The Power of Perseverance

A LOMA documentary shares the remarkable story behind America’s newest national memorial.

Conceived and constructed a full century after The Great War, America’s National World War I Memorial in Washington DC is an amazing triumph of inspired collaboration during a contentious time in our history.

Told exclusively through the words of the project’s visionaries, leaders, artisans and champions who made “the impossible plausible,” REMEMBER US: THE FIGHT FOR AMERICA’S WORLD WAR I MEMORIAL is now airing on PBS stations. It’s a compelling tale of a unique bipartisan vision brought to life by a diverse coalition of Americans who overcame all odds to deliver a stunning achievement.

As marketing & communications partner for the effort, LOMA was there every step of the way—from initial vision through ultimate realization.  REMEMBER US celebrates an array of extraordinary people who imagined, fought for, debated, designed and ultimately built America’s first major 21st century Memorial in the face of daunting–and often surprising–challenges.

Insights by key contributors range from 25-year-old Joe Weishaar, an unknown architect who somehow won the prestigious international design competition, to advocates Leon Panetta (former Secretary of Defense), Senator Mitch McConnell and Carol Moseley Braun, the nation’s first Black female Senator.

Nothing came easily. There were no living veterans to fire the imagination of Congress and spark fundraising. Pershing Park, the designated location, had devolved into an eyesore within site of the White House. The mysterious ways of Washington meant constant design revisions from a host of overlapping (and often inscrutable) agencies. And the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission, tasked with leading the seemingly quixotic quest, won Congressional authorization—but not a nickel of federal funding.

And yet…

Commission leader Dan Dayton relays how an initial donation provided a lifeline that bought time for a brilliant idea—genealogical research that matched potential donors with family members who had served in WWI. The Memorial had life. What’s more, it now had Sabin Howard, a world-renowned sculptor.

A fascinating component of the story is the literal centerpiece of the Memorial—Howard’s magnificent sculpture that Smithsonian magazine says “may become the greatest memorial bronze of the modern age.” Spanning five scenes, A Soldier’s Journey tells the timeless tale of a soldier going to war, experiencing battle, and returning to his family. Howard describes his inspired concept and compulsive quest for accuracy, a herculean 7-year effort underscored by 10,000 photos of live models taken to capture and refine the emotional power of the tableau.

Installed in September 2024, A Soldiers Journey marked the completion of the Memorial—and has become an iconic destination in its own right. In REMEMBER US, the sculpture’s classic design and innovative production methods are a metaphor for the transformative effect of World War I upon the United States. An agrarian nation was suddenly thrust into a global role, the genesis of the American Century.

Featuring a wealth of content curated from the National Archives and many other sources, more than 25 interviews were conducted by writer/director John DeBello to recount a remarkable vision “13 years in the making and a hundred years overdue.”

Ms. Braun relates how the war changed the social fabric for women, African Americans, native Americans, and immigrants. General Barry McCaffrey, combat veteran and leading military analyst, personalizes the battlefield exploits of 4.7 million American Doughboys. In his final interview, the late Senator John Warner poignantly recalls the WWI service of his father and emphasizes why he became a leading advocate for the Memorial:

“He’d say, ‘I hope you and your generation will do everything to avoid a repetition of what I saw and experienced.’ I’ll remember those words, they’re riveted in my mind, because we didn’t. And that’s what this Memorial may do.”

Inspired by Senator Warner and led by Congressmen Ted Poe and Emanual Cleaver, Republicans and Democrats crossed the aisle to help turn a once farfetched fantasy into inspired reality. Every day at 5pm, Taps sounds at the only memorial in Washington DC that includes space for the contemplation of peace.

REMEMBER US commemorates the ultimate sacrifice made by 116,516 Americans during six months of intensive combat—a higher casualty rate than World War II. It serves as an inspiring story for all Americans about the primacy of values, the power of perseverance and the eternal lessons of The War That Changed the World.