Happy 2010 to the WFA-USA Members!
New President Steve Suddaby (foreground) at the 2008 Seminar with (r-l) Camaraderie Editor Susan Hall-Balduf, Webmaster Mike Hanlon, then-President Doran Cart, and Vice-President Susan Neeson |
Greetings to all,
WFA-US Branch President Doran Cart announced that he would
step down as of 1 December, handing the reins over to me, his vice president,
with Board Member Susan Neeson becoming vice president. Doran cited health
problems and the pressure of his full-time position as Curator of the National
World War I Museum at the Liberty Memorial as factors leading to this decision.
We wish him well and look forward to his continued participation on the Board
of Directors of the Branch. I know we can count on him to be active in
arranging for the 2010 national seminar, which again will be held at our
marvelous museum in Kansas City.
To introduce myself, my interest in the First World War
began with building model airplanes at about age 8. I now specialize in research on the aerial
bombing campaigns of the First World War. My father and I have published
French Strategic and Tactical Bombardment Forces of World War I, a
translation of René Martel?s classic history of French bombing. I have written
numerous articles for Camaraderie, Over the Front, Over the Top, Relevance and The 14-18 Journal, as well as being a regular speaker at WFA, the Great War Society and
League of WWI Aviation Historians seminars.
I live in Annandale, VA (near Washington, DC) with my lovely wife, Beth, a nurse
specializing in pediatric cardiology.
New vice president and longtime member Susan Neeson has a
particular interest in the music of the Great War and has been a frequent
organizer at WFA and GWS events since the early 1990s. She was treasurer at one
timeand most recently served the US Branch as chair of the nominating committee. She is a
native of California and lives in metropolitan San Francisco.
This coming year proves to be an exciting one for our
Branch. We have 360 members as of this writing and have hopes of gaining more. We
will continue to explore ways to collaborate with the Great War Society, as we
did at our successful seminar in Kansas City in September.
This is a time of great change for those of us committed to
the memory of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who served, fought and
died during the Great War. America's Last Doughboy, Frank Buckles, has led an
amazing, long life. When he dies, the United States will have lost a final link
to the men who went Over There.
But we will never forget them.
Steve Suddaby, President
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