general john joseph pershing or as he was caught with admiration and respect him a blackjack pershing. a remarkable career that began and ended with the dropping of the first atomic on. he gave himself to the service of his country. he left a legacy of strength, simplicity and honor that will remain etched in the soles of his countrymen for all time. this is his story. ♪ ♪ the story of john j pershing begins a century ago in the heart of the great midwest. missouri was a troubled state when he was born at laclede in 1860. bitterness and controversy had raped the valleys and the winds and his years in his youth blue hot from the battlegrounds of the civil war. as a boy he stood and watched soldiers from his town return from the final campaign at appomattox. after that as the nation itself began to bind its wounds, missouri turned its attention to the pain of its rugged but productive soil. missouri boys grew to their manhood in those distant years of your -- long ago on a regimen of hard work and piety. a time in the home of his you shave -- shaped him for years of greatness. those yea

pershing said you are not. pershing put his foot down and said you're not putting the monument up.started the discussion. what can we do with this piece of artwork? the final discussion was to put this piece of artwork up inside the cemetery where your son is buried. the difference is, it cannot look exactly like your son, it cannot be a replica, but you notice it is an officer. it does have the features of her son being an officer. and it was donated by her to the cemetery, and eventually the rights or signed over to us. this is the only piece of artwork donated and created by an outside entity, and outside family given to the abmc. all of these other pieces were created by the abmc. if we go over here, i want to show you where her son is buried. this is where her son was buried, and the conversation went on like this. when you come in, what you see today was not the way it looked in the 1920's. the trees weren't here, other architectural features didn't exist. the mother asked -- she wanted her son buried next to the flagpole. in 1923, the flagpole actually sat where the eagle wa

mitchell: pershing is 57 years old. he had a pretty illustrious career, including a couple of stints in the phillipines after the spanish-american war. then he was an advisor and observer during the russo-japanese war. where is this? guillaume: saint nazare. close to nantes. western france. that was one of the main ports where the american troops will arrive during the entire war. from there, heading inland, where there were a lot of american bases for supplies. they had goods, shells, all the logistics there. it was a very important port. mitchell: did the french provide the port to the americans? was it used by them exclusively for their supplies and their troops? guillaume: i am not sure. but that was the main port where supplies would arrive. here is another boat coming. that is probably june of 1917. mitchell: the first combat contingent was the u.s. 1st division. this might be those troops who arrived in france with lots of fanfare. guillaume: bordeaux now. southwest france. very famous for wine. they are entering

american officers who all look like general pershing because he was one of them. slender, sam brownback, the nice, tidy mustache that blackjack had. there are more german pows to the rear. they were placed in p.o.w. or panzer camps. >> most of them came from the front line. they were keeping the prisoners close by. it was too difficult. >> these troops look like they are a battle hardened already. >> they are ready to go. and those are -- i think browning automatics? >> yes. >> those are captured germans. and these are all of the artifacts. they have from the germans -- >> which probably they take back to the u.s. as souvenirs, in museums now. >> yes. all the rifle uniforms. the tension wheel. very important. something we don't even think many were used, multiple site guards. >> to think this is in chateau-thierry? >> probably close by. >> the engine for the car. >> yes, that is a rental car. it looks like the same model. >> the american car has seen some action. they bought forwards, but there were number of other manufacturers, too. a number of them were used as

there's general pershing. this, um, image here has been made into a still photograph and heavily used. set for 11:00as a.m. on november 11 of 1918. allies continued to fight up until the last moment, even though they knew the war was coming to an end. marshal, commander of all the allied forces, wanted everyone to keep attacking, in fear that, since it was an armistice and not an actual surrender, that the germans might renege on it and continue past 11:00 a.m. there were a number of casualties right up until the last moment. >> so, we see here they are waiting. >> synchronizing their watches. waiting for the actual moment that the war will ultimately be over. >> now it's 11:00. >> yes. >> great moment we see. civilians here. ofrybody enjoying now end the war, officially signed. and that will be time for reconstruction, also time to take care about dead soldiers, digging graves. >> also time to start casting the blame of who started the war and who should pay the cost, witch, ultimately -- which, ultimately, t

pershing left to reorganize before launching another big offensive.have the front line that says october 31. and on the next day, american troops put more pressure on the germans and the result is the germans have no other line to retreat. so it's a big defeat. and in the last 10 days, the american troops will get to the muse river and what we see far north. and then that frontline, as we see along the muse river, is the front line of the muse argonne ending at 11:00 in the morning on november 11. >> what we don't see on this map to the left and the west of the argonne forest is where the fighting that the french 4th army and later two american divisions attached. that was a significant part of this campaign, as well, right? >> yes, exactly. sometimes we say american-french offensive because this part was held by mainly american troops, plus some french troops under pershing's command. but we have a combined offensive with the french 4th army. we have an american division that fought their, including the second division of the marine brigade capturing

pershing is out there on the front line. pershing had had experienced before of serving alongside soldiers that were in a way nontraditional soldiers. he got the name blackjack because he led what were known as the buffalo soldiers, african-american soldiers, on the american frontier. and he had appraised them their , valor and abilities when he got back, and some of the uppity cadets at west point had taken offense at that. they had given him the name, which they thought was not a compliment, blackjack. but he continued. that was his name up through the ranks, his nickname. anyway, he was a person who appreciated a soldier who could be at his side in a time of need, and for that person to be the best person to do that job. and i think that is one reason why he said to newton, newton baker, we have got to have women. by the way, the army is a little slow on this. really what they wanted, they wanted women to do the traditional things, as did woodrow wilson, that they had always done. knitting for the red cross on the far lef

general pershing ranked these battles. it was held a little earlier in 1917. it is a top a hill which can be seen from miles away, and they also have commanding views from them. pershing said he wanted these monuments to outlast time itself and be forever a memorial to the american contribution. third slide. this is the third of the big memorials that sits on a hill in france, about 37 miles east of paris. the american troops played an important part in stopping the fence in 1918 which threatened to take paris. we will try to run through the rest of the slides. next, please. a smaller memorial of one of the first engagements of american troops. each of these memorials has maps and some effort to explain the action that occurred. next. another one of the smaller monuments, a place in the champagne region in france. this is what the cemetery actually looks like. quite a different look from what you see in a national cemetery in the united states. latin crosses and the star of david for the jewish dead. 14,000 graves, our largest cemetery from either war in europ

. >> is that pershing or... >> no. same.ll look the [laughter] >> they all wanted to look like pershing or he wanted this elm to look like him. >> that's the typical landscape the argonne. steep slope. and then you are uphill, down into another valley, then another one, so the french, they there and thes germans had the same on the other side of the slopes. we have barracks also here. this must be na far in the rear then, right? >> probably. >> so now they're heading to the front. >> the french again. and supply. one other -- it's a big one. a very big camp. >> do you think that's an abandoned french camp? >> yes, probably. big one at the chateau, on the southwest side of the argonne, looking quite landscape there, but can be also close by. be a dog fight or something going on, because they're all pointing towards the sky. >> hmm. observation. >> the few trees that remained after. disturbed the landscape that we still have nowadays, except we have the trees back. still have the disturbed landscape everywhere. make thei

i talked a little bit before about how pershing had to regroup. really it started in late september, early october, where the germans were preventing the americans from moving forward. susan: it really is quite stunning to look at these battle scenes between the germans, americans, french, and british and to think what strong allies we all are today. allison: that is the most interesting things about looking back at these films. you can see the progression of history, but the people fighting in these wars did not know what was going to happen. today, we have a very sort of privileged way of looking back at it. mitchell: this is really the beginnings of coalition warfare. susan: could you speak more about that? mitchell: today, we have nato. it is not unusual for american troops and french troops and troops from all other countries fighting together, analogous to the war against terrorism. but world war i, on a large scale basis the first time that , americans, french, and even british joined together and fought on the same battlefield and served u

and he was a captain on general pershing's staff. and he -- he got assigned to general rockenbach and within a year he was a temporary colonel. and so he deserves a lot of credit. which is dealt with some of the reports in how patton helped get things mobilized and equipped for training. they were at great disadvantages in europe just trying to get enough literature translated from the french to figure out what kind of tactics to follow and getting equipment to train on. they were in a much greater disadvantage in the continental united states because they didn't have the kind of equipment they were going to be using in europe and they might have been translating french manuals and doctrine on their own, but they were doing it independent of what the aef was doing. i don't know if that answers your question. >> other comments or questions? >> i have two questions. your discussion of tankers, it's kind of interesting up in gettysburg, you go up there as a tourist and you get some of the guys up there and here [indiscernible] and when

host: who was general pershing? allison: the commander of the american expeditionary forces in world war i which was the term used for the american army. here they're in the u.s. capitol rotunda. that is the lincoln platform , which was a platform that was used to put president lincoln's coffin. host: importantly, that is the president of the united states, warren harding, and mrs. harding laying the ribbon across the casket. mitchell: that is correct. they are representing of course the united states and, ultimately, not to jump ahead to much, but he will give the keynote speech. mitchell: the streets of washington were lined with thousands of folks who waited for the casket to be removed and brought by the honor guard down pennsylvania avenue and then across the bridge into virginia. and i think what i've read is it was one of the largest turnouts for any parade in the city. host: what does that say about the american public at that time? mitchell: well, it says a lot that the american sacrifice was important. tha

the american expeditionary force under general john pershing came ashore expecting to fight. some units were sent directly into the line to strengthen french and reddish positions. the doughboys tasted french warfare for the first time and the initiation was a rugged one. general john pershing had his plan to form the field army at the time required to assemble the army delayed the formation. the pressure of german drives along with the spring of 1918 force the depletion -- soldiers under his command but unable to bring together into one effect of army. the man who would make up such a force when the time came gained experience quickly. they acquired the status of veterans as the german were driven back. in late july 1918, general john pershing created the first united states army pick immediate steps were concentrating forces on the line pick that was the point. the germans had held 25 miles wide early in the war. 16 miles enabling the enemy to progress. more than half 1 million assembled for the task of crushing it out of existence. 15 divisions were moved into position. by

pershing actually had a law degree. did once hehings he got to france in -- was he fought a bitter battle with the british in france. who basically wanted american --ops just to be fed into particularly the british, just to be fed into their unit. they did not want an american army in france. wilson got lots of complaints as the war went on, particularly after july, 1918. point, it sort of looks like at some point, the british and french were really more worried that the americans might win the war than they were that they might lose it. i don't think that was conscious, but if you sort of look at how they behaved, that certainly seems to be the case. i think pershing -- the two main ideas that he had, one of them was to make sure that the american troops were not committed or fit into existing units. assemble was to try to a major army with oversized divisions because he knew that there was no real way to replace it. i think there's also politics involved. wilson wanted the united states to help decide. together a team

pershing.al event. john in paris tonight. thanks, john. arthel: from paris we go to arizona. we're watching the senate race there and also like florida a winner has still not been named. how long it might take until those results are in. ♪ ♪ the new capital one savor card. earn 4% cash back on dining and 4% on entertainment. now when you go out, you cash in. what's in your wallet? now when you go out, you cash in. a moment of joy. a source of inspiration. an act of kindness. an old friend. a new beginning. some welcome relief... or a cause for celebration. ♪ what's inside? ♪ [laughter] possibilities. what we deliver by delivering. (music throughout) that skills like teamwork, attention to detail, and customer service are critical to business success. the kind of skills, that work for you. arthel: they are serving up the margaritas in arizona. it will be days until we know the winner of the senate race there. that is because election officials are still counting ballots. the latest tally shows d

so pershing doesn't -- and i'm not a big fan of pershing, either. if we follow his performance, he winds up having to step out of command himself because he's not achieving the results he thought he would. i do think it's somewhat founded he doesn't have that much confidence in the military leadership of the allies. so let's flip that over and take a look at sims. we already talked about sims, when these destroyers come over and that first slide. is sims uptight or reluctant to hand over these assets to british -- i mean, the ships are commanded by americans. so, at the tactical level of war, you know, it's americans commanding american ships. it's not like we sent ships over there and the british, you know, crewed them out and everything. but bailey is in operational command. bailey's the guy who is more or less directing them from headquarters. so does sims come across as being reluctant to do this? >> no. >> why not? >> he realizes the importance of maintaining unity of command in this larger war effort. he realizes that by sort of investing in t

general john j pershing was actually from missouri. not far from the national world war i memorial and this was his headquarters flag and in 1918, the society of wesley college awarded him a special honor of making him an honorary member of the society. this was very important because his wife, frankie was a member of that society and she and his three daughters died in a fire at the presidio in san francisco three years before you. he had not gotten over morning the license -- life of his wife and daughters. he was so touched that he sent them this flag so they would have that as a remembrance of frankie and a few years ago one of the trustees of wellesley college got it donated from the college to the museum and it has held a place of pride ever since. one of the tools that general john pershing had at his disposal was one of the first tanks developed during the war. tanks were used on a limited basis in 1960 but by 1917 they came into their own and the french two-man tank behind these is called the ft 17 for its production year. one

pershing recognizes this. as a goodwill story. he comes back to the u.s. and he is touted as not only the hero of the argonne but the hero of the americans of world war i. he goes back to tennessee, where he becomes a celebrity, and his story just rises and rises. hollywood thinks this is such a great opportunity to make a war story. during world war ii, gary cooper plays alvin york in the movie sergeant york. he wins an oscar for the performance. more toalk a little bit point out where approximately york captured the troops. >> we are now above the village. we have several hills facing us. each of the hills was fortified by the germans. the firing neutralizing the 82nd division came from beats heels -- these hills. heroic moments, being able to go downhill with 132 german prisoners. it's supposed to be one of these hills. people think about the one we are facing right now in the distance. but it's unclear which one it is. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org

general pershing stood as the soldier's father to fill the role of a relative. along the way from france to a resting place, eight men selected by general purging accompanying the body of the unknown. we are going to hear from patrick o'donnell and learn the story of those eight bearers and their heroism on the battlefield. patrick o'donnell is a best-selling and critically acclaimed military historian and an expert on elite units. he is the author of 11 books. he is the recipient of several national awards. he served as a combat historian in a marine rifle platoon during the battle of the lucia and speaks on espionage special operations. he has provided historical's -- consulting for dreamworks in a series band of brothers and documentaries produced by bbc, history channel, and fox news. to read you some snippets of reviews on his newest book from wall street journal, fluid prose, mr. o'donnell relates both the history of the unknown soldier and the story of america's part in world war i or the soldiers experience. from usa today, a gripping story by mr. o'donn

so they contacted general pershing and asked for his help.hing at this point had been fighting desperately to keep the americans as an independent unit, hoping to form his own independent first army at some point by the end of the summer. but he recognized the perilous situation, and he offered the french two divisions that were in the training area not far off from paris. one was the second division, the other was the third division. an american division, at that time, was little more than 27,000 officers and men. that was twice the size of even the french and german forces and the british forces. the second division headed into the direction of belleau wood, while the third division head to chateau-thierry. in ang first on may 30, motorized unit. they left the area around france, heading on highways that were packed with civilians, who knew the germans were in the vicinity and threatening paris. the roads were clogged. it was difficult to for those troops get to the chateau-thierry area. further troubling their efforts were the fact that th

pershing said no, i've been watching what you are doing. we are not going to have that.e going to fight as a unified american command or not at all. that's how we managed to keep the army together, because he realized if they allowed the allied commanders in europe to utilize the american force, not much would change. so in come the americans with a different attitude. and a lot of people say well, , the americans made the difference. well we made a difference, not the difference. at the same time they had to take into account that they were running out of supplies, the germans. their economy was in shambles, generations of men had been lost. they didn't have much more to run on. then take into account the new forms of combat that were taking place. tank warfare had been introduced, the battle of cambrai. then you have -- that was another factor involved. with the american showing up at the much of the same time, you wind up getting the defeat of germany that would take place. the american soldier had just as much bad experiences as the europeans, as the french as the be

in practice, pershing and other americans, this is the first talk i've given to this soundtrack with horses in the background, i love it. [ laughter ] purging had to compromise. in the spring of 1918, he had to break up american divisions and units into smaller formations and embed them under french and buddhist commands. it's important to keep that in mind. in practice, we are fighting under french and british command for much of the war, it's really only in the fall that we begin to fully command our own operations. the marines as i was mentioning are the first and yes i know, the army was involved in bill wood as well, the american army prograde in the third division, deeply involved in bill wood but the wood was primarily a marine operation. june 1918, the marines can say, rightfully so, that they are the first branch of the united states service to experience modern warfare outside north america. and bella would, they acquire this reputation as being devil dogs because of the way they fight. but it's a complicated story. belleau wood was a battle that was a slugfest. it's remark

take the -- it was extremely important to general pershing. the army knew this was going to be a difficult effort. to 84th brigade reported this corps commander. he was from the citadel and a tough guy. you are would take this position, or i want to see a list of 5000 casualties. we don't take that position. i will be at the top of that list. the 84th brigade with the 83rd was heavilyts flank pushed back by the germans. area was heavily for five by machine guns and artillery. mac arthur's men even were stopped by the liar and hung up on it. casualties were mounting. one report says bodies were piled on top of each other. again, stillarted the 84th couldn't break through. keep attacking. linely broke through the and rove the germans back. the americans were on the high ground. the germans didn't go far. for the mostion part was in american hands. and that alleviates fire elsewhere on the line. where would mac arthur's men have come? faced thether we farms and then make their way into the forest on top of the face theen starting to german french

taking this was incredibly important to general pershing. the army knew this was going to be a difficult effort. the 84th brigade reported to a commander by the name of charles p. summerall. he was from the citadel, and a tough guy. he would tell macarthur, your brigade will take this position, or i want to see a list of 5000 casualties. macarthur responded, we don't take that position, not only will you see a list of 5000 casualties, but i will be at the top of that list. the 84th brigade with the 83rd brigade on its flank was heavily pushed back by the germans. this whole area was heavily fortified with machine guns, artillery, and the germans had strung wire all along the line. macarthur's men were stopped by the wire and hung up on it. casualties were mounting. one report says bodies were piled on top of each other. the next day, october 15, the attack started again, still the 84th couldn't break through. summerall whod by said, you will keep attacking, macarthur's troops finally broke through the line and drove the germans back. the ame

it has great pedestrian traffic. >> reporter: the design is ony dispt pershing park.he designer, commander of the american forces in world war i, ew it's a fitting location. the memorial add depth. >> we really amassed quite a crowd earlier. >> reporter: t while design went through most of its approvals, some are yet to be met. >> we need donations, grassroots efforts. >> reporter: the plan is to have the memorial ready for dedicati by 2021. innorthwest, derrick ward, news 4. >>> an apology last night from a "snl" star pete didson for mocking dan crenshaw's eye patch. >> this is pete davidson. he looks like if the meth from "breaking bad" was a person. >> but after that crenshaw took a serious moment to talk about the importanc of veterans and those killed on 9/11. >> never forget those we lost on 9/11, heroes like pete's father. so i'll justsay, pete, never forget. >> never forget. and that is for both of us. >> crenshaw a former navy seal suffered an eye injury in afghanistan when an ied asploded. he won a tongressional seat tuesday. >>> thanksgiving is just a few w

the army at the time was segregated and general pershing had a difficult time deciding whether or not he wanted to use them in combat. but the french were very eager for americans and so he essentially pawned off the african-american troops to the french. but stowers was not actually in the battle of the meusse-argonne but was nearby and can you tell us where the action was that cost corporal stowers his life? >> the action cannot take place very far away from the argonne on the western side. his regiment captured several lines. on september 28, 1918, their hill 88 to capture and when they get close to the german line, the germans, they put their hands up in the air and they said they were to surrender. so sold either -- so soldiers from the 371 get close to the german trench and the germans finally jump back to their trench and machine gun and start to fire. many officers and many soldiers are killed or wounded in a few seconds and freddy stowers was then in charge of his unit because as a corporal, most of the officers died around so he decided to rush to the machine gun german posi

general pershing came over. mr. moizan: that is belleau wood out of the village of belleau where the american second fought for three weeks. the memorial was designed by an american artist and dedicated in 1955. we see the trees already there, looking very similar to what it is nowadays. mr. yockelson: yes, this is right in the woods, which the marines have captured. mr. moizan: it's showing a marine in action. and the wood of belleau was renamed the wood of the marine brigade by the general of the sixth army. you have the band now and the chapel is already built. this is the chapel from the different cemetery. now we see the difference with what we have before. we see the headstones that are marble made. mr. yockelson: it's very sacred ground for the marines. they are the ones that establish that battleground area and turned it into a memorial to the fifth and sixth marines who fought and died in june of 1918. they still visit that area. mr. moizan: quite a lot, yeah. we have the visitor center in the background. b

people gathered to rememberhe fallen in pershing park.named after general john pershing, commander of american forces in world war i. a world war i memorial will be built there. e that'sxpected to be dedicated by 2021. >>> alarm tonight in maryland neighborhood. people found flyers promoting hate. capital gazette reports that neighbors discovered 30 to 40 flyers from the kkk in theire glen bur neighborhood yesterday. the flyers are protected under freedom of speech, but police e looking into surveillance video to figure out who did this. since january, a number of kkk flyers have also been posteun around loucounty. >>> all right. so we're a little more than month from winter, and storm team 4 isorking for you to answer the question on the minds of so many. >> i'm chief meteorologist doug kammerer. you want to know how much snow we're going get this win iter? i've been working hard on that forecast to get y ready for the winter. >> and it wouldn't be weather without an official pat c snow stimp. how much are we going to get? you're the guy

host: a name mentioned that congress it -- in that conversation was general john pershing. how significant was he in the u.s. effort in world war i? guest: very significant. pershing had a law degree. , and ofhe things he did course he got to france in 17, he thought a bitter battle with the british -- fought a bitter -- bitter battle with the british and the french. -- they did not want an independent american army functioning in france. wilson got lots of complaints as the war went on, particularly after 1918. i said at one point, it sure looks like that at some point, the british and french were more worried that the americans might win the war then they were that they might lose it. if you started to look at how they behaved, that certainly seems to be the case. mainnk pershing, the two ideas he had, one of them was to make sure that the american troops were not committed piecemeal or fed into existing tots, and the other was major army with oversized divisions because he knew that there was no real way of replacing it. guest: i think there was also politics involved. w

pershing was a difficult man to understand. he was in some ways responsible for the heavy casualties american troops took. but was in many ways also a very good commander. steve: what are we seeing here? edward: well, they're giving credit to the fact that they were not all from new york. of course, this is the actual film footage of charles receiving his medal of honor in boston common. he was richly deserving of that medal. he was totally devoted to his men. and he sacrificed everything. and this is the division parading in new york city with their symbol, the statue of liberty, when they came back to the united states. steve: they are carrying flags. what does that represent? edward: flags of their division and their regiments. steve: so is that another bit of humor at the end of the film? anjuli: yes. definitely. the women want to see their men, these glorified positions, but in reality he's still doing k.p. duty. and here, of course, you have the burglar's mother. edward: looking for him. and this actual parade as it happe

visa free access to the area has been the most tangible change leap no surprise then the present pershing come up the end of these are the ones with a lavish ceremony on the country's border with you. under the terms of the deal ukraine also gained preferential access to european markets the e.u. has long been ukraine's biggest single trading partner since o.c.a. sion came into effect trade between ukraine and the block has been growing by over twenty percent a year but what the association agreement these people protesting for didn't include was a firm promise of future membership instead it merely acknowledged ukraine's quote european aspirations decision makers in kiev hope that in time brussels would offer a road map to membership ideas. and there still waiting the answer seems to be a polite but very definite no no. and from kiev we are joined now by has she been the european partner that the ukrainians wanted and hoped for. she's the leader hopeful but she's definitely. the best. getting crucial point of view in ensuring. russia's involvement in eastern ukraine the sanctions against

no surprise then that present pershing come out the end of these are the ones with a lavish ceremony on the country's border with you. under the terms of the deal ukraine also gained preferential access to european markets the e.u. has long been ukraine's biggest single trading partner since so ca sion came into effect trade between ukraine and the block has been. growing by over twenty percent yes but what the association agreement these people were protesting for didn't include was a firm promise of future membership instead it merely acknowledged ukraine's quote european aspirations decision makers in kiev hope that in time brussels would offer a road map to membership five years later and they still waiting the answer seems to be a polite but very definite no no. that's it you're up to date so have more for you at the top of the hour in the meantime of course as always the web site that's state w dot com. germany state by state. the most colorful. the liveliest. the most traditional. find it all at any time. check in with a web special. take a tour of germany state by state. on w

horrible, it's rainy and chilly, men are getting sick, the casualty numbers are raising, general pershing is getting frustrated. he hears about this group of men that are trapped, that are cut off. also hearing about this is a newspaper reporter looking for a story. many importers were in b with the army at the time. the 77th with part of the first core under the first army. the newspaper reporter sent word back to his editor in the united states, and he coined the name the lost battalion. the truth of the matter is these five 34 men were not lost, they -- 554 men were not lost, they knew where they were, the division commander where they were. and they weren't truly a battalion. it was a difficult situation. over the course of almost six days, they are losing men daily. the germans are firing on them. some of the men leave, try to get water, they encounter germans who give the men a note, to ask them to surrender. he refuses, he wants to hold out. the 77th division is trying to get into the forest. it's very dense and very difficult terrain. there are ravines, there are small streams goi

so these 5 allied commanders, from the uk, [indiscernible] from france, pershing from the united states, diaz, italy. jack from belgium. here they gathered to dedicate the land on which the memorial was to be built. it speaks to the honor that was being paid to the united states that they would gather here in 1921. they they would honor the u.s. with their presence and to mark the significant contribution, the compelling contribution that the united states made to ending world war i. of course, what was so extraordinary was the impact that it ended up having on the united states. you can't think of the american century without understanding the enduring impact that world war i had on the beginning of that period. so, you know, this -- this wall, this memorial, this story has a personal story. its personal for me too. couple of ways. i'm an american citizen. i've lived here nearly 20 years. and i'm australian. and for australians, world war i is the seminal birthing moment for the nation. the united states -- the most compelling stories are ones of victory. for australia, the compelling

pershing was basically right. i'm not faulting -- whoever made that original decision, whether it was colonel house on the spot or if he was following the , ison injunction or what think the realization that politically america would be seen as basically just carrying water for the french and the british. guest: world war ii being a continuation of world war i, i think that's right in many ways. i didn'tays world war end until 1989, because of the cold war. a 70 year war, in that sense. book,to go back to your the age of catastrophe with world war i, world war ii, vietnam and the cold war. pert: the whole thing is a iod of global war, civil wars, resolute -- revolutions. first of all, they didn't think it was going to be a long war. second of all, they didn't want a long war, of course. and they had no idea what the consequences would be. a good reason to think before you go to war. guest: trying to figure out when it actually started is another way of looking at it. warainly, the first world did not end, as far a

on the 26th of june of 1918, colonel george marshall handed general pershing the following telegram.irely u.s. marine corps'. earlier this year, the president of the french republic presented to president trump a sapling, to be placed on the white house grounds. taken from bella wood. a place renamed by a grateful ally. the wood of brigade of marines. finally, there was a less celebrated warrior. a nearsighted farmer from jackson county, missouri, who cheated and lied to get into the field artillery because he could not stand the thought of his friends and neighbors going to war and he not being there to support them. he would go on to become one of the greatest presidents in our history. so there they are. captain abrams summerville, my great-grandfather. sergeant alvin york, private, my wife's grandfather. robinson, william johnson. private martin. sergeant dan daly, and captain harry s truman. they are the testament to the ordinary citizens who performed extraordinary deeds in defense of this republic, from lexington to afghanistan. all told, more than 41 million american men and

exercise simulating a conflict escalation culminating in a nuclear attack it was followed by placing pershing two nuclear missiles in europe . what reagan didn't take into consideration was the paranoid overreaction of the soviets. a recently declassified us intelligence report shows that for the first time since the cuban missile crisis the world was close to nuclear war. just like in one nine hundred eighty three the malaysian boeing crash was leveraged against the enemy. a new wave of sanctions hit russia mediately after the tragedy. the united states is imposing new sanctions in key sectors of the russian economy. year and three months later the dutch safety board published a report that is itself flats m.h. seventy crashed because often. i have three well for and or i have the today just outside of the airplane and the best the left side of the cockpit the report didn't blame any specific group or person and estimated a very wide area of three hundred twenty kilometers as a zone from which the missiles fired at the same time the russian producer of boog missiles day conducted its own ind