or "Wings," Dalessandro said.

"This is our biggest challenge," he added, noting that a scene at the end of a recent British movie shows two soldiers going over the top in the Somme in 1916. "There isn't a person in the United Kingdom who doesn't know these guys are not coming back," he said. "We [in America] don't have a national consciousness like that."

World War One set the stage for the rest of the 20th century. It destroyed four empires: the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. It also set the stage for current conditions in the Middle East by the Balfour Declaration, which called for a Jewish homeland in the region and by the victors drawing the borders of new countries.

One hundred years on, World War One continues to cast a shadow, Dalessandro said. The nation needs to learn from it, he added, and the commemoration is a place to start.

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Original article: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=121822

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