Almost a decade in the making, the centerpiece of the National World War I Memorial is finally slated to arrive in Washington, DC. The 58-foot-long, 10-foot-tall bronze sculpture, called “A Soldier’s Journey,” will call Pennsylvania Avenue’s Pershing Park home.

Photo Credit: Officer Candidate Nathan Rivard / Joint Force Headquarters – Vermont National Guard Public Affairs / DVIDS / Public Domain
“A Soldier’s Journey” commemorates the sacrifice made by the troops who fought for the United States in the Great War. The 38 life-like figures that make up the monument tell the full story of a soldier’s service in the conflict, from their deployment, all the way to their return home.

The massive memorial was sculpted by a team that spanned both sides of the Atlantic. A team based out of New Jersey worked on the concept, using live models and thousands of photographs to give each sculpture a realistic appearance. The Pangolin Editions foundry in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, created the bronze castings used to put it all together.

The project was completed in late June 2024.

Photo Credit: APK / Wikimedia Commons CC BY 4.0
“I came into this project not really aware of the sacredness of [World War I] and how big it was,” sculptor Sabin Howard told Task & Purpose in a 2024 news article. “I’m a different human being than when I started it. This project really brings a human, visceral quality to WW I, rather than just a didactic history book look at it.”

He said in a 2022 interview with Smithsonian Magazine, “I’m hoping to make something that lets a kid, when he’s walking along the wall, experience it like it’s a movie in bronze. The scenes are changing. And the kid goes home and he’s like, ‘Oh my God, I got to see what World War I was all about.’ And he gets the idea that we’re on a journey – each and every one of us.”

Comprising four sections, “A Soldier’s Journey” will be shipped to Baltimore, Maryland, the week of July 7-13, 2024. It will then be transported to Washington, DC. The official dedication ceremony will take place this coming September, with the monument serving as the centerpiece of National World War I Memorial.

Photo Credit: Officer Candidate Nathan Rivard / Joint Force Headquarters – Vermont National Guard Public Affairs / DVIDS / Public Domain
Production of “A Soldier’s Journey” began following a 2015 competition by the World War I Centennial Commission. Arkansas-based architect Joe Weishaar won, with the commission praising his design for being “an appropriately solemn war memorial” and “an inviting, well-functioning, living, breathing city park.” He subsequently partnered with Howard.

As the National Park Service (NPS) explains, the monument is split into five scenes, each telling a different part of the story of a soldier’s service during the First World War:

Departure – Soldier says goodbye to his wife and daughter, with the former wishing he would stay.
Initiation – Soldier marches toward the frontlines with other troops, as the United States has joined the conflict.
Ordeal – Group of soldiers charge into combat.
Aftermath – Visual representation of the impact the war had on soldiers, both physically and mentally.
Return – Soldier participates in a homecoming parade, joined by servicemen who are happy to be home.

Photo Credit: Officer Candidate Nathan Rivard / Joint Force Headquarters – Vermont National Guard Public Affairs / DVIDS / Public Domain
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The National World War I Memorial officially opened to the public in April 2021, after years of work. It is Washington, DC’s first official site dedicated to the conflict.