World War I MIAs, Holocaust Eyewitnesses, Pullman Porters, and the 1916 Rising

The first two appeals for assistance below are coming up fairly soon.  I hope this helps the word get out a little more.

The Doughboy MIA Project will be visiting the National Archives in College Park, Maryland from March 29 to April 1.  They need volunteers to help them review the 300 boxes of records of American soldiers from World War I still listed as missing.  Contact project founder Rob Laplander at rlaplander@wi.rr.com if you are interested in helping.

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This year is the 100th anniversary of Ireland's 1916 Easter Rising, a rebellion fomented by proponents of Irish independence to end British rule in Ireland and establish an independent Irish republic.  With that in mind, the Digital Repository of Ireland and the Inspiring Ireland project are asking people in Ireland and the Irish diaspora and anyone with a connection to the Rising to bring mementos, letters, family stories, and whatever else you have to one of the scheduled collection days.  Items that are brought in will be assessed by experts and then digitized so they can be added to the archive and exhibition of 1916 memorabilia.  Three collection days are coming up:

• March 18 in London, England
• April 17 in New York City, New York
• May 14 in Belfast, Northern Ireland

It is necessary to register for a collection session.  Irish Central has an article with more information and examples of some of the items that have been brought to previous collection events.

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The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is preparing for a new exhibition on Americans and the Holocaust, planned in conjunction with the museum's 25th anniversary in 2018.  For this new exhibition, the museum is seeking artifacts from survivors (or their descendants), liberators, and other eyewitnesses who have lived in the United States.  If you have items you are willing to donate, please contact the museum at (202) 488-0456 or americans.holocaust@ushmm.org.

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The Pullman Porter Museum is creating an online database of black railroad workers.  When it is launched visitors to the museum's Web site will be able to read submissions from across the country.  The museum is also inviting former railroad employees and their relatives to add their information to the database.  A Chicago Tribune article has some background about how the project started and its plans for the future.