History of the Memorial
The District of Columbia War Memorial is located on the National Mall, in a quiet, contemplative grove of trees beside the Lincoln Reflecting Pool. Erected in 1931, it was paid for by private funds raised through a campaign led by Frank B. Noyes, president of the Associated Press and the Washington Evening Star. President Herbert Hoover spoke at the memorial’s dedication on November 11, 1931, and John Philip Sousa conducted the Marine Band.
Designed by Frederick H. Brooke and Nathan C. Wyeth, the architect of the Oval Office, the memorial embodies the simplicity and solemnity of ancient times as well as the founding ideals of our newer nation. Its classical circular dome supported by 12 Doric columns recalls Thomas Jefferson’s admiration for Roman temples, emphasizing the political continuity between the Roman and American republics. The names of the 499 residents of the District of Columbia who died in World War I are inscribed around its base.
Few residents or visitors to Washington are even aware of the DC War Memorial. It is in extreme disrepair, it is hidden away among overgrown trees and bushes, and it is seldom marked on Park Service or other tourist maps or signs.
Together with the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War Memorials, the District of Columbia War Memorial is part of a quartet of memorials to America’s 20th-century struggle to defend freedom abroad. Yet of the four memorials, only the DC War Memorial is a local memorial, and no national World War I memorial exists on the National Mall.
Once restored and re-landscaped, and re-dedicated as a national memorial, the DC War Memorial will give honor to the heroic deeds and sacrifice of all World War I veterans equal to that bestowed on the veterans of more recent wars.
