100 Cities / 100 Memorials

The Soldiers Memorial, better known as The Doughboy, is located in front of the Hampshire County Courthouse. It is a life-size stone figure of a WWI soldier on a stone base and includes a a bronze tablet that lists the names of the 27 who died during WWI from Hampshire County. Approximately 490 men from the county served in the war. The memorial was dedicated on May 13, 1928 and has recently been restored in honor of the centennial of World War I.  The inscription reads:

In honor of Hampshire's sons who gave their lives and their service in the World War
"We are the dead,
Short days ago we lived,
Felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved."

Lieut. Robert W. Gilkeson • Corp. James Cleveland Lee • Corp. Joshua Davis Slonaker • John Frederick Abe • Arthur C. Bean • Edward Leslie Brown • Thomas Franklin Ewers • Ferman Lee Fultz • Jesse Jones Haines • William Lee Horn • Harry Myron Jackson • Harry Guy Leith • Arthur Sylvester nelson • Ova Truman Parrill • Charles Albert Poland • Joseph Rodney Power • Marshall Pultz • Carter Carson Racey • Herman Herbert Racey • Elza mayo Saville • Roy Sylvester Shanholtzer • Willis Richard Shoemaker • William Bryan Swisher • Foreman Francis Taylor • Edgar Triplett • Charles C. Wolford

 
Erected 1928 by The Hampshire Review.

This elaborate memorial rests on a slightly curved stone base with four Corinthian columns supporting an ornate, slightly curved roof.  Between the columns stands a stone pedestal with a bronze plaque on the front, topped by an eagle with its wings outspread. 

This memorial, commemorating those who served in World War I, was designed by J&R Lamb Company of New York, and erected by Ellsworth Matthews of Lakewood, NJ.  The local War Memorial Committee raised $8,000 through benefit dances and personal contributions over a two-year period. 

This monument replaced a temporary wooden one that was located at the intersection of Second Street & Clifton Avenue. 

Photo courtesy of:  Ocean County Cultural & Heritage Commission 
Vintage photo courtesy of:  Sheldon Wolpin Lakewood Historical Museum 

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Ramsey, NJ is an elegant classical composition that sits in a grassy island in a park.  Flanked by two other honor roll memorials, the monuments are set in front of a backdrop of six flagpoles with flags, three on either side of the World War I monument.

The monument sits on a stone slab base constructed of three stepped slabs. Rising from either side of the top slab are baseless fluted Doric columns with a full entablature including triglyphs and guttae. The monument is crowned by a pedimented gable. A bronze honor roll plaque is set in a stone surround between the two columns.

Photos courtesy of:  Ramsey Historical Association
Vintage postcard courtesy of:  Ramsey Historical Association, Collection of Daniel Kennedy 

This Soldiers & Sailors Monument is a full-length figure of a World War I soldier, wearing a uniform and hat. His left arm is outstretched holding a rifle.  In his right hand he holds a grenade which he is positioned to toss. The painted bronze sculpture stands on a white concrete base. 

The monument was installed by the Hudson City Soldiers & Sailors Welfare League in 1930.

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS)  inventory #NJ000481.

Photo courtesy of: Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS)

Wallington's monument was created by local citizens as an expression of gratitude, respect & remembrance to those who served in the "Great War." 

Wallington's VFW Pavlick-Koster Post #1640, named after two Wallington war heroes, was formed in 1932, with 40 World War I veterans. 

In addition, an honor roll, framing the names of all the men in service, is still displayed in the council chamber of the municipal building.

Narrative adapted from Wallington Borough, NJ official website. 

Photos courtesy of:  NJ State Historic Preservation Office

Soldiers & Sailors World War I Memorial

This World War Memorial is of a soldier and his rifle. Inscription on plaque:

Dedicated By
This Community
To The Honor Of Our
Soldiers & Sailors

1922

Montclair's landmark World War I memorial in Edgemont Park consists of a tall granite obelisk. The shaft is surmounted by a bronze female figure of Liberty. She stands on a globe which is upheld by eagles. Her right arm is raised straight in the air; her left arm is held out in blessing.

At the base of the obelisk stands a bronze figure grouping. At the front of the group is a WWI soldier, dressed in uniform and carrying a rifle. Behind him is a figure of a sailor.
Columbia, a full-length female figure, stands behind and above the two male figures. She wears a helmet and holds a round shield in her left hand, towering over the soldier & sailor.
The bronze grouping stands on a stepped base surrounded by a flagstone platform.

This memorial was funded by popular subscription; $85,000 was raised. The municipality contributed an additional $6,000 to build two small bridges and to grade the island in the park on which the memorial stands.

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) inventory #NJ000507. 

Photos courtesy of: Lee Sandstead
Vintage postcard courtesy of:  Rutgers University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives

Donald F. Curran, a Danbury resident who won a design competition, designed this bronze sculpture of four soldiers and a sailor encircling a flagpole.  The World War I soldier stands with his leg slightly extended, left arm raised to his waist.  The Spanish-American War soldier crouches and holds a rifle.  The Civil War soldier kneels, holding a sword.  The soldier from the Revolutionary War holds a bugle and flagstaff.  The sailor is kneeling and holds signal flags. This memorial was originally dedicated in 1931 to honor Danbury's citizens who fought in the four wars represented, and a plaque was added in 1952 to include World War II.  A dedication at the monument’s base reads: “Dedicated to the soldiers and sailors of Danbury”.

100 Cities / 100 Memorials

Known colloquially as the Todd Memorial, the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial honors the Delawareans who perished in World War I; the extant 1925 commemorative program acknowledging the tribute: "In memory of the men and women who gave their lives for Liberty and Universal Peace".  The Memorial was restored to coincide with the centennial of the Great War and was rededicated in 2018. In 1925 shipbuilder William H. Todd provided $100,000 to create the memorial; it was designed by sculptor H. Augustus Lukeman and consists of a granite obelisk and a triumphant Victory figure.

The Soldiers and Sailors Hall (now the History Hall of the Missouri State Museum) was dedicated following WWI to all Missourians who served in that conflict and those previous. The hall is located on the first floor of the Missouri State Capitol building and contains several plaques dedicated by various organizations to the memory of Missouri's contributions to the war effort.

Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Memorial Park

100 Cities / 100 Memorials

The Mother's Army and Navy League, organized in 1917, raised $20,000 in order to erect this monument to honor their sons lost during the Great War.  The monument was designed by renowned Mobile architect, George Rogers, and is constructed of Alabama marble.  Construction of the monument began in 1926.  

The monument was placed on the original site of the Liberty Pole.  Designed by architect Douglas Orr and sculptor Michele Martino, the flagpole is surrounded by a white marble frieze on a six sided base.  Flattened figures of "Peace" and "War," along with two female personifications of the armed services appear on the frieze.

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, honoring those from the area who died during the fighting of World War I.

The monument is the work of the sculptor George Brewster. It was dedicated on November 11, 1920.

Soldiers and Sailors Monument "All Wars"

100 Cities / 100 Memorials

This granite & marble obelisk monument stands on a small, landscaped traffic island in Cape May. The square cube base, placed on a larger, square stone slab, has bronze plaques mounted on each side. The plaques contain its dedication to Cape May vicinity residents who served in World War I, as well as an Honor Roll.  Thirteen Cape May residents perished during World War I.  The tall stone shaft is square in cross-section & tapers slightly toward the top where a ball with corner finials rests atop a small square slab. Perched on the orb is a large bronze eagle with wings outstretched upward, looking to the side. The shaft also has bronze plaques & medallions attached to its sides.  The plaques were refurbished and the monument was rededicated on November 11, 2018, the centennial of Armistice Day. Photos courtesy of: NJ State Historic Preservation Office. Vintage Postcard courtesy of:  Rutgers University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives. 

The Waterloo Memorial Hall Commission developed Soldiers and Sailors Park
at 655 Cedar Street. The park includes granite monuments, a fountain and bronze
plaques along a 400-foot brick walkway which begins near the west
side of the 5th Street bridge and meanders through the park to the 4th Street bridge. The monuments, historic fountain and plaques commemorate wars and conflicts in which U.S. service men and women have played a part. It also includes a POW/MIA  - “…Known But To God" Memorial Monument. 

Giuseppe Moretti was born in Siena, Italy, and immigrated to the United States in 1888. For 40 years he sculpted monuments and heroic figures in the United States and Cuba. Moretti, known for his eclectic personality and for always wearing a green tie, was a prolific artist with completion of 12 World War I memorials, 19 monumental works, six church sculptures, 24 memorial tablets, 14 cemetery memorials, 27 sculptures in marble, bronze, and aluminum, and 27 bronze statuettes. He created the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Toronto in 1919 as a tribute to the 300 local citizens who answered the call for service during World War I.

The earliest elements of Soldiers Field were started by the Rochester American Legion, William T. McCoy, Post 92.
The Poist was started in 1919, soon after the end of the World War. In the mid 1920’s the Post focused its attention
on the project of building the Soldier’s Field Athletic Complex. There are two original bronze plaques from the mid to
late 1920’s are mounted on either side of a granite monument at the entrance to the Memorial and Sports Complex
(see gallery photos).
Text from original Plaques:
SOLDIERS MEMORIAL FIELD
HONORING
VETERANS OF ALL WARS
DEDICATED TO THE YOUTH OF OLMSTED COUNTY
WM. T. MCCOY POSTNO. 92. THE AMERICAN LEGION
ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA
The second plaque contains the Emblem and the Preamble to the Constitution of the American Legion.

Fast forward about 70 yers, when in October of 1995, the Memorial Committee was formed. Then on June 13th, 1997
the Ground Breaking Ceremony was held. On June 25th, 2000, the Dedication of the Soldiers Field Veterans Memorial.
This Memorial, conceived in 1995, was built without tax dollars due to the time, talent and treasure contributed by the
Memorial Committee and the countless other volunteers who also contributed to honor those who served.
The Wall of Remembrance was created to honor American Service Members from Southeast Minnesota who died while
serving our country undedicated to all who served and now serve to keep us safe and free. May it remind future
generations that our nation must be protected from forces, both outside and inside our borders, that would deny us
our liberty. Please pay special attention to the sculpture of the Woman and Child who is holding the most dreaded
telegram an American family could receive during World War 1 and World War 2.
The Wall of Remembrance honors over 2,500 Service men and women from Southeast Minnesota, who gave their lives
in service to their country.
The Walk of Remembrance is made up of about 6,500 pavers honoring U.S. Veterans and our Allies living or dead for
their service.
The Trees of Remembrance consists of 50 sponsored trees representing every state in these United States.
Let Us Not Forget those who made the Supreme Sacrifice and our Veterans, for they have shown the world that
Freedom Is Never Free

This memorial is dedicated to Kearny residents killed in WWI.  It consists of a tall Vermont granite shaft topped with a sphere & a bronze eagle with outstretched wings. 
Projecting from the bottom front of the shaft is a pedestal with an inscribed plaque. 
Atop the pedestal stands a bronze statue of a woman in classical dress, her arms partially extended from her sides.

The other three sides of the shafts have granite reliefs of World War I military operations. The back panel depicts two fighters in a dogfight. One side panel shows warships firing on a surfacing submarine. And the other side panel features several doughboys charging out of a trench. 

The memorial was erected by the American Legion, Frobisher Post, with $11,000 of personal donations and $14,000 supplied by the town government.  It was unveiled on May 27, 1922 by General Pershing! 

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) inventory #NJ000159. 

Photos courtesy of:  NJ State Historic Preservation Office 

Soldiers Memorial Military Museum

100 Cities / 100 Memorials

The Soldiers Memorial Military Museum in downtown St. Louis is a memorial and military museum owned by the City of St. Louis and operated by the Missouri Historical Society. Interior east and west wings contain display cases with military displays and memorabilia from World War I and subsequent American wars. The open-air central breezeway contains a massive black marble cenotaph upon which are engraved the names of all of St. Louis' war dead from World War I. The building was designed by St. Louis architectural firm Mauran, Russell & Crowell and was dedicated by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1936 and officially opened to the public on Memorial Day 1938.