Program 445: Paul Theroux Deep South; More World War I Sites

Author Paul Theroux shares the insights he gleaned about America from the people he met in the small towns and backroads of the Deep South. Then history professor Mark D. Van Ells returns with more suggestions for visiting places that honor the sacrifices of Allied troops in World War I.

• Travel writer Paul Theroux, author of "Deep South" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• Mark D. Van Ells, author of "America and World War One: A Traveler's Guide" (Interlink)

• Paul Theroux writes about his wanderings in rural Dixie in his latest travel-themed book, Deep South.
• Allendale, South Carolina and local community leader Wilbur Cave have Wikipedia entries.
• The Oxford American is a literary exploration of Southern culture, from its home base in Oxford, Mississippi.
• Mark D. Van Ells is the author of America and World War One: A Traveler's Guide.
• Mark recommends the American Battle Monuments Commission for discovering WWI monuments and sites that honor the service of American troops.
• Online resources for planning a visit to WWI museums in Europe, mentioned in the Mark Van Ells interview, include the Paris Military Museum at Les Invalides, the Museum of Military History in Vienna, the Musée de la Grande Guerre du Pays du Meaux, the Imperial War Museum in London, and the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
• A description of the American doughboys' role in the battle of Chateau-Thierry, and a virtual tour of the US Marines' victory at Belleau Wood, France.
• Not far from Verdun, Professor Van Ells also recommends visiting sites in eastern France where American forces fought at Saint-Mihiel, and the adjacent American cemetery at Thiaucourt, the Meuse-Argonne, and the American cemetery at Romagne-sous-Montfaucon. He also mentions the town of Savenay in western France.
• A look at the work of Red Cross women who served during World War I.