No American doughboys remain alive to recall wading through the trenches of the Great War more than a century ago, so a new sculpture in the nation’s capital seeks to speak for them.
Officials recently announced that the National World War I Memorial will reach its completion with the unveiling of a 25-ton bronze sculpture honoring the typical U.S. infantryman — nicknamed “doughboy” for the flour used to polish their white belts — who fought in the last months of the global conflict that ended in 1918.
The 60-foot-long sculpture, “A Soldier’s Journey,” evokes the epic myth of the hero’s journey and will be the largest of its kind in the northern hemisphere. Officials plan to illuminate it during a nighttime ceremony on Sept. 13, the 164th birthday of Gen. John J. Pershing, who led the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe from 1917 to 1920.
The artwork follows an anonymous doughboy from enlistment to homecoming. It will be the focal point of the memorial on Pennsylvania Ave., located across the street from the White House.
“It completes what I would call the quartet of national memorials to the four major wars of the 20th century,” said Edwin Fountain, general counsel of the American Battle Monuments Commission, the federal agency overseeing military memorials. “World War I led directly or indirectly to those other conflicts and is arguably the most consequential event in 20th century history.”
Congress authorized the memorial in 2014 and political leaders from both parties attended a ceremony opening the unfinished site to the public in April 2021.
Mr. Fountain, the grandson of two World War I veterans, served on the commission that developed the monument. He said the sculpture is the “emotional core” of the site and honors “a peace that made the sacrifice worthwhile.”
An estimated 4.7 million Americans served in uniform after the U.S. belatedly entered WWI in December 1917. Roughly 116,000 did not return, making it the third-bloodiest conflict in American history after the Civil War and World War II.
In those days, only local and state governments erected memorials to soldiers who served in overseas conflicts.
The first national monument appeared when veterans lobbied for the 1982 opening of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial near the National Mall in the District.
That led to the opening of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in 1995 and the World War II Memorial in 2004, each located on the Mall.
According to some historians reached for comment, it was not a foregone conclusion that the Great War would ever receive a similar memorial in the nation’s capital.
“I’m not sure we do need one,” said Michael Kazin, a Georgetown University historian who has researched U.S. protests against the war. “In my view, the only foreign war that the U.S. should be proud to have fought was WWII, although one could make an argument for Korea.”
Mr. Kazin said that while U.S. entry into the war “was the largest factor in the Allied victory,” that victory unwittingly led to the harsh treaty conditions that drove Germans into the Nazi party during the 1930s.
He also pointed out that the U.S. was not attacked in 1917 — as it was at Pearl Harbor during World War II — and that the Great War did not involve a communist adversary like Korea.
“So for most Americans, WWI is either a confusing war or a forgotten one,” Mr. Kazin added.
Mr. Fountain, a former vice chair of the World War I Centennial Commission, said the new sculpture reflects that moral ambiguity. He noted that it differs from the other three memorials by focusing on a single soldier rather than all who fought.
At the same time, he noted that WWI ushered in a new era of patriotism that united Northerners and Southerners at a time when many still remembered the Civil War.
“I think we all share the perception that the country is very divided today across various political lines,” Mr. Fountain said. “We hope that all Americans will be inspired to learn more about this war that is little taught and little remembered today, and take pride in what America accomplished.”
Master sculptor Sabin Howard took over four years to execute the sculpture, shipping it section by section to a foundry. The completed work arrived in the District at the end of July.
Its high-relief tableau depicts the story of an American doughboy who leaves home, links up with his comrades, experiences battle, confronts the physical and psychological costs of war, and ultimately returns home to a parade.
One scene depicts the soldier’s wife holding him back, representing the debate about American neutrality and whether to join the war.
Officials say another scene in the memorial invites viewers to answer for themselves the question, “Was it worth it?”
Wilfred McClay, an American history professor at private Hillsdale College in Michigan, described the heroic style of the work as a fitting tribute to America emerging on the world stage.
“I think Sabin Howard is an utterly visionary artist, whose work will be remembered and cherished as long as there is an America,” Mr. McClay said. “After all the trashy, cynical, and gimmicky garbage that passes for art in our time has passed away, his work will endure.”
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.