The District of Columbia War Memorial commemorates the more than 26,000 "residents and citizens" of the District of Columbia who performed military service in World War I, including the 499 who gave their lives in that service. Located on the National Mall, it was constructed in 1931 as a domed, peristyleDoric temple designed to serve as a bandstand for public events. In a practice unusual for the time, the names are listed in alphabetical order, without regard to rank, gender, race, or national origin.[1]
History
The memorial at night.
The memorial was built to honor World War I service members who died in the war. It stands in West Potomac Park slightly off Independence Avenue in a memorial grove of trees. Authorized by an act of Congress on June 7, 1924, funds to construct the memorial were provided by the contributions of both organizations and individual citizens of the District. Construction of the memorial began in the spring of 1931, and the memorial was dedicated by President Herbert Hoover on November 11, 1931 (Armistice Day). It was the first war memorial to be erected in West Potomac Park, part of the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial, and remains the only local District memorial on the National Mall.
Designed by Washington architect Frederick H. Brooke, with Horace Peaslee and Nathan C. Wyeth as associate architects, the District of Columbia War Memorial is in the form of a 47-foot (14 m) tall circular, domed, peristyleDoric temple. Resting on concrete foundations, the 4-foot (1.2 m) high marble base defines a platform, 43 feet 5 inches (13.23 m) in diameter, intended for use as a bandstand. Twelve 22-foot (6.7 m) tall fluted Doric marble columns support the entablature and dome. Preserved in the cornerstone is a list of 26,000 Washingtonians who served in the Great War. Inscribed on the base are the names of the 499 District of Columbia "residents and citizens" who died in service, listed in alphabetical order without regard to rank, race, gender, or national origin,[2] together with medallions representing the branches of the armed forces. The dome inscription reads, "A Memorial to the Armed Forces from the District of Columbia Who Served Their Country in the World War," and the base inscription reads, in part, "The names of the men and women from the District of Columbia who gave their lives in the World War are here inscribed as a perpetual record of their patriotic service to the country. Those who fell and those who survived have given to this and to future generations an example of high idealism, courageous sacrifice and gallant achievement."[3]
In September 2008, Rep. Ted Poe of Texas, with the support of Frank Buckles, then the last living US veteran of World War I, proposed a bill in Congress stating the memorial should be expanded and designated the national memorial to World War I.[4][5][6]
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