April 5, 2018  - The SECOND 50: Final 100 Cities/100 Memorial Grant Recipients Named

100 Cities / 100 Memorial matching grant challenge Awardees are Announced in Chicago

By Bill Betten, Co-Director of the California WW1 Centennial Task Force

One hundred years ago today was not a high time for America and her Allies. In fact, the Germans had just made the deepest incursions into France since the beginning of WW1. Now the English and the French were pleading with, and threatening the American Commander in Chief, General Pershing to give them his troops to throw at the enemy, though he insisted they had not had enough training. Back in America, it was the first month of the dreaded Spanish Flu epidemic and individual figures on deaths already were shocking. While still more ships were being sunk by subs though, Americans bravely boarded them to stop the enemy “Over There!”

We remember the victory, but do we today recall the true sacrifices made to “Win the War?” To help us do that, the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library announced today the final 50 WW1 Memorials to be awarded grants and honored with the official national designation as "WW1 Centennial Memorials".

The 100 Cities/100 Memorials matching grant challenge was designed to remind America of those tough times, and to recall who had paid the price. The grants from the Commission are to help community groups restore and re-place in the public mind local World War I memorials, while commemorating the centennial of WW1.

 A total of $200,000 has been allocated for grants that will assist in the physical work and materials for the memorials’ renovations so that all across America the people not forget.  Each awardee will receive $2,000.

Joining the first four California Awardees (see our article of September 27, 2019) are the War Memorial Veterans Building and Opera House, San Francisco, CA , the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA, the Santa Monica Memorial Open Air Theater/Memorial Bronze Plaque, Santa Monica, CA, and the Albert Harry Bode Gravesite in Jackson, CA,

Following are the California 100 Cities / 100 Memorial matching grant challenge Awardees. To view the entire list of awardees visit https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/100-cities-100-memorials-home.html

California recipients of the official designation of “U.S. World War I Centennial Memorial