SUBMARINE OFF CAPE COD/WORLD WAR I, POETRY, MORE FILMS

July 26, 2018

Erie, Pennsylvania

As I make final preparations for our trip, I continue to immerse myself in more information about The Great War. Several friends have sent me interesting material and I am trying to catch up on a few films before we leave. I probably should be packing.

So I am going to briefly introduce a few things that I have found very especially interesting, and even controversial.

GERMAN ATTACK ON AMERICAN SOIL

Friend Heather sent me a link to an article published by Time about a little known German attack on American soil. “On July 21, 1918, a German submarine U-156 surfaced three miles off Cape Cod and began firing torpedoes and shells at an unarmed 140-foot-long tugboat called the Perth Amboy and four accompanying barges.” You can read the “Surprising Story of World War I's Only Attack on U.S. Soil. Though the attack’s circumstances were remarkable, its death toll was zero.”  Read the story here:  http://time.com/5343228/wwi-attack-cape-cod/

FILM FOOTAGE OF THE U.S. 112^TH INFANTRY REGIMENT ARRIVING IN CALAIS, FRANCE DURING WORLD WAR I

I just came across this site in my notes and since several of my friends and my family have a connection to the 28^th Division/112^th Infantry, I thought I would share this footage, especially for Ann, Carole J, my family (Uncle Roy Hall was in the 112th) and Sandra F. You can watch it here (1 minute 36 seconds):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4EEzsoPO1s

GOODBYE BILLIE AND WWI POETRY

A new friend for me, but a fellow Erie East graduate with Tim, Jack B, has been sending me a lot of material about World War I that he used in high school history classes over the years.

Goodbye Billie, America Goes To War  1917-1918   is a short documentary made by professional historians and created out of original sound and film as part of the American Historical Association’s Historical Education Project in 1972.

According to the website to access the film, it “surveys the history of the United States in World War I at home and at the battle fronts. A documentary compiled of authentic war films set to vintage sound, designed to stimulate student interest in further study of the war and the times.”  The footage (24 minutes, 17 seconds) includes images of so many of the things I have been reading about, e.g. the American tribute to Lafayette in Paris, ships at sea, submarines, union support and parades, Liberty Bonds, factories hard at work for the war effort, President Wilson, the horses, the clogged roads, the desolation of the French country side, the Unknown Soldier dedication, and more.   https://archive.org/details/goodbyebillyamericagoestowar19171918

The poems, Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen 1917 (British poet) and Spring in the Trenches by Edgar Guest (American poet) are very thought provoking. After reading the poems, students were asked which poem was more anti-war than the other and would they have allowed the poems to be published if they were George Creel, head of the United States Committee on Public Information, a propaganda organization created by Woodrow Wilson during World War I. [I appreciate that Jack shared both the film and the poems with me]

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

TCM recently aired the 1930 film, All Quiet on the Western Front, which was awarded Outstanding Production/Best Picture that year. I have been watching this black and white silent film over the last three days. It was adapted from the book of the same title by Erich Maria Remarque, who fought for Germany on the Western Front. Controversial in its time, the film portrays the violence and futility of war from the German perspective. Youthful fervor gives way to reality on the front lines of war, “Where madness dances with death.”  The barren land, trees gone, barbed wire, all contribute to the starkness of the reality.

Here is an interesting article about the controversy of the book and the film:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/most-loved-and-hated-novel-about-world-war-I-180955540/

Our travel documents came today. I am so hoping that we can stop near the site of my great uncle Archie’s heroic effort near Stenay/Baalon/Mouzay. With so many people on the tour this time who all have special spots to visit, I don’t know if we will get there.

Since we have less than a week before departure, I had better truly concentrate on getting ready—no more side trips through books and films…oh no!!