Another Take on a National WWI Memorial

From The Washington Post:

The Right Way to Remember the Great War

By William N. Brown

As we pause this Veterans Day to remember Americans who have served in the armed forces, I’d like to draw attention to an unresolved legislative issue that casts a shadow over an important moment of remembrance that will soon be upon us: the World War I centennial.

This year, Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tex.) finally set aside a long-standingattempt to “nationalize” the D.C. World War I Memorial on the Mall. Unfortunately, the plan Poe has put forward in its place isn’t much better. He now seeks up to $10 million to create a World War I memorial on the other side of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, in Constitution Gardens. The time and effort it would take to proceed with this initiative — not to mention the $10 million — would go a lot further if it were used instead to enhance the existing John J. Pershing Memorial and Pershing Park in time to mark the centennial of the Great War.

With the centennial just around the corner, there is little time to waste. The funding could be used to add statuary (perhaps in honor of the “the last doughboy” Frank Buckles, who died in 2011, as well as representatives of the other service branches), interpretive signage, a reproduction tank or biplane, and a modest visitors center. In fact, space on the ground floor of the John A. Wilson Building, adjacent to the park, could be set aside to serve as a volunteer-staffed National World War I Memorial Visitors Center, just as the Commerce Department houses the White House Visitors Center.

The result would be a full re-envisioning of Pershing Park as the National World War I Memorial in the nation’s capital. The Association of the Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia supports this vision for two compelling reasons:

First, the congressionally established American Battle Monuments Commission already considers its memorial to Pershing to be the national World War I memorial. Do we really need another?

Second, the Commemorative Works Act prohibits the addition of memorials on the Mall, and according to recent congressional testimony by Stephen Whitesell, the regional director of the National Park Service’s National Capital Region, Poe’s Constitution Gardens plan is in conflict with the intent of the act.

If we move forward now, the centennial offers an ideal timeline for reimagining Pershing Park. We propose the following sequence of events:

●July 28, 2014: Pershing Park is rededicated as the new National World War I Memorial to mark the centennial anniversary of the start of the war, and the winner of a design competition is announced.

●April 6, 2017: Interpretive signage is unveiled at a ceremony commemorating the United States’ entry into the conflict in Europe.

● Nov. 11, 2018: New sculpture and displays are dedicated to mark Armistice Day, the end of the war.

 “Time will not dim the glory of their deeds,” Gen. Pershing said of those who served under him. To keep faith with these words, we must commemorate the centennial of World War I in an appropriate and timely manner. Will we rise to the occasion? Poe’s bill marks the third attempt in Congress to pass legislation to establish a National World War I Memorial on the Mall. If history is any indication, it will not pass — and in the meantime a window of opportunity to commemorate the Great War the right way will close. Pershing Park is a better answer.

The writer is the president of the Association of the Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia

Photo of the Week

LOC

Press Release from the World War One Memorial Foundation

For Immediate Release

Contact:

David DeJonge 616-540-4922

Edwin Fountain 202-879-7645

World War One Memorial Foundation challenges lawmakers to show America the change they promised and pass the law for the National World War One Memorial.

 WASHINGTON, DC- November 9, 2012- In 2008 an effort for a National WWI Memorial spearheaded by the late Frank Buckles was launched in Washington DC. Today the WWI Memorial Foundation has released it's latest video narrated by Emmy Award Winning actor Richard Thomas. Titled 'Ultimate Honor' is an 8-minute film that shows the history and challenges of this effort.

With this films release another call to action for the politicians. "The politicians have advanced the law this far which is exciting. We have no lobbyists or major veterans groups that have stepped forward to help. But will congress pass a bi-partisan bill to honor 5 million veterans that does not cost the taxpayer a dime?" Questioned David DeJonge the groups President.

HR6364 replaces the plan to add additional elements near the DC War Memorial and instead grants use of a small portion of property to the north of the WWII Memorial on the National Mall for a WWI Memorial to the veterans that served during the first World War.

 Europe has already surpassed 100 million dollars in financing to remember World War One. America's only official effort to honor these veterans is still locked in committee after nearly 4 years of effort.

"This law has now officially been stalled in congress longer than America was in World War One. As we approach the Centennial of WWI, America is the only major Nation to not be preparing to recognize The Great War." Stated David DeJonge co-founder of the foundation.

A documentary on the memorial process and the life of Frank Buckles is slated for release in 2013 and is titled 'Pershing's Last Patriot'. The two hour documentary will walk the world through the 110 year life of Frank Buckles and show exclusive footage of the memorial effort.

Veterans day was started in honor of the Armistice of World War One 94 years ago this Sunday.

WWI Ultimate Honor (Veterans Day 2012)

Some Thoughts on the Upcoming Centennial of the First World War

When I first started this blog I was in the throes of researching what was, for myself anyway, a mammoth undertaking – a museum exhibit that told the story of one American county’s experience during the First World War. This project was my “baby” from start to finish, and the massive amount of research that I did to familiarize myself both with the general aspects of America’s involvement in the war on down to the local story I was trying to tell led me establish Over There.

While other obligations have made this blog suffer from severe neglect, one thing that has been lingering in the back of my mind is a simple question – how will America commemorate the centennial of the Great War? Will begin with a whimper…and end with a whimper?

So far the effort to get a substantial centennial commemoration underway has led to bickering ,a proposal for silver coins, and a bill that has pretty much gone nowhere. It should come as no surprise that the situation in Europe is different, and planning of all sorts is already underway for the commemoration “over there.”

So it appears as if the efforts to commemorate America’s involvement will be a bit of an uncoordinated effort of local historical societies, museums, and great scholarship done by the relatively small group of academic historians who specialize in the topic.

One exception to this seemingly impenetrable malaise is the brand new Journal of the World War One Historical Association. I received my first issue in the mail yesterday and there is a great opening article entitled “Too Soon to Tell? Some Thoughts on the Meaning of World War I” by one of America’s leading scholars on the topic – Dr. Michael S. Neiberg. Dr. Neiberg is the author of such well-respected works as The Second Battle of the Marne and The Great War: A Global History and he deftly lays out how modern scholarship has put some old longstanding myths about the First World War to rest.

Neiberg talks of the prevailing wisdom among Americans and Europeans alike that the World War I generation was “supposedly so much dumber than our own that they let a calamitous war needlessly happen [and] then fought it with breathtaking incompetence.”
In terms of how the war is remembered, Neiberg states: “Even if those most passionately interested in the war have a sense of what we think the memory of World War I should not be, we have not agreed on what it should be. Nor are we likely to do so.” He concludes by stating that, “although centennials frequently inspire reflection and a quest for meaning, World War I was simply too large and too complex to provide a single set of answers.”

And therein lies the rub. Centennial commemorations are not likely to draw large crowds or garner much excitement because the event that is being commemorated is virtually unintelligible to modern Americans. It’s casually dismissed as being “too depressing” to contemplate or it’s relegated to a subordinate position due to the World War II craze that has captured the public’s imagination. Sgt. York and his buddies in the 82^nd Division were neat, but it’s Private Ryan and Easy Company that really get people excited.

Let us hope that the centennial can at least partially alter that perception and spawn a new generation of historians who seek to better understand the American experience in the First World War.

Lost Battalion Site Update

Well, as some of you may know, last week’s post about the destruction of the site where the Lost Battalion was surrounded for five days in October of 1918 has caused a bit of a stir. Within 24 hours after I posted the story, I was very fortunate to begin corresponding with Robert J. Laplander, who is the world’s foremost expert on the Lost Battalion, having written a massive 613-page volume entitled Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths, and Legends of America’s Famous WWI Epic. After getting his take on which portions of the battlefield have been destroyed and which are still intact, I asked Mr. Laplander to write a piece which I could share on this blog and he was kind enough to do so. The following is what he has to say about the recent activity at the Lost Battalion battle site:

Some of the bottom of the Charlevaux Ravine has been logged off. This means that many of the shell holes that were down there, as well as the few outpost holes from early in the event, are now gone. Although I have not seen the extent of the damage (outside of a few photos), it may mean that a couple of the sites where German machine gun nests were located might also have been taken out as well. However, I do not think the actual hillside where the Lost Battalion was trapped (the Pocket) has been affected. The hillside where the Pocket was located is separately owned from much of the land surrounding it. Statements said to have been made by the owner of the surrounding land are unsubstantiated. On last visit, and by further report since then, serious illegal digging for artifacts had been going on along the Pocket on the hillside, as well as gathering of unexploded ordinance. I can confirm that the spring that emanated from near the left flank of the Pocket has been dug out and a pipe driven into the hillside to create running water, which has flooded a section of the left flank, where a small camping trailer was moved in on a semi-permanent footing. This occurred prior to 2005 and was the beginning of the 'transformation' of the Pocket.

Logging along the Ravin d'Argonne extending from the 'Small Pocket' up to the Pocket in the Charlevaux Ravine have eradicated important positions and stretches of former trench line of the Giselher Stellung at the foot of Hill 205, as well as 'Turner's Ravine' and sections of the former narrow gauge rail bed along the bottom of the ravine. This is confirmed, as I saw this with my own eyes.

Fortunately, I and my team made a complete, detailed photo record of the Pocket and much of the important surrounding locations between 2002 and 2008 before any damage was done to the area, as well as gathering an extensive collection of period photos of the same area. Despite recent events, the Pocket can be remembered through the collection.

 For the most complete story of the Lost Battalion, please see my book 'Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legends of America's Famous WW1 Epic'. Available at Amazon.com, or my website at www.lulu.com/lostbattalion

Robert J. Laplander

Many thanks to Mr. Laplander for taking the time to share his expertise on this matter!

A Question For You, Gentle Readers

First of all, let me apologize for the paucity of posts “over here” (pun intended). I recently completed a Civil War battle history that is being published next week and all of my time over the past year has been devoted to its completion.

That being said, I have certainly not lost the WWI “bug” that led me to create this weblog in the first place. With the exception of the post on the Lost Battalion site, there really hasn’t been much substantive posting on this website, so before I delve into my next project, I thought that I’d ask you all some questions. Since the stated purpose of the blog is to write about the AEF and the First World War in general that means that the possibilities for topics are endless.

With that in mind, what would you like to see more of on this blog?

What stories do you think have been languishing in obscurity that you would like to see brought to light?

Who are the unsung heroes that deserve biographies?

What regiment or division within the AEF deserves to have their story told?

What skirmish, incident, or battle needs the dust blown off of it for a new generation of WWI historians to examine?

Are there any preservation issues in the US or elsewhere (such as the Lost Battalion site) that are in danger of being lost or have been swallowed up by the passage of time?

What recent books need to be recommended or reviewed?

Do you think that Centennial of the war will be observed in the U.S. in any meaningful way?

As you can see, asking the questions is the easy part.

It’s answering them that will determine "the shape of things to come,” to quote President Wilson.

I look forward to your answers.