About Us: Staff Bios

Dr. Reznick was previously Director of the Institute for the Study of Occupation and Health of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation. Other executive roles included serving as Senior Curator of the National Museum of Health and Medicine of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Executive Director and Senior Research Fellow of the Orthotic and Prosthetic Assistance Fund, and Assistant Director of the Institute for Comparative and International Studies at Emory University.

In addition, Dr. Reznick has an extensive record of scholarly historical research. As a social and cultural historian of medicine and war, he is author of three books and many articles, book chapters, book reviews, and entries in major reference works. He is an active member of several professional associations, including the American Historical Association and American Association for the History of Medicine. He is also a member of the University of Birmingham’s Center for War Studies and an elected fellow of the Royal Historical Society, which was founded in 1868 and remains the foremost society in Great Britain promoting and defending the scholarly study of the past.

Dr. Reznick lectures internationally on a variety of historical and contemporary health subjects, speaking to both academic and non-academic audiences at professional meetings and institutions including the American Historical Association, Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center of Fort Sam Houston, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Harvard University, The Johns Hopkins University’s Institute of the History of Medicine, Houston Methodist Hospital, London’s Imperial War Museum, National History Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine, University of Barcelona, University of London’s Institute of Historical Research, Smith College, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and Villanova University. He has also done numerous press interviews including with the BBC, CBS Sunday Morning, The Christian Science Monitor, Emory Magazine, KUNC Public Radio, New York Times, Rochester Review, Time Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, Washingtonian Magazine, and WUSA Channel 9 News of Washington, DC.

During his career in academia and as a public sector leader, Dr. Reznick has also served as an advisor to the Disability and Health Workgroup of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Howard University Public Health Council, and The Polus Center for Social and Economic Development’s Disability Leadership Institute in Léon Nicaragua, an initiative funded by the Patrick Leahy War Victims Fund and The Pan-American Health Organization. He was a former member of the board of the Friends of the National Library of Medicine, prior to joining the staff of the NLM. He currently serves as the NLM’s ex-officio representative to the Board of Curators of the Osler Library of the History of Medicine at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and to the Archives Advisory Committee of the Medical Center Archives at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine.

A native of Rochester, New York, Dr. Reznick lives in Rockville, Maryland with his wife and daughters. He received his MA and PhD from Emory University and his B.A. from the University of Rochester.

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2015
NIH Director’s Award, in recognition of exceptional leadership and scholarly oversight of the collections and programs of the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine

Recipient of the 2015 Best Article Award from the Archivists and Librarians in the History of the Health Sciences (ALHHS), for “Embracing the Future as Stewards of the Past: Charting a Course Forward for Historical Medical Libraries and Archives,” in RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage, 15 (2) 2014 (PMCID: PMC4332590).

2014
NLM Special Act / Service Award, for work with the Wellcome Library resulting in the next cooperative journal backfiles digitization project for PubMed Central, a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the NLM.

2013
Recipient of the 2013 Best Article Award from the Archivists and Librarians in the History of the Health Sciences, for “Remains of War: Walt Whitman, Civil War Soldiers, and the Legacy of Medical Collections,” with Lenore Barbian and Paul Sledzik, in Museum History Journal, 5 (1) 2012 (PMCID: PMC3381362).

2006-present
Royal Historical Society, United Kingdom
Fellow, elected by the Council of the Society

University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Centre for First World War Studies of the Department of Modern History
Honorary Research Fellow

2001
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Center for Advanced Medical Study (CAMS)
Reynolds Historical Library and Historical Collections Unit of Lister Hill Library
Reynolds Associates Research Fellow

2000
Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine
United Kingdom National Museum of Science and Industry
Three-Year Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
(Award declined)

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War and Peace in the Worlds of Rudolf H. Sauter: A Cultural History of a Creative Life, London: Anthem Press, 2022. Author Q&A – “A Life in Biography” Podcast Interview

John Galsworthy and Disabled Soldiers of the Great War: With an Illustrated Selection of His Writings, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009. Paperback edition published in 2015. BBC Interview

Healing the Nation: Soldiers and the Culture of Caregiving in Britain during the Great War, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005. Paperback edition published in 2011.

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Circulating Now, Full Circle: From the Historical Collections of the National Library of Medicine, co-edited with Elizabeth Mullen, and in cooperation with staff of the National Library of Medicine, Blacksburg, Virginia: VT Press, forthcoming.

Images of America: US National Library of Medicine, co-edited with Kenneth M. Koyle, and in cooperation with staff of the National Library of Medicine, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2017.

“Emerging Roles for Historical Medical Libraries,” a special issue of RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage, 15 (2) 2014, co-edited with Michelle DiMeo.

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“Humor and the Health Humanities of Selma and Lois DeBakey” in Christine Slobogin, Katie Snow, and Laura Cowley (eds.) Laughter is the Best Medicine? Visual Histories of Humour and Health. Manchester: Manchester University Press, forthcoming.

“Innovation and Collaboration at the National Library of Medicine: Migrating Profiles in Science to a New Digital Platform for Development, Preservation, and Public Access” with Jennifer Gilbert, Christie Moffatt, Doron Shalvi, in The American Archivist, forthcoming.

“Expanding the Legacy: The National Library of Medicine Michael E. DeBakey Lecture in the History of Medicine” with Kenneth M. Koyle, in Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal, 18(5), 2022 (PMCID: PMC9733148).

“The Promise of Pathways in Public Service,” with Kenneth M. Koyle, in Experience Magazine, May 12, 2022.

“Selma and Lois DeBakey: Icons of Medical Preservation” in Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal, 18(2), 2022 (PMCID: PMC9246052).

“The Past, Present and Future of Memory: Medical Histories of the 1918-1919 Influenza Epidemic in the United States” in Guy Beiner (ed.) Pandemic Re-Awakenings: The Forgotten and Unforgotten Flu of 1918-1919. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.

“History with Heart—and Impact: The National Library of Medicine Michael E. DeBakey Fellowship in the History of Medicine” with Kenneth M. Koyle, in Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal, 17(5), 2021 (PMCID: PMC8679981).

“History matters: In the Past, Present & Future of the NLM” with Kenneth M. Koyle, in Journal of the Medical Library Association, 109(2), 2021 (PMCID: PMC8270379).

“Garden Landscapes of the Great War” in Nicholas Saunders and Paul Cornish (eds.), Conflict Landscapes: Materiality and Meaning in Contested Places, New York: Routledge, Material Culture, Conflict and Modernity series, 2021.

“Wartime and Postwar Medical Communication: The Role of the U.S. Army Medical Library,” with Kenneth M. Koyle, in John Griffiths (ed.) Communication and the Great War, 1914-2014, New York: Routledge, 2020.

“Societal Resilience Through Persistence,” in Leo van Bergen and H.G.J.M. Vermetten (eds.), World War I and Health: Rethinking Resilience, Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2020.

“History matters…From Postcard to Book Cover: Illustrating Connections between Medical History and Digital Humanities” with E. Thomas Ewing and Katherine Randall, in Journal of the Medical Library Association, 107(4), 2019 (PMCID: PMC6774539).

“Foreword” in E. Thomas Ewing and Katherine Randall (eds.), Viral Networks: Connecting Digital Humanities and Medical History, Blacksburg, Virginia: VT Press, 2018.

“A Noble Experiment in Human Values”: The Children’s Television Series Vegetable Soup and its Initiative to Change the Environment for Racism in 1970s America,” in Journal of Popular Film and Television, 46 (3) 2018 (PMCID: PMC6957131 and video abstract).

“Teaching and Researching the History of Medicine in the Era of (Big) Data: Reflections,” with Frederick W. Gibbs, in Medical History, 61 (3) 2017 (PMCID: PMC5629600).

“History Matters…Through Partnerships That Advance Research, Education, and Public Service,” with E. Thomas Ewing, in Journal of the Medical Library Association, 105 (3), 2017 (PMCID: PMC5490710).

“Sense and Sensibility: The Power of Print in Post-War Recuperation,” in Nicholas Saunders and Paul Cornish (eds.), Conflict and the Senses, New York: Routledge, Material Culture, Conflict and Modernity series, 2017.

“Teaching and Researching the History of Medicine in the Era of (Big) Data: Introduction,” with Frederick W. Gibbs, in Medical History, 61 (1) 2017 (PMCID: PMC5206934).

“Public-Private Partnerships: Joining Together for a Win-Win,” with Simon Chaplin, in The Public Manager, December 9, 2016.

“Digitizing and Preserving Medical History: Embracing the Future as a Steward of Medical Heritage,” in The NIH Catalyst, 24 (4) 2016.

“Interagency Collaboration: Synergy for the Greater Good,” with Brett Bobley, in The Public Manager, July 11, 2016.

“Digitization, Big Data, and the Future of the Medical Humanities: Reflections,” in Medical History, 60 (2) 2016 (PMCID: PMC4847417).

“Digitization, Big Data, and the Future of the Medical Humanities: Introduction,” in Medical History, 60 (1) 2016 (PMCID: PMC4847388).

“Combat and the Medical Mindset—The Enduring Effect of Civil War Medical Innovation” with Ken Koyle, in The New England Journal of Medicine, 372 (25) 2015. (PMID: 26083204)

“Embracing the Future as Stewards of the Past: Charting a Course Forward for Historical Medical Libraries and Archives,” in RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage, 15 (2) 2014. Named 2015 Best Article Award from the Archivists and Librarians in the History of the Health Sciences (ALHHS) (PMCID: PMC4332590).

“Introduction: Emerging Roles for Historical Medical Libraries,” with Michelle DiMeo and Christopher Lyons, in RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage, 15 (2), 2014 (PMCID: PMC4307844).

“Understanding the Role of Medical Experts during a Public Health Crisis: Digital Tools and Library Resources for Research on the 1918 Spanish Influenza” with E. Thomas Ewing, Samah Gad, Naren Ramakrishnan, in Proceedings of “Big Humanities Data” of the Second IEEE Big Data Workshop, October 27, 2014. (PMID: 26413580)

“Material culture and the ‘after-care’ of disabled soldiers in First World War Britain,” in Nicholas Saunders and Paul Cornish (eds.), Bodies in Conflict: Corporeality, Materiality, and Transformation, New York: Routledge, Material Culture, Conflict and Modernity series, 2014.

“Remains of War: Walt Whitman, Civil War Soldiers, and the Legacy of Medical Collections,” with Lenore Barbian and Paul Sledzik, in Museum History Journal, 5 (1) 2012. Named 2013 Best Article Award from the Archivists and Librarians in the History of the Health Sciences (ALHHS) (PMCID: PMC3381362).

“The Mess Kit & The Silver Chev’: American Military Hospital Magazines of the First World War,” in Michael Sappol (ed.), Hidden Treasure: 175 Years of the National Library of Medicine, 2011.

“Walt Whitman: “A Feather in My Wings,” with Elizabeth Fee, in American Journal of Public Health, 101 (6) 2011 (PMCID: PMC3093293).

“Perspectives [on the Future of Medical History] from the History of Medicine Division of the United States National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health,” in Medical History, 55 (3) 2011 (PMCID: PMC3143863).

“History at the Intersection of Disability and Public Health: The Case of John Galsworthy and Disabled Soldiers of the First World War,” in Disability and Health Journal, 4 (1) 2011. (PMID: 21168804)

“Historical Perspectives on the Care of Military Service Members with Limb Amputations,” with Jeffrey Gamble and Alan Hawk, in Paul Pasquina (ed.) Textbook of Military Medicine: Rehabilitation Medicine, Washington, DC: Borden Institute of the United States Army Medical Department Center and School, 2010.

“Beyond ‘War and Military Medicine’: Social Factors in the Development of Prosthetics,” in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 89 (1) January 2008. (PMID: 18164353)

“Metropolitan Hospitals” with Sophie Delaporte, Paul Lerner, Peter Leese and Jay Winter, in Jean-Louis Robert and Jay Winter (eds.), Capital Cities at War: Paris, London, Berlin 1914-1919, volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 2007.

“Prosthetics and Propaganda in the Great War,” in Nicholas Saunders (ed.), Matter of Conflict: Material Culture, Memory and the First World War, London: Routledge, 2004.

“Work-therapy and the Disabled British Soldier in Britain in the First World War: The Case of Shepherd’s Bush Military Hospital, London,” in David A. Gerber (ed.), Disabled Veterans in History, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000.

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Oliver Wilkinson, British Prisoners of War in First World War Germany. (Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare.) New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017, in The American Historical Review, 124 (1) 2019.

Beth Linker, War’s Waste: Rehabilitation in World War I America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011, in Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 87 (4) 2013.

Ana Carden-Coyne, Reconstructing the Body: Classicism, Modernism, and the First World War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009, in The American Historical Review, 116 (2) 2011.

David M. Turner and Kevin Stagg (eds.), Social Histories of Disability and Deformity. New York: Routledge, 2007, in Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 84 (1) 2010.

Marion Girard, A Strange and Formidable Weapon: British Responses to World War I Poison Gas, Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2008, in Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, 64 (2) 2009.

Theresa Meade and David Serlin (eds.), Radical History Review: Disability and History (special issue) 94 (2006) in Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 82 (1) 2008.

Fred Pelka (ed.), The Civil War Letters of Colonel Charles F. Johnson, Invalid Corps, Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2004, in Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 80 (3) 2006.

Vincent Cirillo, Bullets and Bacilli: The Spanish-American War and Military Medicine, New Brunswick, NY: Rutgers University Press, 2004, in Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, 60 (3) 2005.

Peter Leese, Shell Shock: Traumatic Neurosis and the British Soldiers of the First World War, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002, in Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 79 (1) 2005.

Eric Gruber von Arni, Justice to the Maimed Soldier: Nursing, Medical Care, and Welfare for Sick and Wounded Soldiers during the English Civil Wars and Interregnum, 1642-1660, Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2001, in Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 78 (4) 2004.

Deborah Cohen, The War Come Home: Disabled Veterans in Britain and Germany, 1914-1939. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001, in Journal of Social History, 37 (2) 2003.

Katherine Ott, et. al., (eds.), Artificial Parts, Practical Lives: Modern Histories of Prosthetics, New York University Press, 2002, in Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 77 (3) 2003.

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“Medicine and Medical Instruments” in Helen Sheumaker and Shirley Teredsa Wajda (eds.), Material Culture in America: Understanding Everyday Life, New York: ABC-CLIO, 2007.

“Eugenics” and “Public Health” in John Merriman and Jay Winter (eds.), Encyclopedia of Europe 1914-2006 in the Scribner World History European Series, New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2006.

“John Galsworthy” in Gary L. Albrecht (ed.), Encyclopedia of Disability, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 2005.

Revisions of four-dozen biographies of medical and scientific figures in The New Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

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“From Our Community to Yours, Happy Healthful Halloween!,” NLM Musings from the Mezzanine: Innovations in Health Information from the Director of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, October 26, 2022.

“Recognizing Women in History All Year Round,” with Susan L. Speaker, NLM Musings from the Mezzanine: Innovations in Health Information from the Director of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, March 30, 2022.

“Clerks Wearing Masks: Building Historical Empathy while Teaching the 1918 Influenza Epidemic,” with E. Thomas Ewing, Perspectives On History of the American Historical Association, December 9, 2020.

“Chronicling the Human Condition,” Emory Magazine, Fall/Winter 2020.

“Vegetable Soup,” New York Archives Magazine, Fall 2020. (video abstract)

“PubMed Central Offers a Historical Treasure Trove,” with Christy Henshaw, Laura Randall, Rosalyn Leiderman, and Kathryn Funk, History News Network, August 4, 2019.

“Remembering Elizabeth Fee, PhD, 1946-2018,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, December 28, 2018.

“Embracing Change as Stewards of the Past: An Updated View from NLM’s History of Medicine Division,” NLM Musings from the Mezzanine: Innovations in Health Information from the Director of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, November 27, 2018.

“NLM in Pictures—Read It This Summer,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, June 28, 2018.

“Hosting the Secretary of the Smithsonian,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, September 15, 2017.

“A New History of NLM: The Library in the 21^st Century,” with Kenneth M. Koyle, Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, August 4, 2017.

“A New History of NLM: Celebrating 150 Years of Public Service and Looking to the Future,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, August 2, 2017.

“A New History of NLM: A New Name and a New Home,” with Susan L. Speaker, Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, July 27, 2017.

“Introducing a New History of NLM,” with Kenneth M. Koyle, Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, July 11, 2017.

“World War I Centenary Forum: Stories from the NLM Collections,” with Anne Rothfeld, Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, April 3, 2017.

“A Piece of PI: Historical Perspectives from NLM,” with Kenneth M. Koyle, Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, March 14, 2017.

“Embracing the Future as Stewards of the Past: A View from NLM’s History of Medicine Division,” NLM Musings from the Mezzanine: Innovations in Health Information from the Director of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, December 20, 2016.

“Remembering Melvin R. Laird,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, November 18, 2016.

“How Cross-Agency Collaboration Can Work for the Greater Good,” with Brett Bobley), HHS Idea Lab Blog, September 13, 2016. The original, full-length version of this article appeared in the July 2016 issue of The Public Manager, a unique digital publication published monthly by the Association for Talent Development about federal government leadership that works.

“Hosting the Representative of Flanders,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, August 2, 2016.

“‘Beyond Chicken Soup’ With a Taste of NLM,” with Karen Falk, Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, May 10, 2016.

“Images and Texts in Medical History,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, April 4, 2016.

“PubMed Central: Visualizing a Historical Treasure Trove,” with Tyler Nix, Kathryn Funk, and Erin Zellers, Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, February 23, 2016.

“Report from the Field: History of Medicine Division of the US National Library of Medicine,” AHA Today of the American Historical Association, June 2, 2015.

“Hosting the Chairman of NEH,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, April 28, 2015.

“Hosting the Ambassador of Belgium,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, April 12, 2015.

“Donald Lindberg: A Leadership Legacy for the Future,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, March 5, 2015.

“Christmas in Wartime: Mary Dexter and the Great War,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, December 22, 2014.

“Thanksgiving DeLuxe,” with Elizabeth Mullen, Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, November 26, 2014.

“The Sacred Work: Galsworthy’s Advocacy for WWI Veterans,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, November 10, 2014.

“Hosting AOTUS: David S. Ferriero,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, June 19, 2014.

“Ground-Breaking Reflections: Melvin R. Laird,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, June 12, 2014.

“(Re)Discovering the Great War,” with Simon Chaplin, Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, June 10, 2014.

“IndexCat™: Search It, Read It, Download It,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, March 4, 2014.

“Superheroes with a Serious Message,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, February 10, 2014.

“John F. Kennedy and the National Library of Medicine,” with Kenneth M. Koyle, Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, November 18, 2013.

“‘The President is Somewhat Restless’…,” with Lenore Barbian, Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, July 2, 2013.

“"Welcome to Circulating Now,” Circulating Now, the blog of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, July 1, 2013.

“Remembering the Code Talkers,” History News Network, November 9, 2012.

“Rediscovering Walt Whitman’s Soldiers,” with Lenore Barbian and Paul Sledzik, History News Network, February 13, 2012.

“This Veterans Day, Let’s Reflect on the D.C. War Memorial,” History News Network, November 7, 2011.

“Remember the Army Medical Library and Discover the National Library of Medicine,” History News Network, October 30, 2011.

“Preserving History at the National Library of Medicine,” with Kristi Davenport, Peter Gabriele, Stephen Greenberg, Holly Herro, Christie Moffatt, and Paul Theerman, History News Network, May 30, 2011.

“U.S. National Library of Medicine Celebrates 175 Years,” History News Network, March 14, 2011.

“Remembering Frank Buckles, the Last Doughboy of World War I,” History News Network, February 28, 2011.

“The ‘Convalescent Blues’ in Frederick Cayley Robinson’s ‘Acts of Mercy’,” Wellcome Library blog, June 23, 2010.

“Serving on the Front Lines: A History of Occupational Therapy in Wartime,” in Facets Magazine of the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, November 2009.

“Memorial Day, the Great War, and America’s Last Surviving World War I Veteran,” History News Network, May 26, 2008.

“Memories of the Great War,” The Washington Post, November 12, 2007, 20A; subsequently quoted in The Express.

“Honor WWI Vets Before They’re All Gone,” in The Baltimore Sun, November 11, 2005, 15A.

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