WW I Slide Movie

WWI PICTORIAL JOURNAL

The WW I project is a five-year “labor of love” for the completed digitization of a one-hundred-year-old, bound compilation of news articles, photos, cartoons, and posters (many in color) contemporaneously compiled, according to the donor’s family, during WW I. This compilation consists of the aforementioned media showing men and women from several countries as combatants; POWs and their treatment; the Red Cross; French and German front line, trench pictures; cartoons; military unit patches; military training centers; military and high governmental personnel from many nations; naval vessels; aircraft, including blimps; ammunition, factories, and weapons; flags from around the world; the Rainbow Division; the Story of the 27th Division; addresses from President Wilson; shipbuilding; Baron von Rickthofen (the Red Knight); and much, much more some of which are documented as never before seen.

There are over 1,620 photos, articles, posters, etc. on 503 pages (10”x17”) bound in the original binding that were scanned, captioned, edited, converted, etc. Additionally, in the final product there are several short introductory speeches by General Jack Pershing, Lady Margot Asquith (wife of the British Prime Minister at the time), and U.S. Navy Secretary Josephus Daniels. The entire compilation has period music dubbed over the slides with such tunes as “Over There”; “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”, “Keep the Home Fires Burning”, and dozens more.

Because the images in this project are so wide ranging in telling the story through contemporaneous events of WW I, this has potential for being a cultural resource for an audience of anyone who has a desire to see these period images to include teachers; students; historians; collectors; WW I aficionados; organizational officers of the Red Cross, Blue and Gold Star Mothers; and many, many others. While being so broadly applicable, the project also provides a unique approach to teaching history from the standpoint of a slide movie format with period music created from the scanning, imaging, captioning, editing, and conversion of the more than 1,620 images.

While the project is a self-composition/creation, as a Vietnam Veteran I am a VFW Silver Legacy Life Member and Past Commander of a local VFW Post (eight years); Past VFW District Chief of Staff and Adjutant and have held numerous other positions in the District and the State of NJ. Moreover, I also am an American Legion Life member and the Media Information Officer for our annual Gold Star Mother’s Ceremony (seventh year since its founding) sponsored by our local American Legion Post. As a Legionnaire I am a co-founder and the Media Information Officer for the local event of the “Spirit of America’s Story – The Wall” that was held locally in November 2018 (ending on 11/11/2018) in conjunction with the organization of the same name from Sanduskie, Ohio. This WW I video was presented to attendees daily for the week-long event aimed for a general audience and classes of school children (K-12) being invited to attend the event.