DC World War Memorial
Published by Jonathan June 25th, 2007 in Washington DC
Back on Memorial Day I visited the Washington, DC World War Memorial. This memorial is rather unique in DC as it is the only one on The Mall that is dedicated to local interests. The memorial is dedicated to Washingtonians who served in the Great War. The memorial itself can only be viewed from close proximity as a thick grove of trees surround it and there are only two paths leading to it – one from Independence Avenue and one from the National Mall. It is quite easy to simply walk past the memorial as there are not any signs directing attention to it unlike the rest of the monuments downtown.
This lack of information regarding the whereabouts of the memorial and even its hidden location tells me that perhaps this memorial is not highly regarded by the society in which it finds itself. Indeed World War One is often overshadowed by the World War which followed, despite the 117,000 Americans who died in the war and the demise of four empires. The memorial itself is in a sad state of repair. The dome exterior is stained black from what I presume are years of exposure to smog. The interior of the dome is covered with spider webs and dirt and there are several places where water leaks have created stalactites. The marble columns have cracks and are missing small patches of marble.
Perhaps its just my nature to sympathize with the underdog, but I find it sad that this memorial seems to have been forgotten - despite its location near some of our nations most recognizable monuments.
The D.C. Preservation League has more information about the D.C. World War Memorial on their Most Endangered list.
I will be in D.C. in August and I will be visiting this Memorial. I had never seen it until I Googled WWI memorials. It is so beautiful and I want to see it up close. My grandfather was a WWI verteran; he fought in the Argonne forest in France. And, even though, it is dedicated to Washingtionians, I feel as if it is a honor to him. Thanks so much for the picture.
My family and I went to D.C. to see a Nationals game. Instead we spent the weekend observing the memorials and such. We were on our way to the car. We cut through the woods on a path, and my 5 year old son stopped. He asked to go see this old building. We had walked past it several times. Considering he was bored and tired, this surprised me. We walked over and read the plaque, if you could call it that. We never knew this thing existed, but are really glad we saw it.
While on a recent tour of the US, of which Washington, DC, was the main focal point, we were walking from the WWII Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial, and passed by this lonely little monument. In fact, the other 5 people in our group never noticed it at all!!! I’m the picture-taker, and am usually tagging along at the rear snapping photos of everything that catches my fancy. I noticed a lonely little duck sitting in the grass and stopped to take her picture, when I looked up and spotted this lovely little monument. I called to the others to come back and look at it. I didn’t realize that it was just dedicated to Washington citizens, but regardless, felt that it was a shame that it was in such a state of repair, and so obviously neglected. But on the other hand, it was probably THE singularly most peaceful monument we visited on the entire trip! I wish that ALL wars could be as long ago and as “forgotten” as WWI is becoming.
We travelled over 8,000 miles of your country on our trip this year, and think you live in an amazing country!!
I am pleased that you each discovered the DC War Memorial. As some of you noted, it is in extreme disrepair, and it is hidden away and is forgotten and neglected by residents and visitors to Washington. I and others have recently formed a foundation to advocate and raise funds for the restoration of this memorial, and for re-dedication of that site as a true national World War I memorial. We are just getting off the ground, but if you would like to contribute, you can send a check to World War I Memorial Foundation, 401 F Street N.W. Room 324, Washington DC 20001, or on-line at http://www.dcpreservation.org/WWI .