A Soldier's Journey: First Illumination
Please join The World War I Centennial Commission and The Doughboy Foundation on Friday, September 13, 2024 at sundown for the First Illumination of "A Soldier's Journey," the magnificent bronze sculpture that will serve as the centerpiece of the National World War I Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue. A viewing area will be set up at Freedom Plaza for the general public.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2024
7:15PM EST
NATIONAL WORLD WAR I MEMORIAL
14TH STREET AND PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW
WASHINGTON, DC
** PLEASE NOTE THE GENERAL PUBLIC VIEWING AREA WILL BE LOCATED AT
FREEDOM PLAZA, 1325 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW **
“Across five scenes and 38 larger-than-life-size human figures, it will be nearly 60 feet long and ten feet high. And it may become the greatest memorial bronze of the modern age." - Smithsonian Magazine
Background
On September 13, 2024, The World War I Centennial Commission and The Doughboy Foundation will unveil A Soldier's Journey, a 58.5-foot long bronze sculptural wall, years in the making, to serve as the centerpiece of the National World War I Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue. This historic event will mark the completion of the last war memorial of the 20th century in our nation's capital.
World War I is important for our nation to remember. 4.7 million Americans served; 116,516 gave their lives. It shook the world with technological advances. It marked the beginning of the American Century, the beginning of the women's suffrage and civil rights movements. It laid the groundwork for World War II.
A Soldier's Journey will be the largest free standing high relief bronze in the western hemisphere. The sculpture speaks to all military members and families as it tells the story of a soldier leaving home to serve a greater cause, experiencing intense battle and the cost of war, and returning home a changed man. Sculptor Sabin Howard and the WWI Memorial Design Team have been working on this project since January 2016.
