Park University’s history program, Zeta Omicron Chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society has a busy month ahead of them as they prepare for several of upcoming events.

To start off their busy November, the group hosted two separate events on Friday, Nov. 7.

The first event was held at the National World War I Museum at the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City.

At this event, the history program signed an agreement “to establish the George S. Robb Great War Endowment Fund,” according to a press release sent to university faculty, staff and students on Oct. 29.

The fund is named after Robb, who was a 1912 graduate of Park and served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army and received the Medal of Honor in 1919.

“The purpose of the fund is to preserve, conserve, maintain, digitize and purchase papers, manuscripts and other archival (non-three dimensional) materials related to World War I,” the press release stated. “The gift from Park’s Zeta Omicron Chapter is given to honor the service personnel, units and civilians who served and defended their causes, many of whom gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives.”

Later on Nov. 7, the group held a dedication ceremony outside Thompson Commons to recognize and honor 1963 Park graduate, Col. Lewis L. Millett, a recipient of the Medal of Honor during his time in the Korean War.

The ceremony included a “dedication of a historical plaque and the raising of the Medal of Honor recipient flag in honor of Millett,” according to a press release sent to university personnel on Oct. 28.

“The dedication ceremony recognizes the dedication service that Col. Millett gave to his nation and to all service personnel that serve our country,” said Timothy Westcott, associate professor of history.

On Sunday, Nov. 9, the history program will present a dramatic theater production to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Truce of 1914. “Letters from the Front: The Christmas Truce of 1914.”

This performance will be at the National World War I Museum at the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City.

The show will begin at 2 p.m., and tickets will be $10 for adults and $5 for students and can be purchased at the door.

“This presentation deals with the first five months of the war,” said Westcott. “It will include the students reading letters that were written during the war, including German letters. Period music will also be played throughout the performance, and at the end there will be a group singing of ‘Silent Night,’ which was sung on the battlefields by both sides.”

This is the history program’s fifth year of doing a performance with the previous four years’ productions being held in the theater in Alumni Hall.

“With this being the 100th anniversary of World War I, and with our great working relationship with the WWI Museum in Kansas City, we thought it would be great to do the performance there this year,” said Westcott.

According to a press release sent out to university faculty, staff and students on Oct. 27, “proceeds will benefit the George S. Robb Great War Endowment Fund at the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial, established by Park University’s Zeta Omicron Chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society.”

“The humanity of war and the conundrum of the human existence were best represented 100 years ago this Christmas upon the ‘No Man’s Land’ along the battlefront of Flanders during the Great War,” said Westcott. “The dramatic reading of actual British and German soldiers’ letters reflects our own time of war and the all-important means of communication between warrior and home front.

“During this forthcoming season of Christmas, we hope to furnish a historical glimpse of the human spirit of ‘Peace on Earth.’”