New York Times, Nov. 11, 1918

Though fighting ended with the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918, the official end of the between Germany and the Allied Powers did not come until June 28, 1919–exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. On that date, the Paris Peace Conference concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

Welcome home celebration, Lynn, Mass.
Lynn Public Library

When the war ended and the troops returned home, they were greeted with celebrations, ceremonies, and parades. After the initial welcome, most communities were inspired to create lasting memorials to those who had gone to war, especially to those who had not returned from battle. It was common for a city or town to form a committee vested with the responsibilities of soliciting and selecting memorial designs from artists, identifying appropriate locations and raising funds for these memorials.

Civil War Monument, Beverly, Mass.
Beverly Public Library

This was not a new trend, of course. In the wake of the Civil War, for example, communities erected monuments to soldiers and sailors. “Many monument manufacturers specialized in military monuments and sent salesmen through northern and southern cities to sell their goods, which often consisted of stock patterns reproduced in large quantities.” During the 1870’s and 1880’s, one common design “feature[d] a central column supporting a female figure that represents Peace, Victory, Liberty, the Union, or a ‘genius lock,’ and a base supporting either four figures that denote branches of the military service or allegories of virtues, victory or defeat.” This theme appeared so frequently that the monuments were “literally vulgarized by redundancy.” Statues of soldiers, both Union and Confederate, were also popular. While some Civil War monuments were placed in cemeteries or battle sites, most were strategically located in high-traffic areas.

Welcome home celebration, May 16, 1919. “Soldiers of Lynn” honor roll erected on lawn of City Hall
Lynn Public Library

When it came time to honor the veterans of World War I, however, according to one architect, “[m]emorials to commemorate this war continued many past traditions, but there were significant innovations.” In many localities, tradition was maintained with monuments focused on soldier statue. Just as Civil War monuments portrayed Union or Confederate soldiers, World War I monuments featured the “Doughboy.” Again, monument companies provided “cookie cutter” designs. Many local committees and residents found such ready-made designs to be acceptable for honoring their local veterans. Consequently, there was again much repetition from town to town.

World War I Memorial, Swampscott, Mass., 1921
Swampscott Public Library

World War I memorials often included plaques listing the names of those killed in battle, thereby emphasizing the sacrifice of individuals and connecting the War more directly to the individual town or city. The memorial in Danvers, for instance, includes a “roll of honor” listing the thirteen local soldiers who died during the war with the quotation, “These perished that Democracy might become world-wide.”

Soldiers Monument, Lynn, Mass.
Lynn Public Library

There was strong feeling in some towns that a monument should continue to extol the virtues of sacrifice and patriotism as represented by “the stone shafts and triumphal arches that were popular during the nineteenth century.” In other localities, citizens supported “living” memorials such as parks or community buildings were a more fitting way to honor these veterans.

Many memorials were multi-faceted. In Gloucester, for instance, “the Old Town Hall … was remodeled and placed at the disposal of the survivors as a Memorial Building, while in the square in front a tribute to the heroic dead was erected in the form of an equestrian

Legion Memorial Building and Joan of Arc statue, Gloucester, Mass.
Sawyer Free Library

statue of Joan of Arc … the work of Miss Anna Vaughn Hyatt, of Cambridge, a summer resident of Annisquam. The statue stands on a pedestal of Cape Ann granite, of attractive design, the work of Frederick G. Hall, of Boston, a summer resident of East Gloucester. On one end of the pedestal is the motto, “For Their Country, 1917-1918,” surrounded by a wreath, with a representation of the city seal on the other end, while on the sides are bronze tablets containing the names of fifty-six men and one woman who made the supreme sacrifice while in the service, above the names being the motto, “Aeternum Vale,” and beneath, “Sons of Gloucester Who Gave Their Lives in the World War.”

World War I cannon, Swampscott Cemetery, Swampscott, Mass.
Swampscott Public Library

Indeed on “innovation” of WWI memorials was the use of monuments as “focal points in city design,” combining a desire to commemorate the war veterans with the desire to beautify the city itself. This trend resulted in the creation of large city monuments, parks. New civic buildings were also created as memorials , though some critics felt it was inappropriate for a memorial to serve such a utilitarian function and worried that the original meaning would be lost over time. Significantly, many veterans approved of these practical memorials and viewed them as appropriate commemorations of their wartime experience, which was radically different from that of previous wars.

Lynn World War I memorial dedication, Nov. 12, 1928
Lynn Public Library

It has been noted that, “[w]ith a comparatively weak federal presence, no single World War I experience emerged as the official one, and the symbolism employed in local war memorials … varied greatly with local conditions. Unlike monuments erected in the aftermath of the Civil War, when towns erected near-identical common soldiers’ memorials that demonstrated their identification with the nation,” some towns deliberately sought monuments that highlighted their local character.

In general, though, there was a trend toward creating monuments reflecting bereavement that “contrasted sharply with the war memorials of the nineteenth century that emphasized the national cause for which the soldiers fought.” It should be noted, too, that some monuments represented a common desire for peace and an end to war. This trend may reflect the general recognition that this was a war unlike any other and one that most believed would never occur again.

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