Almost a decade in the making, the centerpiece of the National World War I Memorial is finally slated to arrive in Washington, DC. The 58-foot-long, 10-foot-tall bronze sculpture, called “A Soldier’s Journey,” will call Pennsylvania Avenue’s Pershing Park home.
“A Soldier’s Journey” commemorates the sacrifice made by the troops who fought for the United States in the Great War. The 38 life-like figures that make up the monument tell the full story of a soldier’s service in the conflict, from their deployment, all the way to their return home.
The massive memorial was sculpted by a team that spanned both sides of the Atlantic. A team based out of New Jersey worked on the concept, using live models and thousands of photographs to give each sculpture a realistic appearance. The Pangolin Editions foundry in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, created the bronze castings used to put it all together.
The project was completed in late June 2024.
“I came into this project not really aware of the sacredness of [World War I] and how big it was,” sculptor Sabin Howard told Task & Purpose in a 2024 news article. “I’m a different human being than when I started it. This project really brings a human, visceral quality to WW I, rather than just a didactic history book look at it.”
He said in a 2022 interview with Smithsonian Magazine, “I’m hoping to make something that lets a kid, when he’s walking along the wall, experience it like it’s a movie in bronze. The scenes are changing. And the kid goes home and he’s like, ‘Oh my God, I got to see what World War I was all about.’ And he gets the idea that we’re on a journey – each and every one of us.”
Comprising four sections, “A Soldier’s Journey” will be shipped to Baltimore, Maryland, the week of July 7-13, 2024. It will then be transported to Washington, DC. The official dedication ceremony will take place this coming September, with the monument serving as the centerpiece of National World War I Memorial.
Production of “A Soldier’s Journey” began following a 2015 competition by the World War I Centennial Commission. Arkansas-based architect Joe Weishaar won, with the commission praising his design for being “an appropriately solemn war memorial” and “an inviting, well-functioning, living, breathing city park.” He subsequently partnered with Howard.
As the National Park Service (NPS) explains, the monument is split into five scenes, each telling a different part of the story of a soldier’s service during the First World War:
- Departure – Soldier says goodbye to his wife and daughter, with the former wishing he would stay.
- Initiation – Soldier marches toward the frontlines with other troops, as the United States has joined the conflict.
- Ordeal – Group of soldiers charge into combat.
- Aftermath – Visual representation of the impact the war had on soldiers, both physically and mentally.
- Return – Soldier participates in a homecoming parade, joined by servicemen who are happy to be home.
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The National World War I Memorial officially opened to the public in April 2021, after years of work. It is Washington, DC’s first official site dedicated to the conflict.
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