Foundation News
Inaugural World War I Symposium:
“The Generation that Changed the World: Voices from the Great War” at The National Press Club September 12
Six distinguished speakers will lecture on a variety of WWI topics at the Inaugural World War I Symposium at The National Press Club in Washington, DC on Friday, September 12, 2025. Digging into intriguing aspects of the American experience in World War I and showing how echoes of the Great War are still being heard in the United States a century later.
The event will include a full day of lectures on The Voices from the Great War from the award-winning authors and presenters:
- Jim Leeke - From the Dugouts to the Trenches is Leeke’s third book to be nominated for the Larry Ritter Award.
- Marvin W. Barrash - The Mysterious Disappearance of the U.S.S. Cyclops.
- Mitchell Yockelson - Forty-Seven Days: How Pershing’s Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in World War I.
- Dr. Frank A. Blazich Jr., PhD - Feathers of Honor: U.S. Army Signal Corps Pigeon Service, 1917-1918.
- Jari Villanueva, Executive Director of The Doughboy Foundation, will present: The Yanks are Coming – US Army Bands of World War I (1917 – 1919).
- Theo Mayer, Chief Technologist and Program Manager, US World War I Centennial Commission (2015-2024) will present and demonstrate how modern digital platforms unlock new avenues to interactive learning, bridging 1914 – 1918 to today for both classrooms and enthusiasts.
The Symposium will conclude with a wreath laying at the National World War I Memorial.
"Constructing the nation's new WWI Memorial in 2024 was a proud accomplishment -- but it was just the beginning of our commitment to sharing the stories of the brave Americans who won the Great War," said Denise Doring VanBuren, Chair, Board of Directors, The Doughboy Foundation. "Our inaugural World War I Symposium is designed to keep the effort going -- that is, to build on the foundation of our beautiful new monument to further increased awareness of what the Doughboy generation experienced. We're dedicated to staging educational resources and events that keep alive the stories of men and women who literally changed the world through their sacrifices -- stories that were left untold for too many generations."
The Symposium is presented by the Doughboy Foundation, and The MacArthur Memorial, which is a museum and research center dedicated to preserving and presenting the story of the life of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur.
The Doughboy Foundation and its generous sponsors are offering the Symposium registration fee for only $25. Learn more about the Symposium, and get your tickets here.
