Introduction: Commemorating WWI

Nearing Memorial Day, the commemoration of the First World War is imperative to our nation’s honorable past. The United States would not be the same today without their irrefutable effort. This year we celebrate the centennial of the Great War remembering the courageous lives of an estimated 4.7 millions of American men and women. The purpose of war memorials is being able to physically and mentally connect to the acknowledgment of the men and women who long battled and sacrificed for the protection of their country. During the Great War, roughly 204,000 Americans became wounded and 116,516 passed away. I chose this topic for my digital exhibit to celebrate this year’s Centennial and inspire the exploration of many more memorials worldwide. The legacy of the millions of brave souls must remain alive in our minds and hearts. I divided my exhibits into three sections. The first section contains four memorials located in Connecticut. The second section is dedicated towards two Washington D.C. memorials and the third section provides three memorials each from a different state. I decided to group and plan out my exhibit this way in order to closely examine Connecticut memorials in relation to other memorials while maintaining the spotlight on Connecticut’s efforts in the cultivation of the nation’s sacred memorabilia. My collection in “Commemorating the First World War” contains twenty-two items. All the digital photographs are presented through the Library of Congress and are current sites within the United States that are waiting to be visited!