A design has been chosen for Washington, D.C.’s first national World War I memorial.
The memorial will be built in Pershing Park, a small Pennsylvania Ave enclave near the White House named for Gen. John Pershing, who led the American Expeditionary Forces during the war. It will be the first national memorial in the capital honoring those who fought in World War I.
The design by Joseph Weishaar, a 25-year-old Chicago architect, and Sabin Howard, a New York sculptor, is called “The Weight of Sacrifice” and was chosen from 350 proposed designs.
The memorial will be a blend of relief sculptures, quotations of soldiers and leaders and a freestanding sculpture, according to the plans. The memorial is set to total 116,516 cubic feet, with each cubic foot representing an American soldier lost in the war.
In addition to major national World War II, Vietnam Veterans and Korean War Veterans Memorials, Washington has a District of Columbia War Memorial honoring D.C. citizens who served in the first World War. Currently Kansas City, Missouri, is the only city to have a national WWI museum and memorial.