Educating Americans About The Great War

Monique Seefried grew up in France, but adopted America as her new home. As a child, she knew many French Veterans of the First World War, and was aware of the monuments in every French town dedicated to remembering those who served and sacrificed in the Great War. From one of her relatives who served with Charles DeGaulle, she learned more of the French perspective on the war. She married a Hapsburg man, and gained the Austrian viewpoint on the war. Professionally, she is an historian and an archeologist, and she was instrumental in helping develop a monument to the American 42nd Infantry Division in France. She is currently serving on the United States World War I Centennial Commission, and her hope is that Americans increasingly study the Great War as a means of better understanding the world in which we live today.