Last surviving vet calls for national WWI memorial
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- September
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A 107-year-old World War I veteran – the last U.S. soldier from “the Great War’’ – went to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to lobby for the creation of a national memorial to the four million Americans who fought “over there.’’
According to this story in the Stars & Stripes, Frank Couples was born in Misouri in 1901 and lied about his age to join the Army in 1917.
Buckles has the support of U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, who announced Tuesday that he will introduce legislation — the Frank Buckles World War I Act — that would fund the restoration of the existing D.C. War Memorial and expand it to commemorate the all the nation’s veterans of that conflict.
The current monument, built in 1931, honors only local veterans, and is in a state of disrepair, the Stars & Stripes story says. The entire monument, situated between the Korean and World War II memorials, is largely hidden by overgrown trees.
“Most visitors and residents of D.C. don’t even know it’s here,†said Edwin Fountain, former president of the D.C. Preservation League, an organization that placed the memorial on their list of Most Endangered Places in 2006.
How sad. Here’s hoping the memorial gets the attention it deserves and is expanded to acknowledge the sacrifices of the doughboys who served.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 3:15 pm by Rich Liebson. 
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I also hope rich that our political people understand the need for a fixture that will make people aware of the americans who anwered the call to serve our country in its time of need.
Actually, there is a National WWI Museum attached to The Liberty Memorial. It is just not in Washington DC, so not as well known. the Liberty Memorial was built in 1921. Information can be found out about it here: http://www.theworldwar.org/s/110/display.aspx?pgid=886
This is a beautiful and moving monument to the sacrifice of all who served. The base of the Liberty Tower states it best: “In honor of those who served in the world war in defense of liberty and our country.” It is unfortunate that most Americans don’t even know that it exists.
Photo of the Memorial: http://www.flickr.com/photos/baresilver/3072750075/