WWI Centennial Talk: “Jungle of Weeds” to War: Fort Monmouth, by professor Melissa Ziobro

As part of the Museum’s World War I Centennial Lecture Series, on Sunday, Dec. 3, at 4 pm, Monmouth University Professor Melissa Ziobro will share the fascinating history of Fort Monmouth, which went from a “Jungle of Weeds” to war readiness in a matter of a few months, and then contributed to significant advances in field communications and technology during WWI.

Click here to reserve your spot for this lecture.

Named for the brave Revolutionary War soldiers who gave their lives just a few miles away at the Battle of Monmouth Court House in 1778, Fort Monmouth was the site of some of the most significant communications and electronics breakthroughs in military history. From its inception during WWI through its closure in 2011, Fort Monmouth’s soldiers and civilians, with the support of the local communities, worked tirelessly to develop technologies and field equipment to protect U.S. forces and enable their victories.

During WWI, the Army charged Signal Corps Soldiers trained at the base with establishing communications on the front lines of Europe. At the same time, those back on post in NJ made significant strides in the areas of aviation, combat photography, pigeon training, meteorology, and radio intelligence.

The neighboring communities took an active role in sustaining these men. For example, on June 6, 1917, the Red Bank Register reported local farmers gearing up to supply large quantities of “straw, hay, oats, and cordwood” to the initial cadre of soldiers descending upon the site. On June 26, 1918, the post newspaper, the Dots and Dashes, shared, “Among the first women workers in the camp (at the “Y” pictured above) were Mrs. John H. Parker, of Long Branch, and Mrs. J.B. Greenhut, and others associated with them. They did much to relieve the unpleasantness of camp life under such hard conditions.” Many of these servicemen would travel through Hoboken en route to the front.

Melissa Ziobro is currently the Specialist Professor of Public History at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ, teaching courses including “Introduction to Public History, Oral History, and Museums and Archives Management.” Her service to the University includes administration of the Monmouth Memories Oral History Program. She serves on the Executive Board of Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region and as the editor for “New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal,” a joint venture of the NJ Historical Commission, Rutgers University Libraries, and Monmouth University.

Ziobro has worked with public history organizations such as the Monmouth County Park System, InfoAge Science History Learning Center and Museum, Monmouth County Historical Association, Monmouth County Historical Commission, Middlesex County Office of Culture and Heritage, National Guard Militia Museum of NJ, and more. She worked as a command historian at the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, Fort Monmouth, NJ from 2004-2011. Publications include her most recent article, on Colonel William Blair, father of American Aircraft Detection Radar, in “On Point: The Journal of Army History.”

Due to popular demand for our previous lecture series, advance reservations are strongly advised. Sign up by clicking the button below. Admission will be collected at the door, lectures are $10 ($5 for members); bus tours are $20 ($10 for members).

The lecture series is funded by a special project grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission.