Friday, April 15, 2016
Don’t-Forget-WWI Project: One hundred and one years ago, from April 22
until May 25, the Second Battle of Ypres reminded the world of the horrors of
trench warfare. The 35 days of fighting saw the first use of poison gas on the
Western Front. The Germans released chlorine gas on April 22
from thousands of 90-pound
cylinders and watched as the deadly mist floated on the wind across No Man’s Land
and into the Allied trenches. Altogether, the fighting for control of the
Belgian town of Ypres resulted in more than 120,000 casualties from both sides,
with little movement of the trench lines.
 |
| French soldiers with improvised gas makes. Source: Greatwarproject.org |
At the same time, counteracting
such death and destruction, the American-led Commission for Relief in Belgium
(CRB), and its Belgian counterpart, the Comite National (CN), agreed in April
1915 to provide food for nearly 2 million northern French trapped behind German
lines. This brought the total number of people it was feeding every day to
nearly 10 million. By the end of the war, the efforts of the CRB and CN had
saved millions from starvation and had become the largest food relief the world
had ever seen. Few Americans know this incredible story. You can read the first
12 pages of my WWI nonfiction book about the CRB and CN, Behind the Lines, by clicking here; while anyone interested in buying the book (print or ebook) can do so by clicking here.
My Post: A lot has happened to me and my CRB project since I last
wrote a post Dec. 6, 2015. The biggest news is that I’ve applied for the National
Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Program.
The NEH describes the program as “intended
to support well-researched books in the humanities that have
been conceived and written to reach a broad readership. Books
supported through the Public Scholar Program might present a narrative history,
tell the stories of important individuals, analyze significant texts, provide a
synthesis of ideas, revive interest in a neglected subject, or examine the
latest thinking on a topic. Most importantly, they should present significant
humanities topics in a way that is accessible to general readers.”
To my way of thinking, this program was written
for me and what I’m trying to do with my CRB trilogy.
Best of all, it can provide up to $4,200 a month
for up to a year. A princely sum for this starving author.
When I attended the annual conference of the American
Historical Association in Atlanta in January, the NEH made a presentation about
multiple programs, including the Public Scholar program. I was fortunate enough
to meet with one of the NEH administrators of the Public Scholar program who
was very helpful in guiding my approach to my application.
He did say, however, that the competition is
fierce. Last year—the first year of the program—the NEH had anticipated 200
applications. They received 500. From those, only 36 were accepted in the
program. I bet they’ll receive twice as many applications for this year’s
competition.
I did get my application in by the February deadline and
also secured two references from two kind and generous colleagues—Professor Branden
Little (who teaches at Weber State University and wrote the foreword to Behind
the Lines), and Dr. George H. Nash, the preeminent biographer of
Herbert Hoover. Thank you to both!
Now it’s a waiting game—a long waiting game. The NEH will announce
the 2016/2017 recipients in August. The program begins in September.
In the meantime, I am continuing my research on the CRB,
Comite National, Belgium, and World War One. I hope to begin writing Book Two
in June.
End of Post.
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