Tag Archives: Meuse

News & Events–Over There: 2018 Events in the Department of the Meuse

January 25, 2018 by Randy
No comments
  25 January, 2018.  German tour guide and friend Markus Klauer made the Webmaster aware of this “Upcoming Program” advertising Centennial commemoration events in the French Department of the Meuse.  Below is a copy of the full brochure in French: avant programme A5_2018 BD     Over the next week or two the Webmaster plans to add many of these events to his English-language list of 2018 events at:  https://meuse-argonne.com/?page_id=2928.    

We Forget Today: The Story of Cpl. Goerge Gaudette, KIA 10 November, 1918

January 22, 2018 by Randy
No comments
  We forget today just what an impact World War I had on the lives of its participants and their families.  Long-time Yankee Division reenactor and researcher Alan Michael Crane recently forwarded this group of photos centered around Corporal Goerge Gaudette, Co. E, 102nd Inf. Regt., 26th Division, who was KIA on 10 November 1918.  He was awarded the DSC posthumously.  The photos also show his mother receiving the DSC from YD General Clarence Edwards as well as his mother making a Gold Star Pilgrimage Continue reading →

Then and Now: Attigny German Airfield (Champagne)

December 30, 2017 by Randy
No comments
Caption:  Griffin Group Photo CH64.  German Aviation Field.  270.5 – 301.7.  30 January, 1919. Technically, the town is in the Champagne Region; but it is often difficult to find and line-up airfields, so the Webmaster selected this photo for the current Then and Now post. The ground in this photo was liberated by the 36th Division, AEF on 12 October, 1918. The photo below shows a series of wind turbines along the D987 south of Attigny.  Those are the only blades turning in the region Continue reading →

La Vie en France #26: Stuff

November 23, 2017 by Randy
No comments
  Happy Thanksgiving 2017 readers!  In a few hours the Black Friday sales start and Americans begin their tradition of collecting more stuff to place in already over-crowded houses.  Sound familiar?   Living in another culture helps one to better understand the plusses and minuses of one’s own culture.  During his six months in France the Webmaster noticed that Europeans tend to have less “stuff” than their American counterparts; whether looking at clothing, dishes and china, collections, etc.  In general, they seem to be less Continue reading →

La Vie en France #25: Additional Thoughts on Exercise

November 17, 2017 by Randy
No comments
In La Vie en France #15 the Webmaster spoke of differences in diet and exercise in Europe and the U.S.  This post is a brief continuation of the discussion; with a focus on exercise.  The discussion resumed when reenactor friends of the Webmaster’s 18 year-old son were extolling the virtues of joining a gym for getting in shape.  “Why not just go outside and do something?” was more or less the son’s reply.   Indeed, it seems that Americans go to great lengths to do Continue reading →

La Vie in France #24: Goodbye Doulcon (France), Hello Gillette (New Jersey)

November 15, 2017 by Randy
2 comments
  Today is 15 November, 2017.  The Webmaster’s six-month stay on the American battlefields in France has come to an end.  In a few hours he will be on a plane headed back to the United States; contemplating what comes next.   Thanks to a wonderful wife and an army of supportive people–on both sides of the Atlantic–he was able to live out his dream of spending significant time on the American battlefields–mostly the Meuse-Argonne.  During that time he led about fifteen small group tours Continue reading →

News and Events–U.S.: Ceremonial Groundbreaking for America’s World War I Memorial

November 7, 2017 by Randy
No comments
  On Thursday, 9 November, at 11AM (EST) the @WW1CC will host a small ceremonial groundbreaking event at Washington, D.C.’s Pershing Park, to thank its partners and supporters.   The event will feature distinguished leaders, well-known guest speakers, and music from the U.S. Army’s Pershing’s Own brass quintet.  Shovels will turn earth that came from the WW1 battlefields of France.   The event will be streamed via Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/ww1centennial.  (Note:  The Webmaster believes the actual event is by invitation only.)   Readers can Continue reading →

Then and Now: Grandpre and Vicinity (77th and 78th Divisions, AEF), Part 2

November 2, 2017 by Randy
7 comments
The tour of the Grandpré battlefield continues…     Caption:  Military Cemetery near Grandpré.  Griffin Group Photo AM372.  Taken 17 January, 1919. Note:  The “now” photo includes a much larger piece of today’s road than seen in the “then” photo. Location:  Along the D946 east of Grandpré.  The road that follows the power lines north is the D6.     Caption:  The Griffin Group Photo is mislabeled.  This is Grèves Ferme, not Belle Joyeuse Ferme.  (Belle Joyeuse Ferme sits on a hilltop much closer to Continue reading →

La Vie en France #22: With Little Steps Momentum Builds

November 2, 2017 by Randy
One comment
  This blogpost is for those readers who think about taking a crazy step off a cliff, like the Webmaster took.  He quit his job as a highly-paid bond analyst in NYC in order to spend six months as a freelance tour guide on the American battlefields of France.   Looking back over the multi-year preparation for this new venture, the Webmaster can see clearly that it was hundreds of little steps; and with each little step the momentum started to build.  Like many readers Continue reading →

Then and Now: Grandpre and Vicinity (77th and 78th Divisions, AEF), Part 1

November 1, 2017 by Randy
9 comments
Situated just south of the Kriemhilde Stellung (aka Hindenburg Line), the French village of Grandpré has fascinated this New Jersey-based Webmaster for some time.  Doughboys of the 77th Division gained a foothold in the southern portion of the town on 15-16 October, 1918; but it was the doughboys of the 78th Division that struggled to take the rest of the town and the “citadel” in late October. The town has some wonderful architecture that sets it apart from many of the rural towns in the Continue reading →