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Category: World War I

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

From Behind the Lines to Between the Lines: War Poems and Beyond

Posted by: Kerry Ward

The following is a blog post in honor of National Poetry Month. While walking the halls of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, it is not difficult to be inspired by the Lyric Poetry Hall.  I have often wondered what artists and poets have ventured through these halls for the past 122 years. Were …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Which One Do You Love Most?

Posted by: Lisa Taylor

It’s Valentine’s Day. It seems everyone has love on their minds today—at least half of us, anyway. Last year, the National Retail Federation predicted that 54.7% of the United States adult population was planning to celebrate the holiday with their significant others, friends or pets to the tune of nearly $20 billion. Yes, billion with …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

“Someday at Christmas, There’ll Be No Wars”: Winter Holidays in the Military

Posted by: Megan Harris

This is a guest post by Sam Meier, a former LC Junior Fellow who is currently working on a variety of reference-related projects for the Veterans History Project (VHP).  December 25, 1917 found William James Bean in quarantine at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York. Bean had been inducted into the Army a little more …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Armistice Day: 100 Years Since the end of WWI

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

November 11, 2018 is the 100th anniversary of the formal end of World War I. It seems appropriate to say something about what this new day meant and came to mean. Also, I want to provide some highlights of Folklife Today blogs that marked the 100th anniversary of World War I. These were a part …

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Happy Birthday, VHP! Cheers to 18 Years

Posted by: Kerry Ward

The following is a blog post about Veterans History Project (VHP)’s 18th birthday.    Do you remember your 18th birthday? Birthdays, especially milestone birthdays,are often a time of celebration paired with reflection. You consider how far you have come, and yet dream of the next chapters.  As the Veterans History Project (VHP) turns 18 we find ourselves …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

“Going Where We’re Needed Most”: Recruitment of Military Women Over the Decades

Posted by: Megan Harris

The following is a blog post by Lisa Gomez and Sam Meier, Junior Fellows working for the Veterans History Project (VHP) this summer. To read their previous blog posts from this summer, go here and here. Lisa’s flashback to 2015: I have a vivid memory of listening to Ashton Carter, then-Secretary of Defense, announce that the …