'Arizona Heroes of World War I' film airs Nov. 12 in Tucson

A one-hour documentary film made in Arizona by Arizonans, “Arizona Heroes of World War I,” commemorates both the 100th anniversary of the and of the war and the 100th anniversary of the American Legion’s founding.

The film, using 100-year-old historical footage from the National Archives, is sponsored by the American Legion’s Department of Arizona and endorsed by the United States World War I Centennial Commission.

It will be screened on Monday, Nov. 12, at the Arizona History Museum, 949 E. Second St., every hour on the hour from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Viewing is free for anyone coming just to see the film; to see the museum as well there is an admission charge, but veterans always get in free.

“World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in the history of the human race, with estimated civilian and military casualties of approximately 37 million people,” the Arizona Historical Society says in a news release announcing the screening.

For more information about the documentary — including an alphabetized list of Arizona heroes of WWI — and to view a segment of the film, visit www.ArizonaHeroesofWW1.com

Thomas Perry, the film’s producer and director, and Will Williams, its editor and writer, have produced programs for the Discovery Channel, PBS and AMC, including “Frank Capra’s The War Years” and “Hollywood Goes to War,” they said in a news release.

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They also produced nationally broadcast public service announcements commemorating the 50th anniversary of World War 2 for the Defense Department.

Some state highlights shared by Perry:

• “The first American shots fired in World War 1 were not fired on the battlefields of France. It could be said that they were fired on the Arizona-Mexico border. Chasing Pancho Villa served as the backdrop for the expansion and modernization of the American army and helped train the first combat troops used in World War 1.”
• Arizona ranked No. 1, per capita, in the draft, meeting or bettering its draft quotas during the war.

From a state population of 260,000, more than 40,000 Arizonans registered for the draft.

Civilians also did their part as thousands joined volunteer organizations to help the war effort.

• Arizona ranked No. 5, per capita, for fundraising for the Liberty Fund in 1917.
• Arizona had two Medal of Honor recipients in the war, Lt. Frank Luke and Cpl. John Henry Pruitt.
• Arizona had 27 Distinguished Cross recipients in the war.
• The USS Arizona, commissioned in 1916, was one of the American ships that briefly escorted President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference shortly after the war.