This is from a talk I gave recently in Victoria, British Columbia regarding the recent American World War One Memorial finalized only recently in Washington DC. A century late, but late is better than nothing?
INTRODUCTION TO RELEVANCY
I was recently asked if I could bring an American perspective to this year’s theme Reckoning with the Relevancy of World War One up here in the True North. My first thought was to pursue that question by looking at some popular histories published in the last quarter century to gain an idea of general public reckoning as to relevancy of the Great War.
But I also mentioned to the committee that the first federal monument to World War One had only just been completed in Washington DC this past year. That is what seemed to intrigue our committee the more, so today, I am talking today about four American monuments giving us some idea about how on a governmental level, the relevancy of the Great War is dealt with on the federal stage.
RELEVANCY OF WW1 TO THE US
Relevancy of World War 1 pertaining to the United States was and is very important. That relevancy is little appreciated in a popular sense today, however. The Great War pushed the US onto the World stage, first as a financier and later as an actual participant. Following that war, the US tried to retreat into its earlier continental cocoon, but another war negated that.
Historians are well aware of the relevancy of World War 1 vis a vis the US on the world stage. The general public has for the most part forgotten the conflict of over a century ago. WW2 pushed the Great War deep into the pages of history.
How has the federal government of America, itself, reckoned with the relevancy of World War One.
POST WORLD WAR 1 MEMORY IN THE UNITED STATES
Public monuments did begin to appear after the war. E.M. Viquesney’s Spirit of the American Doughboy can be found in many towns across the country in one or another variation or competing copies. Here are three examples found in Oregon of the same statue with slightly different poses. The only difference between the copies is which hand hold the rifle and what the other hand is doing.
At the monument found in the city of Astoria, the bronze veteran holds the rifle high in his right hand, exhorting his comrades forward. Next to the Yamhill County Courthouse in McMinnville, the gun is in his left hand. The right hand is raised to lead his mates across No Man’s Land. The last copy is found in Salem next to the State Capitol building. The left hand again holds the gun. In the right, the veteran holds a hand grenade which appears to threaten the State Senate wing.
LIBERTY MEMORIAL beginnings
The most significant memorial to the war in the immediate years afterwards, went up not in Washington but in Kansas City where local prominent residents gathered more than $2.5 million (equivalent to $43.9 million today) in less than two weeks in 1919. So soon after the end of the war, patriotism still was on the minds of many.
Groundbreaking for what became the Liberty Monument took place 1 November 1921 with 200,000 people looking on including VP Calvin Coolidge, LT Gen Baron Jacques of Belgium, Gen Armando Diaz of Italy, Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France, Gen of the Armies John J Pershing, Adm of the Fleet Lord Beatty with flags presented to the commanders by local veteran and now politician Harry Truman.
dedication
The monument gained formal dedication five years later 11 November 1926 in front of an estimated crowd of 100,000 by the now-President Coolidge along with Queen Marie of Romania – her presence resulted in her 1926 visit to the US ostensibly to attend the dedication of Samuel Hill’s Maryhill Museum at the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge (monument to peace, Hill’s wife Mary and Queen Marie). A bas relief of the commanders present for the groundbreaking became added on the north side in 1935. The monument saw a rededication by Truman 11 November 1961 in front of a crowd now of 15,000 – note World War One’s importance fading quickly by now.
rebirth
The monument itself began to physically fade with time as well. The now aging memorial eventually led to restoration of the monument. The memorial actually closed for safety reasons in 1994. After local support in the form of $102 million ($191 today), some in the form of a temporary local sales tax, the complex enlarged, and a new museum built. Renamed the National World War One Museum in 2004, the monument finally reopened 20 September 2006. Several substantial renovations have taken place in years since. The entire site gained recognition from Congress as the National World War One Museum and Memorial in December 2014.
liberty tower
Liberty Tower dominates topped with an eternal flame – actually steam illuminated by red and orange lights. Its 217-foot (66 meter) high rises seemingly higher set on a hill just south of the huge Union Station – reopened in 2002 for train service after a 17-year closure. Four 40-foot-tall sculptures crown the tower representing Honor, Courage, Patriotism and Sacrifice.
original museums
Two buildings flank the tower to the east and west. Built in so-called Egyptian Revival architecture, on the east side sits the Exhibition Hall formerly serving as the main museum before the underground complex developed. Today, the hall serves limited-run exhibits.
The Memory Hall holds tablets listing the 441 Kansas Citians who died during the war – many in the early days of the Meuse Argonne as part of the 35th Division, a National Guard division made of men from Kansas and Missouri – Captain Truman served as an artillery battery commander.
The division emblematic of the many problems faced by AEF units in the huge expansion. Not arriving until June 1918, the division became committed to the opening days of the Meuse-Argonne offensive after a total of only two weeks service in the Vosges Mountains. Heavy losses and disorganization led to the withdrawal of the division from the front after four days by which time the division had almost collapsed due to new leadership changes made at the last moment before the offensive and a total failure on the part of the division signal officer where communications within the division fell completely apart.
a painting and the syphinxes
There is part of the Pantheon de la Guerre – a French painting, exhibited on the walls. Something like 7% of the original work was retained with large French sections left out – the painting had been on display in Paris from 1918 until 1927 when it was acquired by American businessmen. The work became donated to the Liberty Memorial in 1956. Some additional figures were added to the painting – Colonel Edward House, FDR, Harry Truman and the original French painters. Other fragments of the painting survive elsewhere.
Between the two buildings sit two stone Assyrian sphinxes with their wings covering their faces – Memory and Future. Memory faces east, its wings shielding its view of the horror of European battlefields while Future faces west. Its wings cover sight of a future yet to come.
the new ww1 museum
The museum sits underground to the tower and building complex. You enter on a glass bridge crossing over 9,000 red poppies – each poppy representing 1,000 of the dead from the war. It is by far the best collection from the Great War inside the US.
For comparison, the National World War Two Museum sits in New Orleans and in Fredericksburg, Texas – former home to Fleet Admiral Charles Nimitz – lies the National Museum of the Pacific War. Those two museums are very extensive, though the setting of the complex in Kansas City is much more dramatic.
TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
So, now we come to Washington, DC. The most famous American World War One monument in Washington sits across the Potomac River in Virginia at Arlington National Cemetery. Here is the grave of America’s Unknown Soldier. In 1921, like events in France, Britain and Italy an unidentified American serviceman who died in France gained selection and placed in the plaza of the then-new Memorial Amphitheater of the cemetery.
Presidents Harding and Wilson both were present when the unknown was buried at the tomb. The Unknown Soldier became selected as one of four unknowns taken from four of the WW1 American cemeteries – the other three re-interred at ABMC Meuse Argonne. The Unknown came across the Atlantic on the USS Olympia – famous for its part in the 1898 Battle of Manila Bay playing an opening role for America to push beyond its continental shell – laying in state first in the Capitol Rotunda.
In 1931, the funds to complete the tomb with a marble superstructure atop the tomb added. More Unknown tombs added since 1921 include unknowns from World War Two, Korea and Vietnam. A military guard became added in 1926, with service expanded to 24 hours 2 July 1937. The tomb guard consists of a special platoon chosen from the 3rd US Infantry Regiment – “The Old Guard”
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MEMORIAL
The District of Columbia erected a memorial to the 26,000 who served during the war from the district in 1931 with President Herbert Hoover on hand for the dedication 11 November. The names of the 499 who died from DC are found etched around the base of the memorial. Extensive renovation took place on the aging monument between 2010 and 2011.
DEVELOPMENT OF PERSHING PARK
Efforts to commemorate the commander of the AEF, John J. Pershing, eventually resulted in a namesake park. After his death in 1948, both WW1 veteran presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower supported the campaign. It took until April 1956 for Congress to authorize such a memorial in Washington to General Pershing.
It seems an equestrian statue of the general standing in Versailles, France (dedicated in 1937) hoped to gain a new life, but as efforts moving to erect the memorial in 1960 (the centennial of Pershing’s birth), the statue had disappeared. After France’s 1940, Nazis melted down the statue to make artillery shells. It was not until 1966 that an area along Pennsylvania Avenue became selected to construct the memorial.
PARK FINALY TAKES SHAPE
The park where the statue of the general stands is located on a former traffic island, and it finally became a park-plaza hybrid in 1981. Many features found in the park echoed earlier work by the same architect M. Paul Friedberg’s Peavey Plaza in Minneapolis: central sunken plaza with a pool basin (ice rink in winter) and amphitheater-seating around the plaza. Pershing Park finally saw completion between 1979 and 1981 along with the Freedom Plaza found directly to the east of the park. The sculpture of Pershing added two years later. Stone panels show some of the history of the AEF with campaign maps familiar to anyone who has visited ABMC cemeteries in France.
But time …. the World War I Memorial competition guidelines, a descriptive section labeled Memorial Site tells us: “In recent years, the park has experienced degradation due to failure of mechanical systems servicing the pool and skating rink, and vegetation growth adversely affecting the perceived security and welcome-ness of the park.”
NATIONAL WORLD WAR ONE MEMORIAL
BEGINNINGS
It was not until the National World War Two Memorial was about to open in 2004 before politicians got semi-serious about doing the same to commemorate Americans who served in the Great War. One thought was to simply re-dedicate the DC Memorial to honor all American World War One vets as America’s official World War One monument. Several bills in Congress attempted to push for a memorial but died when Missouri senators became concerned of possible competition with the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
More time elapsed when opposition arose against the possible takeover of the District’s memorial seen by some as just another diminution of the. In 2012, Representative Ted Poe of Texas, (who had been pushing for a WW1 Memorial since 2007 after meeting the last surviving American veteran of the war, Corporal Frank Buckles) agreed to recenter his efforts on the National Mall near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial instead of reusing the DC Memorial. DC officials and the National Park Service pushed for the memorial placement at Pershing Park instead, due to the 2003 Commemorative Works Act banning new memorials on the Mall.
The hope at the time was that the memorial would be built in time for the centennial of the war. Finally at the end of 2014, one of the last bills passed by the 113th Congress included authorization for the memorial inserted into the National Defense Authorization Act.
DESIGN COMPETITION
Design competition for the memorial opened in the spring of 2015 with a groundbreaking hoped for by 11 November 2017.
Guidance to potential monument designers included “To generate a visionary design concept for the World War One Memorial, competitors should thoughtfully consider the range of appropriate enhancement strategies and transformation options–preservation, alteration, relocation, demolition–for addressing the Park’s physical elements and integrating the existing Pershing Memorial elements and new commemorative features into the site.”
However, the competition guidelines also state: “The Memorial should be designed to be constructed at a cost no greater than $20-25 million, to be operationally sustainable, and to minimize maintenance requirements over time.” Knowledgeable landscape architects interpreted this language and budget to translate to the demolition of the existing landscape and the construction of a new work.
M. Paul Friedberg, the architect of Pershing Park, threatened legal action if plans radically changed the design of his park. Five finalist designs selected by the Centennial Commission gained submission to the Commission of Fine Arts – CFA. The CFA has final say as to design of memorials around DC. After the design submission, the CFA criticized the designs submitted as well as the whole design competition, saying they understated the value of the present park.
AND THE WINNER IS …
In January 2016, the design of 25-year-old Joseph Weishaar (Univ of Arkansas) – The Weight of Sacrifice – gained selection by the Centennial Commission. It turned out to be the only design which did not radically change the original design. Sabin Howard became the memorial’s sculptor. Howard had to revise his sculpture design 18 times over the 18 months before gaining approval. The CFA finally gave approval on 19 July 2018. So, much for a 2017 groundbreaking.
changes
Main change to the park was to replace the existing fountain – there was a garage inside for a Zamboni – with a stand-alone wall holding high relief sculptures facing east. On the west side of the wall, water ran down into a scrim or horizontal pool. Groundbreaking finally took place on 9 November 2017, but work did not commence until December 2019.
The memorial renovations for the park completed in 2021. Here is what immediately gave me pause as to this talk. The dedication was basically a military band and a flyover of two F35 fighters. Two. Heck, this latest version of the Winter Classic in Chicago rated a flyover of four planes and an Oregon State versus Air Force football game in early November rated the full F-35 flyover. Truly, the public interest (hence, public relevancy) was a bit embarrassing.
memorial completed
The statues finally became reality three years later. And after 16 years of fundraising, legal hurdles and construction, finally, in September 2024, the Memorial was complete. Howard said at the illumination ceremony – much better attended, “This sculpture is in service to our nation. It is in service of the veterans today and the veterans that are no longer with us. So tonight, we are telling their story.”
The main focus of the new monument centered upon a 58-foot long, 25-ton bronze relief. Howard sculpted 38 figures 10% larger than life-size. Each figure took 600 hours of work (10 figures a year). The armatures which hold the bronze up – statue skeleton, if you will – were completed with 3-D printers. The mural is titled A Soldier’s Journey. From left to right, A Soldier’s Journey depicts one man’s wartime saga, beginning and ending with the soldier’s daughter, who holds his helmet. Along the way, he joins a fierce battle; sees his comrades fall; gets buoyed by nurses and returns to his family. “The sculpture mimics film, going from image to image to image,” Howard says. “It’s very kinetic and emotional.”
THE SCULPTURE’S STORY
The sculptures needed forging in England. They shipped to Baltimore early in July 2024. There are four sections that comprise the entire relief with the monument split into five scenes:
Departure – Soldier says goodbye to his wife and daughter, with the former wishing he would stay.
Initiation – Soldier marches toward the frontlines with other troops, as the United States has joined the conflict.
Ordeal – Group of soldiers charge into combat.
Aftermath – Visual representation of the impact the war had on soldiers, both physically and mentally.
Return – Soldier participates in a homecoming parade, joined by servicemen who are happy to be home.
IMITATION IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF PRAISE?
The design of the monument reminds me a lot of an award-winning monument model by Italy’s Eugenio Baroni in the early 1920s Il Monumento al Fante – Monument to the Infantryman. A similar story plays out by a series of eight sculpture groups showing a progression of a young Italian from home to the army and on to battle. Since this monument was set to top a massive ossuary, the soldier does not return home but dies. Atop the monument, there children of the fallen watch over the victory. Baroni’s ideas are well known in Italy. Howard’s mother is from Italy and growing up, he spent summers in Torino taking in the many museums inspiring his choice of art as a career. So, he probably was aware of Baroni’s earlier work.
A NATION’S HISTORY ON DISPLAY
While A Soldier’s Journey draws on the classical tradition, its point of view renders it strikingly contemporary, such as the way it humanizes, without aggrandizing, battle. Literally and figuratively, the work is about human interconnectedness. “It’s a piece about war,” Howard says, “but also about healing.”
Monument architect Joseph Weishaar was also on hand. “We don’t build memorials for the dead. They are for the Living. We build them to protect and preserve our memories and our stories. And like the rings we wear, they remind us that we should dedicate our lives to the greatest levels that we can achieve. Not for ourselves, but for each other.”
SOME THOUGHTS ON WHY A MONUMENT
Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta wrote an interesting piece in a 2016 edition of Military Times entitled Why a World War 1 Memorial makes sense a Century later. He gives three main reasons, first to honor the five million men and women who put on a uniform with two million going overseas and 116,516 dying. Second, the war brought America to the role of world leadership, a responsibility we still bear today. Third, lessons learned from that war need remembrance. “My father fought in World War 1 in the Italian army … He fought in the Piave Valley and was wounded … his experiences … had a tremendous impact on me during my service in the US Army. A generation later, my son served in Afghanistan as a member of US Special Forces. He, too, carried that memory. It’s important that families remember these personal sacrifices.
“We need to have people in this country understand what war is about. We forget too quickly. There are people who don’t even remember 9/11, much less World War 1. We cannot afford to forget these conflicts. We can’t forget the people who fought them. And we can’t afford to forget their lessons. If we are able to make the right decisions in the future, we better damn well understand the past.”
WORDS TO BRING THE RELEVANCY TO THE FORE
On the back of the stand-alone relief wall an inscribed quote is worth noting. It comes from American poet and Librarian of Congress, Archibald MacLeish who also served during World War 1 in France: “Whether our Lives and our Deaths were for Peace and a new Hope or for Nothing we cannot say; it is you who must say this. They say: We leave you our Deaths. Give them their meaning. We were young, they say. We have died. Remember us.”
ARCHIBALD MACLEISH’S YOUNG DEAD SOLDIERS
MacLeish’s entire poem, “The Young Dead Soldiers do not Speak” is not much longer than the inscription:
“Nevertheless they are heard in the still houses: who has not heard them?
aRCHIBALD MACLEISH
They have a silence that speaks for them at night and when the clock counts.
They say, We were young. We have died. Remember us.
They say, We have done what we could but until it is finished it is not done.
They say, We have given our lives but until it is finished no one can know what our lives gave.
They say, Our deaths are not ours: they are yours: they will mean what you make them.
They say, Whether our lives and our deaths were for peace and a new hope or for nothing we cannot say: it is you who must say this.
They say, We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning.
We were young, they say. We have died. Remember us.”
Words that truly get to the heart of a “Reckoning with the Relevance of the Great War” in my opinion. “They will mean what you make them.
