WWI Commission to Feature Special World War I Tribute in DC's National Memorial Day Parade 

By Chris Isleib
Director of Public Affairs, United States World War One Centennial Commission

WASHINGTON DC (May 18th, 2018) – The National Memorial Day Parade is coming to Washington DC on Monday, May 28th. This parade is our nation’s largest Memorial Day event, drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators to the National Mall to pay tribute to those who have served.

This year's parade will be huge -- including marching bands, flags, celebrities, veterans of all ages, 300,000 cheering attendees, and TV cameras that will broadcast the parade across the country.

New for this year, the parade will feature the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission's special tribute to the American veterans of World War I.

This special tribute will include several World War I-era military & support vehicles -- and for the first time ever -- a parade float to emphasize the centennial of WWI and America’s National WWI Memorial slated for Washington DC.

The Centennial Commission's float will feature imagery of the new National WWI Memorial that the Commission is building in the Nation's Capital. This memorial is being created via support from people across the entire country. It will be the largest national tribute to America's veterans in over a decade.

As a thank-you for the work that they have done this year -- the Centennial Commission has invited their volunteers, interns, friends, and staff members, to ride and march with the WW1CC's Parade presence. The Commission volunteers will greet the crowds, and give out free packets of Poppy seeds, as a symbol of remembrance for those who served in WWI.

The World War I-era vehicles are remarkable -- each of them is one hundred years old, and many actually served during the war.

There will be a beautifully-restored Packard Liberty Truck from the US Army, an American Field Service Ambulance, visiting from Connecticut, a 1917 Cadillac Officer's Staff Car, which has a bullet hole in it from the war, and a Ford Model T Pie Truck, which comes from Washington DC's local Copperthite Pie Company. During World War I, the Copporthite Pie Company baked 50,000 pies, per day, for the Doughboys -- and nine members of the Copperthite family enlisted & served overseas in WWI. Sadly, only four of those family members returned home to DC.

For those in the Washington DC area, the parade is open to the public, free of charge, and a great event for people of all ages. The route is accessible via the Washington, DC metro and is easy to access via National Archives/Penn Quarter/Navy Memorial stop (yellow/green line) as well as the Federal Triangle and Smithsonian stop (orange/blue/silver line).

The parade will be broadcast live to several dozen affiliate channels nationwide. People can watch the parade on television stations listed at the link below. All times local: http://www.americanveteranscenter.org/avc-events/parade/national-memorial-day-parade/watch-parade/

The 2018 National Memorial Day Parade will be televised LIVE to service personnel serving around the world on American Forces Network. Tune in to AFN prime at 2 PM Eastern / 11 AM Pacific this Memorial Day.

The Parade will also be streamed LIVE by our online partners Military.com and YouTube.

Since its creation by Congress in 2013, the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission has operated via private donation. The Pritzker Military Museum & Library is the Founding Sponsor for the Centennial Commission. The leading sponsor for the Centennial Commission is the Starr Foundation. Other major supporters include the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, and the Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Information on the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission can be found here: www.ww1cc.org

Information on the Pritzker Military Museum and Library can be found here: www.pritzkerlibrary.org

Information on the Starr Foundation can be found here: www.starrfoundation.org