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Louisiana's Fort Polk became Fort Johnson, the latest Army base to replace its Confederate name. It now honors a soldier who earned a Medal of Honor a century after the night that made him a hero.
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Medical historian Lindsey Fitzharris tells the story Dr. Harold Gillies, a military surgeon who spent WWI reconstructing the faces of soldiers and sailors who'd suffered horrific facial injuries.
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The Harlem Hellfighters served in a segregated U.S. Army unit and were known for their valor and skill on the battlefield, even while facing discrimination from fellow soldiers and at home.
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When the U.S. entered World War I, W.E.B. DuBois and Tulsa lawyer B.C. Franklin saw a rare opportunity: Black Americans serving in the military might finally persuade white citizens that they deserved equal respect. But the discrimination they faced in civilian life continued in the trenches and on the homefront. After the war, white mobs plundered and burned Black neighborhoods throughout the country. And during the “Red Summer” of 1919, whites lynched more than 80 people, including Black veterans. Groups like the African Blood Brotherhood responded by urging people to defend themselves — with force, if necessary. On May 31, 1921 the fight arrived in Greenwood.
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Many Americans may have forgotten that Veterans Day began as a commemoration of World War I veterans. NPR's Kathleen Rushlow remembers her grandfather, who served in the 12th Machine Gun Battalion.
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Peter Jackson's documentary, featuring expertly restored archival footage from the first World War, is "astonishing"; his "digital tools summon empathy, not spectacle."
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Fenton Caldwell was a reconnaissance pilot who was flying over France on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1918. His niece, Joy Panagides, shared an audio recording of his memories of the day.
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More than 200 American women played a crucial role in the war as telephone operators. But when the shooting stopped, they weren't considered veterans and their story was largely forgotten. Until now.
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Twelve previous government-funded expeditions had tried and failed to locate HMAS AE-1 and its crew of 35, which disappeared less than three months into the war.
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One hundred years ago today, the U.S. entered World War I. American GIs marched into battle armed with one important — and then still-novel — item to give them a jolt of energy and raise morale.