Bridging cultures and meeting new and fascinating people are two of the side-benefits of travelling the battlefields–even 100 years after the end of the war.  The Webmaster has met so many people during his years of visits to the Meuse-Argonne that it would be hard to count them all.  In one way or another, many of these people have enriched his understanding of this period of history, the local region, and French culture.  Some of these have developed into decades-long friendships.

 

Since re-starting this website in 2014, he has tried to introduce readers to many of these people too.  Thus, in about five years the “People of the Meuse-Argonne” category in the blog section of the website has introduced readers to 27 people–14 Americans and 13 Europeans–including:

 

John Schooley, American who cycled the route of his grandfather

Lee S. Anthony, Ph.D., American historian of the 80th Division AEF

John Cleaveland, American photorealism painter who has painted the battlefields

Mike Cunha, American creator of WW1 history podcasts

Dominique Lacorde, French local historian always willing to help Americans

Quentin Pasquis, French reenactor and historian

Yann Castlenot, French-Canadian who researches Native Americans

Manon Bart, French employee with the ABMC

Jean-Paul de Vries, Dutch owner of world-famous Romagne ’14-’18 Museum

Sjoerd van der Ven, Dutch reenactor and historian

Lillian Pfluke, American living in Europe and founder of American War Memorials Overseas

Alain Cesarini, French historian who is very active in le Souvenir Français

Brian Grogan, American photographer of the battlefields

Maarten and Didi Otte, Dutch owners of Nantillois ’14-’18 B&B and Museum in Nantillois

Marc and Elfi Calluy, Belgian owners of Le Coq d’OR B&B and Bar in Montfaucon

Connie Ruzich, American blog writer regarding WW1 poetry

Mark D. Van Ells, American historian and author of “America and WW1:  A Traveller’s Guide”

Jan and Lenie Mulder, Dutch owners of Arara B&B in Montfaucon

Stefan Schweitzer, German historian and publisher of https://www.morthomme.com

Robert J. Laplander, American historian on the Lost Battalion

Ed Klekowski, American historian and author who visits the Meuse-Argonne frequently

Michael Grams, Tour lecturer and host at Normandy Battlefield Tours who grew up in France

Christina Holstein, U.K. historian and battlefield tour guide best know for her Verdun battlefield guides

Mike Hanlon, American publisher and was guide for Valor Tours until recently

Stephen Skinner, American authority on Lt. Frank Luke

Wim Degrande, Belgian author and historian who visits the Meuse-Argonne frequently

Randy Gaulke, American webmaster and battlefield tour guide

 

Readers should not fear, the Webmaster has additional people in mind for future “People of the Meuse-Argonne” articles.  However, he also invites readers to email him with the names of people that they would like to see written up.

 

Of course, joining the Meuse-Argonne.com Facebook group is another good way to meet people who actively research and visit the Meuse-Argonne.

 

One final note:  As with all categories in the “blog” portion of the website, the best way to see all the articles relating to a certain category is to click on the desired category on the right hand side of the screen.