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The 4.7 Million Americans Who Served in WWI Now Have Their Own National Memorial in DC

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16 Apr 2021
Medill News Service | By Karli Goldenberg

The American flag was raised over the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C.'s Pershing Park for the first time Friday morning during its First Colors Ceremony.

"Let's remember all that was sacrificed, all that was sanctified by our proud, brave Americans who served in World War I," President Joe Biden said during pre-recorded remarks. "The commitment and valor of the American women and men who stepped up to serve, whether here at home, or on the front lines in Europe was the same spirit that has always defined American service members."

The flag raised during the ceremony also flew over D.C. on April 6, 2017, recognizing the 100th anniversary of U.S. involvement in World War I. The commemorative flag also flew over several American battlefield cemeteries in Europe, according to a news release from the World War I Centennial Commission.

Terry Hamby, a Vietnam veteran who spent 26 years in various military services, told Military.com that serving as chairman of the World War I Centennial Commission was "a humbling experience."

"Somewhere along the way … we forgot 4.7 million Americans that sacrificed so much for our generation today," he said. "It became a mission for all of us to make sure that all those World War I veterans and their families were recognized in their sacred place."

Hamby knew that his grandfather served during WWI, but said he learned more recently that his great-uncle was also killed during the war.

"And then from that point forward, it was really personal. My family was one of those 116,516 people that gave the ultimate sacrifice," he said.

Architect and lead designer Joe Weishaar told Military.com that he was inspired to submit a design after looking through WWI photos in the National Archives.

"Looking at those photos, the thing that struck me was that everybody in them was 20 to 25 years old. And at the time, I was 24 or 25, when I submitted the design, and so it resonated with me," Weishaar said. "I don't have any relatives who were in the war, but just to see people my age, if I had been alive 100 years ago, that would have been me."

His design was inspired by the need to tell the soldiers' stories to younger generations, he said.

"It's been 101 years since the end of World War I; there are no living veterans. The only way that we can remember them is by telling stories," Weishaar explained.

Hamby said he hopes that the memorial will be a place to learn about and reflect on our history.

"I'm looking forward to America seeing it. I'm looking forward to America coming here and seeing a 21st century memorial," he added. "I'm interested in them coming here … to learn more about what this generation did for us today. … Even though we were the greatest country in the world, we still made mistakes. And it was in that period that we started correcting them."

My grandpa

Vinson Dillard "Jack" Henderson - USN WW1 - 1892-1964

My grandpa and gramdma circa 1960

Jack and Essie Henderson - 1900 - 1978

That monument is probably racissss.

Thanks to your Grampa for his service, and all the others who served in that war.

(And may someone fart in Woodrow Wilson's general direction).

That will be trashed and spray painted by mid summer, red dye in the water, Mr Bubble dumped in there, etc

Madam Mayor will see to it.

May God bless and hold them and those like your grandparents close.

The Greatest Generation.

Too bad none of the veterans got to see it.

I knew a few of the WWI vets - unassuming, to a man.
They all knew what they did, though.
As a kid, I felt sorry for the mustard gas victims, particularly - even more than for those who lost limbs.
Those with maimed lungs really suffered!

My wife's maternal grandfather came back from WWI with only one functional lung due to the mustard gas.
Smoked unfiltered Pall Malls till he died in his 80's.

My grandfather, Frank Lewis of Mina South Dakota fought in the war. He was in the artillery.

I’m happily surprised we can still build a memorial like that.

This is great news! Well deserved and well overdue! I am a bit surprised that it was allowed to be constructed, due to the high percentage of white men in the war.

My Grandfather served in WWI. He passed away when I was 13. I was a pallbearer at his funeral. I have his bayonet and "dog tags".

My grandfather, who unfortunately passed away before I was born, was a WW1 vet. He was gassed and received the Purple Heart. I have his Purple Heart and Meuse Argon and Verdun campaign medals hanging on my wall. I also have a WW1 vintage gas mask that I believe was his. I guess he kept it for good reason. Very little in the way of stories or experiences were passed down. I think that generation did their duty and went back to everyday life with a minimum of drama and a desire to forget the atrocities they witnessed.

My paternal grandfather was another WW 1 vet. Came here from Scotland in 1914 and in April 1917 when the U.S. declared war he was in one of those groups of guys who crossed the border and joined the Canadian Army. Spent something like 17 months in France with the Canadian Machine Gun Corps. Saw an awful lot of carnage and got gassed a few times but a shifting breeze spared his unit from the worst of it. He never spoke about any of it until the spring of 1943 when my dad was getting ready to graduate from high school into the middle of WW2. My grandfather had fears of another trench war developing and convinced my dad to join the Navy after relating stuff about the horrors he saw in the mud and trenches. Bottom line was that he didn't want his only son to "die in the mud" and if his son never came home again it would be better to die at sea than in a rat filled mudhole. I've heard that in the 1920's or 30's my grandmother got a few of his wartime memories told to her but she never spoke of them either because that's the way he wanted it. I have some ribbons of his, and his discharge papers and the Canadian government has a web site called "Collections Canada" that produced his enlistment papers and other information for us.