Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief

WASHINGTON, D.C.-First Lady Dr. Jill Biden (pictured) will host an event on Tues., May 7 at 3:30 pm in the East Room of the White House to honor the men and women who served during World War I and recognize the contributions of those who made the National World War I Memorial possible.

The event is part of her annual Joining Forces initiative to support military and veteran families, the first lady said in a news release to Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader. Her remarks will be pooled for TV.

World War I[ or the First World War (July, 28, 1914 –  Nov., 11, 1918) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Fighting took place throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. One of the deadliest wars in history, it resulted in an estimated nine million soldiers dead and 23 million wounded, plus up to eight million civilian deaths from numerous causes including genocide. The movement of large numbers of troops and civilians during the war was a major factor in spreading the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.

In early 1917 the United States entered the war on the Allies' side, more than two years after the war began in Europe.

The Allies were an international military coalition of countries led by France, the United Kingdom, Russia, the United States, Italy, and Japan against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

Overall, Black soldiers from the 92nd and 93rd combat divisions accounted for 773 of the 52,947 battlefield deaths sustained by the American Expeditionary Force in France during the war. Of American soldiers wounded, some 4,408 were Black and 198,220 were White.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS