The General John J. Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site of Laclede will host two activities this weekend. The first will be a military honors ceremony and program at the historic site Saturday afternoon, June 2, 2018, from 1 to 3 o’clock.
Administrator Denzil Heaney says that the “Welcome Home” event will include soil gathered from eight First World War cemeteries established by Pershing as Chairman of the American Battlefield Monuments Commission receiving a blessing of eternal resting peace. Representatives of area religious denominations and Cherokee, Choctaw, and the Muscogee Creek nations will deliver the blessing.
Missouri state commanders of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars will present remarks on the importance and significance of the project for the state. Retired Brigadier General Larry Kay will also speak about his grandfather who fought in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of 1918 and recite a poem written by his grandfather about the offensive.
Heaney notes David Shuey will portray General Pershing at the Welcome Home event and deliver Pershing’s remarks from July 10th, 1921 when Pershing received the first remains from Europe at the port of Hoboken, New Jersey to be reburied in the United States.
The featured speaker will be author Andrew Carroll who wrote the books My Fellow Soldiers and War Letters. Carroll is also the chairman of the War Letters Commission and the World War One Legacy Project. Carroll will talk about the importance of preserving correspondence. Carroll will be signing books after the program, and his book is available at the historic site’s gift shop.
The General John J. Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site will also host a free viewing of the documentary “Black Jack Pershing: Love and War” at the Reel Time Cinema in Brookfield Sunday afternoon, June 3, 2018, at 12:30.
The producer and director Barney McCoy will hold a question and answer session following the hour-long film. DVDs of the film will be available for purchase and signing following the question and answer session. Anyone wishing to view “Black Jack Pershing” should arrive early because three theaters were filled last time the historic site held a premiere at the Real Time Cinema.
Anyone with questions about this weekend’s events should call the historic site at 660-963-2525. Staff can work with individuals with accessibility and if any special accommodations need to be made.
