These two monuments were placed inside Mammoth Cave in the 1920s to honor the soldiers who died in World War I. The American Legion and American War Mothers selected Mammoth Cave as a timeless place to recognize the soldiers who died during the devastating conflict.
On August 30, 1922, as part of the American Legion Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, a monument was placed inside Mammoth Cave to honor the fallen of the Great War. Inside the monument, 35 states each placed a list of the fallen soldiers from their respective states. In 1929, a second monument was placed by the America War Mothers to also honor the fallen of the Great War.
In 2017, in coordination with the centennial of World War I, the two monuments were refurbished. The damage caused by years of vandalism was repaired, and what remained of the original documents listing the names of the American dead were once again enshrined inside the base of the American Legion monument. The two monuments were then returned to their original location at the entrance to the Rotunda.
Monuments & Memorials
"The centennial of World War One offers an opportunity for people in the United States
to learn about and commemorate the sacrifices of their predecessors."
from The World War One Centennial Commission Act, January 14, 2013
World War One was a watershed in American history. The United States' decision to join the battle in 1917 "to make the world safe for democracy" proved pivotal in securing allied victory — a victory that would usher in the American Century.
In the war's aftermath, individuals, towns, cities, counties, and states all felt compelled to mark the war, as did colleges, businesses, clubs, associations, veterans groups, and houses of worship. Thousands of memorials—from simple honor rolls, to Doughboy sculptures, to grandiose architectural ensembles—were erected throughout the US in the 1920s and 1930s, blanketing the American landscape.
Each of these memorials, regardless of size or expense, has a story. But sadly, as we enter the war's centennial period, these memorials and their very purpose—to honor in perpetuity the more than four million Americans who served in the war and the more than 116,000 who were killed—have largely been forgotten. And while many memorials are carefully tended, others have fallen into disrepair through neglect, vandalism, or theft. Some have been destroyed. Watch this CBS news video on the plight of these monuments.
The extant memorials are our most salient material links in the US to the war. They afford a vital window onto the conflict, its participants, and those determined to remember them. Rediscovering the memorials and the stories they tell will contribute to their physical and cultural rehabilitation—a fitting commemoration of the war and the sacrifices it entailed.
Memorial Hunters Club
We are building a US WW1 Memorial register through a program called the Memorials Hunters Club. If you locate a memorial that is not on the map we invite you to upload your treasure to be permanently archived in the national register. You can include your choice of your real name, nickname or team name as the explorers who added that memorial to the register. We even have room for a selfie! Check the map, and if you don't see the your memorial CLICK THE LINK TO ADD IT.

































