A female angel's head is carved at the top of a tall square shaft of gray granite or marble, which rests on a low two-stepped circular base. The angel wears a laurel wreath on her head and holds a long sword which extends down the front of the shaft. On the sides are the angel's wings and the folds of the drapery she wears. This was sculpted by Joseph A. Coletti and dedicated on October 19, 1947, in memory of the 210 WWI and WWII veterans of St. Joseph Parish.
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.
This monument was dedicated in September 1925 and honors the Native Americans of the Five Civilized Tribes who fought in World War I. It was placed in front of the Soldiers Home in Muskogee, Oklahoma which thereafter became the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center. The statue is one of only two E.M. Viquesney Doughboys honoring Native Americans (the other is in Bullhead, SD). ERECTED IN COMMEMORATION OF MEMBERS OF THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES, WHOSE RECORD OF ENLISTMENT, CONDUCT IN CAMP, AND FORTITUDE AND VALOR ON THE BATTLEFIELD, ADDED LUSTRE TO THE TRIUMPHANT VICTORY OF OUR COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WAR. Descending engravings on the blocks on both sides of the monument are the names of the Five Civilized Tribes: CHICKASAW, CHOCTAW, SEMINOLE, CHEROKEE, CREEK. Descending on the blocks on the back are engravings naming historically famous leaders of the tribes: COLBERT, PUSHMATAHA, OCEOLA, SEQUOYAH, OPOTHLE-YAHOLA.
