The Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies at Southeastern to host exhibit commemorating World War I Centennial
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – A mock trench, battlefield diorama, and scores of war related items
and artifacts are among the features of a special exhibit commemorating World War
I at Southeastern Louisiana University’s Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies.
Titled “The War That Did Not End All Wars: Louisiana and the Horror of World
War I,” the exhibit will have its grand opening at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26,
in the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies, located on the third floor of Sims
Library on Southeastern’s Campus. The exhibit is free and open to the public and will
remain on display through Dec. 10.
“The guns fell silent on the human slaughterhouse that was World War I in November
1918. Alternately known as the ‘Great War’ and the ‘War to End All Wars,’ World War
I represented an unprecedented human tragedy that devastated Europe and gave rise
to political and economic configurations that continue to challenge our world today,”
said Leon Ford Endowed Chair, Professor of History, and Director of the Center for
Southeast Louisiana Studies Samuel Hyde. “In our modern technology driven world attention
spans are short and memories often fleeting, but the Great War left legacies of profound
significance to American development, and Louisiana was no exception.”
Hyde said World War I took mass human suffering to unparalleled depths and, in
addition to indescribable butchery on the battlefield, genocide, innovation, pandemic,
and racial and ethnic awareness were only a few products of the war.
The exhibit opening is timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the launching
of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the largest American military offensive in the nation’s
history.
“The Meuse-Argonne Offensive not only was our largest offensive operation, it
witnessed 47 days of sustained fighting which not only resulted in more American casualties
than any other battle in our history, but also brought Germany to its knees and forced
the Germans to surrender,” Hyde said.
An educational project designed to inform and entertain that places emphasis
on all the nations who participated in the great struggle, the exhibit covers all
aspects of the war from the sources of the conflict through the ill-fated Russian
incursion and the influenza pandemic that killed thousands at the end of the war,
Hyde said.
Exhibit hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
on Friday. Hyde said schools and other interested groups are welcome to visit.
“The exhibit is designed to remind us that war is about suffering, and we want
to reach as many people as possible with that message,” Hyde added.
For additional information about the exhibit or to schedule a group visit, contact
the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies at 985-549-2151, or email selahistory@southeastern.edu.