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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

DCWorldWarMonumen 1World 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.

Zoom on the image : "Over the Top to Victory" -- Manitou Springs
502 Manitou Ave
80829 Manitou Springs
CO
USA

"Over the Top to Victory" -- Manitou Springs

  • John Paulding
  • Single figure -- soldier
  • Memorial Hunters Club Submission: Memorial Hunter: Robert Shay, PH3, USNR-R, 1964-70

John Paulding's "Over the Top to Victory" is located in Manitou Springs's Memorial Park and was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1924.  It honors all veterans of World War I and, in particular, Marine Pvt. George Eber Duclo, who lived in Manitou Springs and was killed in France on June 15, 1918 during the Battle of Belleau Wood.  Pvt. Eber Duclo was buried on the battlefield but brought home in September 1921.  The local American Legion Post, named in his honor, raised the money to fund the 7-ft statue and placed it on a 20-ton boulder of native granite. Eber Duclo is buried in Crystal Valley Cemetery in Manitou Springs.

For additional background on Marine Pvt. Duclo see: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-fallen-and-forgotten-doughboys-legacy-1527201526

We have included an image from the foundry that cast the original "Over the Top".

 

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