Gen. John Pershing – Travel Objective DC

White House Vicinity: The First Division Monument, the Second Division Memorial and Pershing Park

October 28, 2016October 28, 2016Posted in World War ITagged First Division Monument, Gen. John Pershing, Pershing Park, Second Division Memorial, Washington DC, World War ILeave a comment

The First Division Monument

Along 17^th Street near the White House are monuments to two American Expeditionary Force units: the First and Second Divisions. The First Division Monument is located at the corner of 17^th Street and State Place, just west of the White House and South from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The Second Division Memorial is adjacent to the corner of 17^th Street and Constitution Avenue, near the Ellipse.

The First Division Monument has a bronze winged victory statue atop a granite column. The names of 5,516 First Division Soldiers who died in World War I are inscribed on it. The First Division, now known as the First Infantry Division (or by its nickname “the Big Red One”) was the first division to land in France in 1917 and the last division to leave Europe in 1919.

first-division-monument_travel-objective-dc — The First Division Monument (Note the flowers planted in the shape of a “Big Red One”)

Planning for the monument began in 1919 while the division was still on occupation duty in Germany. While initially opposed by the U.S. Fine Arts Commission, it was later envisioned as a new type of military monument, very different in design and purpose from the equestrian statues of individual Civil War generals that are still prevalent around the city.

Through the years additional names have been added commemorating the sacrifices of the First Infantry Division in World War II, Korea, Viet Nam and Operation Desert Storm. The First Infantry Division Association is now raising money to add additional names from its campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The monument is now located within the restricted area maintained by the Secret Service around the White House. It is not possible to visit the monument up close, but it can be viewed from the sidewalk along 17^th Street. The First Infantry Division Association will hold a Memorial Service on Veterans Day starting at 11:00 am. Because of Secret Service restrictions, the service will be held on the north side of the Ellipse, within sight of the monument.

The Second Division Memorial

The Second Division Memorial portrays a blazing gilded sword before an open archway in a stone edifice, representing the Second Division’s defense of Paris in 1918. On either side of the opening are panels listing the World War I battles and campaigns of the Second Division. The division’s emblem, an Indian head inside a five pointed star, is incorporated on the base of the sword.

The memorial was originally dedicated in 1936 by Franklin Roosevelt. Two wings were added in 1962 to recognize the division’s service in World War II and Korea. The Second Infantry Division Association is proposing adding three granite benches to the front of the memorial to commemorate the 2^nd Division soldiers who died while serving on the Demilitarized Zone in Korea, and in Iraq and Afghanistan.

second-division-memorial_travel-objective-dc — The Second Division Memorial

ROUTE RECON

The Memorials are easily reached from the Farragut West Station on Metro’s Blue, Orange and Silver Lines and walking south along 17^th Street.

Pershing Park

U.S. military personnel deployed to Europe to fight in World War I were organized in a single unit, the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), commanded by General of the Armies John Pershing. A park named in his honor lies at the intersection of 15^th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, about a block from the White House.

The park opened in 1981 and features a bronze statue of “Black Jack” Pershing looking west over the park. An adjoining wall describes the role he and the AEF played on the European Western Front and in the Meuse-Argonne campaign.

Originally designed to be an expanse of green space in the middle of the city, the park has unfortunately not been well maintained over the past few years. The World War I Centennial Commission has selected Pershing Park though as the sight of a National World War I Memorial. A ground breaking for the new memorial is scheduled for next year with a targeted completion date of November 2018.

ROUTE RECON

Pershing Park is just south east of the White House across 15^th Street along Pennsylvania Avenue. It can be reached from either the Metro Center Station on Metro’s Red Line or Federal Triangle on Metro’s Blue, Orange or Silver Lines.

Arlington National Cemetery: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Argonne Cross

October 28, 2016October 28, 2016Posted in World War ITagged Argonne Cross, Arlington National Cemetery, Gen. John Pershing, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Washington DC, World War ILeave a comment

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The best known memorial of World War I in the Washington area is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Following World War I, many countries adopted the practice of burying the unidentified remains of one solider in a place of high honor. Congress approved the burial of an unidentified American soldier in 1921 in the plaza of the new Memorial Amphitheater.

On Memorial Day of that year, four caskets containing remains of unidentified soldiers were exhumed from American cemeteries in France and brought to the City Hall in Chalons-en-Champagne in northeast France. There, on October 21, Army Sergeant Edward Younger, a highly decorated combat veteran, selected the casket that would come to rest in Arlington.

The casket was transported back to the United States, and after lying in state at the Capitol, the unknown soldier was buried on November 11, 1921. Five years later, Congress authorized the marble structure we see today at the Tomb, which was ultimately completed in 1931. Since July 2, 1937, the Tomb has been under 24 hour guard by U.S. Army soldiers. Today, a special platoon of the 3^rd U.S. Infantry Regiment guards the Tomb.

Sections 18, 19, 34 and the Argonne Cross

Because of the large number of American deaths overseas in World War I (approximately 116,000), the U.S. Government was faced with a critical decision in the immediate aftermath of the war: What would be done with the remains of America’s fallen soldiers? Would they be permanently interred in Europe or would the remains be brought back to the United States for burial?

Some believed it was best for the soldiers to be buried in Europe–among the comrades they fought with and in the countries they died defending. But ultimately, public sentiment favored giving the soldiers’ families the option of returning the remains to the United States.

Eventually, 46,000 remains were repatriated. Over 5,000 would be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, many in Sections 18 and 19. Also found in Section 18 is the Argonne Cross which commemorates the principal American offensive of World War I, the Meuse-Argonne Campaign.

This was the largest offensive in U.S. military history, involving 1.2 million troops. It lasted 47 days beginning on September 26, 1918 and ending with the armistice on November 11. The battle cost 26,277 American lives. The cross was erected in 1923 after many of the burials of World War I soldiers at Arlington.

The commander of the American Expeditionary Force, General of the Armies* John J. Pershing is also buried in Arlington, in adjoining Section 34 on a hill overlooking the men he commanded. A simple, government issued headstone marks his grave, alongside a spruce tree, placed in 1989 by the No Greater Love organization in memory of all Americans who died in World War I.

* Through much of its history, the highest rank in the U.S. Army, outside of the time of major wars, has been a two star major general. During World War I, Congress authorized the appointment of three star lieutenant generals and four star generals to be granted temporarily. John J. Pershing was promoted to general in October 1917. In 1919, by Congressional directive, the rank of General of the Armies was formally established and General Pershing became the first person to hold the rank.

* * *

ROUTE RECON

Arlington National Cemetery is located in Virginia across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The cemetery is at the end of Memorial Avenue, which extends west from the Lincoln Memorial, across the Memorial Bridge. Memorial Avenue intersects with the George Washington Memorial Parkway, just west of the Memorial Bridge. Arlington Cemetery is accessible from the major highways in the area such as Interstate 95, Interstate 395, the Capital Beltway (I-495), and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (I-295). There is paid parking on site.

METRO: There is also a stop for Arlington National Cemetery along the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) Blue Line.

A Century Later, We Can Still Remember

October 28, 2016December 5, 2016Posted in World War ITagged Argonne Cross, Arlington National Cemetery, Gen. John Pershing, Pershing Park, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Washington DC, World War ILeave a comment

Every year since 1918, the United States has observed the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month in a special way. As many high school history students can tell you, this was the effective time and day of the armistice which ended World War I.

As significant as it was, World War I does not resonate in the American psyche as does World War II or the Civil War. But it is hard to overstate its impact. World War I ushered in a completely new type of war, marked by huge armies, massive causality rates, multiple theaters of operation, the mobilization of national economies and the application of modern, industrial technologies to warfare.

tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier_arlington-cemetery_travel-objective-dc — A soldier from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The first widespread and tactically significant use of aircraft, submarines, tanks, machine guns and chemical weapons occurred in World War I. Though fought a century ago, the impact of World War I remains with us today. Balkan civil wars, the status of Northern Ireland and much of the ethnic conflict in the Middle East can all be traced directly to World War I and its settlement.

April 2017 marks the 100^th anniversary of the United States entry into World War I. The war greatly changed America. The United States greatly expanded its armed forces to fight the conflict. By the war’s end, there were over 4 million troops under arms.

gen-pershing-statue_travel-objective-dc — Statue of General John Pershing

America emerged from World War I as an economic,political and military power. Washington, DC grew quickly and many temporary buildings were erected for government workers busy building up the armed services and managing aspects of the economy.

Few traces of those changes can be seen today but there are important memorials to the soldiers who fought in the war. The centennial of America’s entry into the “Great War” provides a suitable occasion to visit these landmarks and honor those who served.

This month Travel Objective: DC highlights a few World War I landmarks that are accessible from downtown Washington and easily added to most visitors’ itineraries. We organized the landmarks by geography for convenient trip planning. Please click on the links below for more information, including a Route Recon for how to get there.

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Sections 18, 19, 34 and the Argonne Cross

NATIONAL MALL

District of Columbia War Memorial

WHITE HOUSE VICINITY

First Division Monument
Second Division Memorial
Pershing Park

If you are interested in learning more about the U. S. experience in the “the Great War,” visit the website of the United States World War I Centennial Commission. The commission was founded by Congress in 2013 to educate Americans about the war and to organize and promote various commemorative activities. You can learn more about the proposed National World War I memorial, review historical information and even sign up to volunteer in your community. It would be a fitting tribute to all those men and women, soldiers and civilians, who answered the country’s call a century ago.