Echoes of World Wars Presentation at WSU Tri-Cites Nov. 9

TRI-CITIES, Wash. — WSU Tri-Cities Professor Brigit Farley’s recent field trip to French battle sites of World War I will be presented in a community lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9 at the Richland campus.

The presentation will be in the campus’ Consolidated Information Center (Library Building), Room 216.  Entitled “Echoes of Two World Wars: An Illustrated Tour of the

D-Day, Verdun and Somme Battlefield,” the presentation is intended, Farley said, as a Veterans’ Day meditation, since World War I ended on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month in 1918. 

Farley, whose specialty is European history, will share images and impressions of the northern French battlefields of Verdun and Somme.

“These sites are nearly forgotten now, few people visit – compared to World War II battlefields like Normandy, which I will also cover – yet they are critical to understanding our world today,” Farley said.

“World War I was horrific, the loss of life was stunning,” she said. Farley notes that in a stretch of only two hours at the Somme battlefield, 200,000 troops were killed.

“Many of these places look today very much like they did when the war ended,” she says. “Access is limited, because there are still armed mines and munitions.”  Her presentation is an illustrated lecture featuring photos she took of the areas during her recent visits.

 “It is one thing to read and teach about these hallowed places, quite another to see them in person. It is an unforgettable impression,” Farley said.

The free lecture is open to the public.