Baseball and the Star Spangled Banner

One aspect of American life not anticipated to be uprooted by World War I: Major League Baseball. Hundreds of current and future MLB players served in WWI. Due to shorthanded rosters, the 1918

Artillery

World War I was a war of artillery - The Big Guns. Rolling barrages destroyed the earth of France and Belgium and the lives of many. Millions of shells were fired in single battles, with one million

Baking During a Time of Crisis

The national food effort, and reorganization of the supply chain, served an Allied victory and inarguably changed how Americans ate, prepared and thought about food.

Beer and World War I

Beer was part of daily life for soldiers during WWI. This article focuses on the personal and official references to beer during World War I, held in the archives of the Museum and Memorial.

Prohibition

On Jan. 16, 1919, after nearly a century of activism, the Prohibition movement finally achieved its goal to rid American society of “the tyranny of drink.” Passed by Congress on Dec. 18, 1917, the

Dogs in WWI

Dogs played an important military role for most European armies during World War I, serving in a variety of tasks. Dogs hauled machine gun and supply carts. They also served as messengers, often

Football and WWI

Sports, including football, had an important role in preparing U.S. soldiers for combat in World War I. By 1917, when the United States entered WWI, football had been played by many of the young men

Grenades

In World War I, hand grenades were also known as “hand bombs.” The general philosophy for their use in the fighting armies was that grenades could kill the enemy underground or behind cover. They

Pandemic Then and Now

As American soldiers mobilized for war in the spring of 1918, a handful of army physicians began noticing a worrisome influenza moving among their soldiers. Often resulting in a deadly pneumonia, it

Italy Enters World War I

When World War I began in July 1914, Italy was a partner in the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, but decided to remain neutral. However, a strong sentiment existed within the general

June 28, 1914

At around 11 a.m. today, two shots rang out from a street corner in the center of this city, mortally wounding the archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and

Inter-Allied Games

The scheduled Olympics in 1916 were canceled due to World War I. While the Olympics resumed in 1920, a seminal event featuring renowned athletes from across the world took place in 1919 in the

Stories from the Somme

Lieut. Raymond B. Penniman was just one of countless young men who fought in the Battle of the Somme. The following letters were donated to the Museum in 2013 by his relatives.

Poppies for Remembrance and Commemoration

American Moina Michael is credited for giving rise to the use of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance. Working as a YMCA Overseas War secretary in New York, she read that John McCrae had died and