Location: South of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building

Erected: 1924

Sculptor: Daniel Chester French

Architects: Cass Gilbert and Cass Gilbert, Jr.

Written by Silvina Fernandez-Duque

• Introduction
• World War I Monument
• World War II Addition
• Vietnam War Addition
• Desert Storm Plaque

Introduction

The First Division Monument is located in President's Park, west of the White House and south of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building (formerly the Old Executive Building and the State, War, and Navy Building) at the corner of 17th Street and State Place, NW. The monument was conceived by the Society of the First Division, the veteran's organization of the U.S. Army's First Division, to commemorate the lives of members of the division who died during World War I. The stately column surmounted by an allegorical statue of Victory was dedicated on October 4, 1924, and was the first memorial built in Washington, DC, in honor of the valiant efforts of the soldiers who fought in World War I. Later additions to the monument commemorate the lives of First Division soldiers who fought in subsequent wars. The World War II addition on the west side was dedicated in 1957, the Vietnam War addition of the east side in 1977, and the Desert Storm plaque in 1995. Cass Gilbert was the architect of the original memorial, and Daniel Chester French was the sculptor of the Victory statue. Gilbert's son, Cass Gilbert Jr., designed the World War II addition. Both the Vietnam War addition, which mirrors the World War II addition, the Desert Storm Plaque was designed by the firm of Harbeson, Hough, Livingston, and Larson of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Congressional approval was obtained to erect the First Division Monument and its later additions on federal ground. The Society of the First Division (later called the Society of the First Infantry Division) raised all the funds for the original monument and its additions. No federal money was used. Today, the monument and grounds are maintained by the National Park Service.

National Archives and Records Administration

General John J. Pershing, 1918

World War I Addition

After American soldiers returned from World War I, war memorials began to be built all across the nation. One of the first proposals for a war memorial in the nation's capital came from the Society of the First Division, to commemorate the fallen soldiers of the First Division, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). Shortly after the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, the First Division was formed as part of the American Expeditionary Forces. General John J. Pershing was designated commander in chief of the American Expeditionary Forces and organized the efforts of the American troops. The soldiers of the First Division were the first American troops to arrive in France in 1917 and the last to leave Europe in September 1919. The names of 5,516 First Division soldiers are commemorated on the monument. Pershing was particularly proud of the First Division, which came to be known as "Pershing's Own." He said of the division that it had "a special pride of service and a high state of morale never broken by hardship nor battle," a quote inscribed on the pedestal of the monument. The monument was "erected by the Memorial Association of the First Division and patriotic friends to the memory of the dead of the division who gave their lives in the world war that the liberty and the ideals of our country might endure," also inscribed on the monument pedestal

Ray Edward Goodbred

General Charles Pelot Summerall, United States Army

The First Division, keenly aware of the sacrifices made during the war, organized the Society of the First Division in February 1919 while on occupation duty in Germany. The society immediately set about building memorials in Europe to honor the soldiers who fell on French battlefields and began plans to erect a memorial in the United States. Under the leadership of Major General Charles P. Summerall, the Society of the First Division proposed building the First Division Monument in the nation's capital. Summerall, the society's president, was a commander of the First Division during World War I. He became the major force behind the First Division memorial project and fund raising for it. In September 1919, Summerall contacted Charles Moore, chairman of the Commission of Fine Arts, a federal agency that advises the government on matters of art and architecture, to suggest erecting a monument in Washington, DC. The idea for the monument was to commemorate the dead of the First Division as well as to convey the sprit of triumph and sacrifice of all American divisions and services. In October 1919, the First Division Memorial Association was organized to raise funds and oversee the memorial project. (After World War II, the group added "AEF" to its name.) The association proposed to raise $100,000 to build the memorial, a significant sum that would allow for a monument of high quality. The Society of the First Division raised $135,000, and the final cost of the monument was $115.000.

The Battle Monument (Photo by United States Military Academy, West Point, New York)

Summerall envisioned a monument similar in form and ideals to the Battle Monument at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. The design scheme was a tall of column with an allegorical sculpture and the names of all fallen soldiers inscribed on the monument. The Battle Monument was designed by McKim, Mead, and White and was dedicated in 1897, while Summerall was a student at the academy. It commemorates the lives of the officers and soldiers of the Regular Army of the United States who died during the Civil War and bears the names of 188 officers and 2,042 soldiers. The monument is composed of a monolithic granite shaft surmounted by a winged female figure representing Lady Fame or Victory and holding a trumpet and wreath, symbols of victory. The symbolism of the monument must have made a deep impression on Summerall, and he held strong convictions for modeling the First Division Monument on its design. He did not waver in his commitment to inscribing all the soldiers' names on the monument and to the symbolism of the column's shaft and sculpture.

The Commission of Fine Arts discussed the First Division's request at its meeting on October 17, 1919, but members were not sure whether a monument dedicated solely to the First Division would be nationally significant. They suggested revising the concept of the memorial to represent a "national Memorial" dedicated to the whole Army. The First Division, however, did see the project as relevant to the entire nation---First Division soldiers came from across the nation, and funding for the project was contributed by their families and friends, rather than by government appropriations. By 1921 the Commission of Fine Arts recognized the advantages of public monuments such as the one proposed by the First Division. Much of the civic sculpture of Washington was Civil War monuments, primarily equestrian statues. The First Division Monument offered an opportunity to create contemporary and unique works of art. Rather than representing a specific war hero, a with the statues of Civil War generals or other individuals, the First Division Monument envisioned commemorating the efforts of the American soldiers and their triumph in the face of extreme hardship.

By November 1920, the First Division Memorial Association decided on the location of the memorial in the park south of the State, War, and Navy Building. The prominences of the site and its location across from the War Department were important factors in its selection. The decision also followed the ideas of the Senate Park Commission's 1901 Plan of Washington, which called for locating a monument south of the State, War, and Navy Building, where it would serve to balance the Sherman Statue on the east side of the President's Park. The Senate Park Commission was organized to review the formal plan of Washington, and it made a series of plans and proposals based on Pierre L'Enfant's ideas for the city from 1791. The commission envisioned two symmetrical, tree-lined axes that would connect the White House grounds to the Washington Monument and provide pedestrians relief from the city streets. The Sherman Statue and the First Division Monument would serve as terminus points of a long vista stretching south toward the Washington Monument. The Commission of Fine Arts expected that the First Division Monument would be integrated in to the city's landscape according to the Senate Park Commission plan.

The point resolution to erect the memorial was first introduced in Congress in December 1920. The bill (H.J.R. 81) was referred to the Joint Committee on the Library, a join congressional committee overseeing the location of statues and memorials. The joint resolution was passed by the House of Representatives on June 6, 1921. and by the Senate on November 23, 1921. The joint resolution called for the site and design to be approved by the Joint Committee on the Library with the advice and recommendation of the Commission of Fine Arts, and it stipulated that no public funds would be used. The resolution was by President Warren G. Harding and became Public Resolution No. 31 on December 16, 1921.

Cass Gilbert

The Society of the First Division selected Cass Gilbert and Daniel Chester French as architect and sculptor for the monument in the summer of 1921. Cass Gilbert (1859-1934) was then a prominent architect and capable of great technical achievements. Perhaps Gilbert's most famous building is the Woolworth Building in New York (1913), which was the tallest building in the United States until 1930. Gilbert was familiar with the Washington area and with the procedures of the Commission of Fine Arts, having served as one of its original members from 1910-1916. Although Gilbert's studio was in New York, he designed several buildings in Washington, including the Treasury Annex Building (1919), the US Chamber of Commerce Building (1925), and the Supreme Court Building (1935).

Daniel Chester French (1850-1931) was also a leader in the American artistic community. French, like Gilbert, was an original member of the Commission of Fine Arts. He served on the commission from 1910 to 1915 and was its chairman from 1912 to 1915. French is perhaps best known for his statue of the seated Abraham Lincoln in Washington's Lincoln Memorial, which was designed by Henry Bacon and dedicated in 1922. French also created the Dupont Memorial Fountain, in the center of Dupont Circle, which commemorates Rear Admiral Samuel Francis du Pont (1803-1865), US Navy, the first Union naval hero in the Civil War. French knew the site of the First Division Monument because he had worked on the Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain in 1913, located at the end of the path that crosses through the park south of the State, War, and Navy Building. (The Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain commemorates the lives of Major Archibald Wallingham Butt and Francis David Millet, who died on the RMS Titanic on April 14, 1912.)

Daniel Chester French

Gilbert initially proposed carving the names of the more than 5,500 dead into the vertical surfaces of the granite base. That solution, however, proved impractical and very expensive. Instead, he proposed placing the honor roll on bronze plates. He planned the shaft to be a monolith of thirty-five feet in height made of pink Milford granite form Massachusetts, while the other stone form the monument would be white granite. The Victory statue was fifteen feet tall and gilded bronze. The monument's total height, from the ground to the top of the statue, was seventy-eight feet.

State, War, and Navy Building

At first, the Commission of Fine Arts did not find Gilbert's design for the memorial shaft to be appropriate for the park south of the State, War, and Navy Building. The commission favored a fountain, something lower and more relevant to the daily use of the park, and suggested that the Army War College campus would be a more appropriate location for the memorial shaft. A special meeting was held on April 27, 1922, to discuss the design and siting of the First Division Monument. Gilbert and a member of his firm as well as six representatives of the First Division Memorial Association attended the meeting. Gilbert defended the monument's design and addressed the commission's concerns. He rejected the idea of a fountain, arguing that the monolithic granite column ensured a more permanent and stable structure. A fountain, made of many more pieces, would be more prone to damage caused by weather conditions and water. One of the memorial association's main requirements was that the First Division Monument be permanent and require little maintenance. In answer to the commission's suggestion that the tall shaft was inappropriate in an urban setting and should be placed in a park or on a hill, Gilbert cited several examples of successful monumental shafts in urban areas; the July Column and the Column Vendome in Paris, The nelson Column in Trafalgar Square in London, the Trajan Column in Rome, and the Washington Column in Baltimore, Maryland. Gilbert also saw the First Division Monument as a prominent marker for the terminus of a shaded avenue leading to the Washington Monument, as envisioned by the Senate Park Commission.

The grounds and exact location of the monument were also considered in relations to a landscape plan for the park south of the State, War, and Navy Building. It was decided to move the monument north from the axis of E Street to the axis of the center of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and to set it in a plaza. The monument's final location was set at 115 feet south of the north curb of State Place. Two rows of trees could then be planted along the central axis defining the path leading to the Washington Monument grounds.

The Commission of Fine Arts agreed to recommend the design and location of the First Division Monument south of the State, War, and Navy Building. On May 27, 1922, the Join Committee on the Library approved the plans for the monument, as required by H.J.R. 81.

French make sketches for the Victory statue during the winter of 1921-1922. One of his initial designs shows Victory holding a flag in her left hand and a sword and wreath in her right. In a later sketch, he eliminated the sword and wreath and placed a flag in the figure's right hand; the left hand is free and extended in gesture of benediction. This was the design French finally developed. French did not want to impose his ideas on the spectator, but he did offer his intentions in creating the design. He said," I had in mind, the flag symbolizing our country, held by a figure of Victory whose left hand is extended in benediction of the men whose names will appear a the base of the monument." French was pleased with Victory and considered it one of his best pieces. In designing the figure, he had to account for its being seen from below and at a distance. The figure's silhouette, rather than detailing, became the vehicle of its expression. Victory is a dynamic statue the outstretched wings are balanced by the flag held aloft and her extended arm. The flowing drapery suggests a figure in constant movement. The complex folds of the flag and the precarious stance of the figure on the globe also contribute to the figure's dynamism. Perhaps French envisioned the gilded Victory as an eternal flame on the constant memorial.

French completed the scale model of Victory at the end of April 1923 and contracted with the Piccirilli Brothers and the Roman Bronze Works, both New York firms, to cast the statue. The Piccirilli Brothers translated the scale model of the statue into a full-size plaster cast, which the bronze foundry then used to cast the pieces for the final statue. The enlargement and plaster casting of the model began in May and were completed in the first week of July 1923.

The cast was then delivered immediately to the Roman Bronze Works. The dedication was planned for the autumn of that year, and French felt pressure to complete the job as soon as possible.

By August, however, the granite monolith for the column still had not been extracted from the quarry, and the dedication plans were postponed. In September, the Roman Bronze Works began assembling the bronze pieces of final statue. The figure was completed by the end of February 1924; it stood in the foundry until the contractors were ready to receive it in Washington.

The George A. Fuller Co. began work at the site on March 5, 1923 Construction of the foundation and base proceeded through the spring and summer of 1923 in preparation for a fall dedication ceremony. Finally, at the end of November 1923, the Dodd's Granite Co. in Milford, Massachusetts, extracted the monolithic block for the columnar shaft. The block measured 42 feet by 7 feet by 6 1/2 feet. The process of cutting and polishing the shaft occurred over the next few months, and the shaft was ready to be shipped to Washington by mid-April 1924. The pedestal was completed and ready to receive the granite column by the end of March 1924. The pedestal is inscribed with the dedication and areas of battle. The north side of the stone is decorated with a numeral one with a laurel wreath, the insignia of the First Division. Around the stone are four swords and memorial wreaths, which recall the cord fouragere, an acknowledgment of valor granted to the First Division by the French government.

The shaft arrived in Washington on April 18, 1924. A scaffolding system of powerful engines and hydraulic jacks had been set up to lift the 58-ton shaft to a vertical position and to place it on the pedestal, about thirty feet above the ground. The A-frame of the scaffolding system was seventy-five feet tall and held two sets of clamps to lift the shaft. The granite monolith was set in place on April 28, 1924. A small crowd gathered to witness the technological feat. Cass Gilbert, his son, the contractors, and representative of the First Division attended the event. The difficult task was successful and the monument now closes to completion.

The Victory statue arrived in Washington on April 26 and was unloaded a few days later, on April 29. The statue was hoisted to the top of the column on May 2, 1924. It was 1924. It was anchored into the granite shaft with a long brass rod extending eleven feet through the square blocks and into the column. Victory was placed facing south over-looking the long expanse of parkland toward the Mall. The site was cleared, and the grounds were prepared for the dedication.

National Archives and Records Administration

Major General Charles P. Summerall addressing veterans during the dedication ceremony of the First Division Monument on October 4, 1924.

The First Division Monument was highly praised for both its design and its mission. For many years it was the only memorial in Washington dedicated to the soldiers of World War I. The Commission of Fine Arts described it as "the chief symbol of American valor in that war, a position borne out by the universal character of its design and location".

Cass Gilbert had envisioned a grand terrace treatment for the site with a plaza extending to the east and west sides of the column at the length of the façade, with fountains at the ends and stairs on the south side leading to three paths toward E Street. The plan was not implemented because it was too felt it compromised the park's integrity. Gilbert's terrace plan was realized later with his son's design for the addition for the World War II monument.

In November 1927, Ulysses S. Grant III, directory of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks, recommended to the Commission of Fine Arts plans for landscaping the memorial grounds. He suggested grading the south slopes immediately because it was too steep to hold moisture, thus creating a dry, brown streak across the lawn. The slope was also exposed to direct sunlight, contributing to it s poor condition. By the early 1940s, E Street was extended across the President's Park. Its extension did not affect the monument grounds; however, the separation from the Ellipse marked the beginning of the erosion of the long vista so valued by the Commission of Fine Arts.

During World War II, a temporary barracks was erected in 1943, south of the State, War, and Navy Building.

National Park Service records show that little work was done on the First Division Monument during the Depression, and in 1939 the National Park Service took custody of the monument. The First Division Memorial Association retained ultimate responsibility for the monument, however, and continues to approve all major work to the monument and its grounds.

During World War II, a temporary barracks was erected in 1943 to house troops to protect the President, the White House, and the Treasury. It occupied the entire park and required the removal of the diagonal path and of a number of trees, many of which were not replaced. After the 1950s, the park landscape lost the coherent plan of the long vista established in the 1920s and 1930s.

World War II Addition

World War II Addition

The World War II addition to the First Division Monument was dedicated on August 24, 1957, ten years after it was proposed. The monument was erected to the west of the World War I column, at the end of an extension of the terrace. The monument is composed of a central block of granite (approximately fourteen feet by twelve feet) and inscribed with the areas of battle and the dedication. The central block is flanked by two low walls, which support six bronze tablets containing the honor roll of the 4,325 First Infantry Division soldiers who died in World War II. (The First Division was redesignated as the First Infantry Division on August 1, 1942.) A bronze plaque set in the pavement lists the organized and the attached units of the First Infantry Division that participated in World War II and acknowledges the "loyal service and inspiring sacrifices" of other units attached to the First Infantry Division during the war.

The First Infantry Division Memorial Association sponsored the World War II addition, a group separate and distinct from the First Division (AEF) Memorial Association, which erected the World War I column. The accomplishments of the First Infantry Division in World War II were significant and again distinguished the division's roll in the U. S. Army. As in World War I, the First Infantry Division was the first American division deployed overseas to support the Allied cause. It was one of 89 divisions of the U. S. Army to fight in World War II. The First Infantry Division arrived in England in August 1942 and fought in North Africa, Sicily, northern France, Belgium, Germany, and central Europe. It had reached Czechoslovakia when the war ended on May 8, 1945. Following the war, the First Infantry Division remained in Germany on occupation duty, as it had after World War I. Later, the division worked with the Germans in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and in 1955 returned to Fort Riley, Kansas.

In 1947, the First Infantry Division approached the First Division (AEF) Memorial Association with plans to erect a memorial to honor those who died in World War II. The existing law, however, did not provide the First Division (AEF) Memorial Association authority to erect an addition. The superintendent of National Capital Parks for the National Park Service, Irving Root, determined that additional legislative authority would be necessary. The proposal to build a monument to honor the First Infantry Division World War II soldiers was then presented to Congress in May 1947.

As with the previous legislation, the bill stipulated that "the site chosen and the design of the monument and pedestal shall be approved by the Joint Committee on the Library of the National Commission of Fine Arts." The bill also explicitly stated that the "United States shall be put to no expense in or by the erection of this memorial." The legislation was introduced in Congress on May 2, 1947. The House of Representatives referred the joint resolution (H.J.R. 188) to the Committee on House Administration. On May 14, the House passed H.J.R. 188, which was then put on the Senate calendar. The joint resolution was then read in the Senate on May 15 and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. The Senate passed H.J.R. 188 on June 16, 1947. President Harry S. Truman approved and signed it on June 25, 1947.

The First Infantry Division Memorial Association chose Cass Gilbert Jr. to design the new addition. Gilbert Jr. had worked closely with his father and participated in the design process for the World War I monument. He was familiar with the design and his father's ideas for its development. Gilbert Jr. submitted three preliminary designs to the Commission of Fine Arts between 1948 and 1950. The basic plan was to extend the terrace to the east and west, recalling Cass Gilbert Sr.'s unrealized plan for the plaza treatment. The commission approved the design in principle but chose to postpone action until all funds for the project were raised and the barracks had been removed.

Removing the temporary barracks proved to be a long struggle between the Society of the First Division and government officials. The two-story frame structure was made up of a central section that stretched east-west across the park with three wings that crossed it at a north-south axis. The barracks occupied the entire area of the park bounded by 17th Street, E Street, and State Place. At the end of 1946, the barracks were classified as surplus and were occupied by the General Services Administration in 1947. Although all parties agreed that the temporary buildings erected all over Washington during World War II defaced the landscape, the government insisted the provided much-needed office space and helped alleviate the rising rents in privately owned buildings. The temporary building south of the First Division Monument completely obstructed the view of the monument from all sides of the park.

In 1953, the society began an active campaign to have the temporary building removed from the site. Major Charles Coulter, a First Division veteran of World War I, led the efforts. Coulter set out to prove to the government that the building was not indispensable and should be razed to allow the long-overdue World War II addition to the First Division Monument. The First Infantry Division Memorial Association continued to raise money for the World War II addition and garner support for the barracks' removal. The Society of the First Division sought the support of congressmen and other veterans groups.

The efforts of the Society of the First Division were successful; the building was torn down and removed by May 1954. The National Park Service then rehabilitated the grounds, cleaned the monument, and regilded the statue. The removal of the barracks was seen as a victory for the First Infantry Division, which could finally hold services in the front of the monument; for eleven years members had held services at the rear (north side) of the monument.

Coulter contacted the Commission of Fine Arts after the temporary building was removed to notify them that plans for the World War II addition would resume. The plan still under consideration was Gilbert Jr.'s latest design from 1950. By the spring of 1955, the memorial association was anxious to complete the project but did not have enough funds to carry out the scheme. The Washington, D.C., branch of the Society of the First Division commissioned William E. Shepherd, a First Division veteran and Washington architect, to work with Gilbert Jr. to design a monument that could be built with the available funds, about $60,000.

Gilbert Jr. and Shepherd submitted another proposal to the Commission of Fine Arts in November 1955. The new plan extended the terrace to the west side and placed the World War II monument and honor roll at the edge of the new terrace. The existing 1920s steps of the southern approach were widened, and a wide path at grade with the main terrace was added on the north side. The large central block of the World War II monument was to have inscriptions on the east side (i.e., inside) and a mosaic map of the First Infantry Division's battle route on the west side (i.e., outside and visible from 17th Street). The area to the east of the column was left undeveloped and available for future expansion. The Commission of Fine Arts approved the plan in April 1956.

On May 14, 1956, the Joint Committee on the Library approved the plans to expand the monument. The Department of the Interior suggested, however, that the mosaic map be eliminated. It argued that the map on the outside would disrupt the circulation pattern and destroy the original self-contained concept with the principle entrance centered on the monument shaft. The architect agreed to eliminate the mosaic map and replace it with a plain facing of granite.

Work on the site began in the summer of 1956, with Shepherd supervising. By September 1956, the cement foundation was complete. The ground was filled to raise the grade of the park to the level of the World War I monument. A tree well was added on the west side of the south steps. Construction continued until late spring the following year. IN May 1957, the walks were laid, the work shed was removed, and the grounds were restored to parkland. The World War II monument was completed during the summer and dedicated in August.

General Clarence Huebner presided over the dedication ceremony on August 24, 1957. About 700 to 1,000 people attended. Major Daniel Edwards and three Gold Star mothers assisted with the unveiling of the monument. (Major Edwards had unveiled the World War I monument at its dedication in 1924.) General Huebner, who led the First Infantry Division through Normandy and into Germany, gave the dedication address.

A few months after the dedication, the Society of the First Division proposed carving the First Infantry Division's insignia on the west façade of the World War II monument, facing 17th Street, in order to identify the memorial from the outside. The Commission of Fine Arts recommended that an inscription reading "The First Division" be carved instead. The final inscription was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts and National Capital Parks on May 26, 1959, and carved on the monument for Memorial Day 1959.

The landscape also underwent some changes. The large flower bed in the shape of the First Division patch, south of the monument was created in 1965 as part of Lady Bird Johnson's landscape plans to beautify the District of Columbia. The flower bed, approximately 181 feet long, is located just east of the monument's south steps. It ends at E Street and is interrupted only by the macadam walk that crosses the park diagonally south of the monument. Recent plantings have included red tulips in the spring and red begonias in the summer.

Vietnam War Addition

Vietnam War Addition

The Vietnam War addition to the First Division Monument was dedicated on August 20, 1977. It is a mirror image of the World War II addition, extending the terrace to the east side. The planners of the World War II addition had foreseen this extension. The architectural firm of Harbeson, Hough, Livingston, & Larson of Philadelphia carried out the project using the same materials as the World War II addition. The honor roll of 3,079 names is placed on four bronze tablets on the low walls flanking the central granite stone. A bronze plaque set in the pavement lists the units of the First Infantry Division that participated in Vietnam and acknowledges the services and sacrifices of other units attached to the First Infantry Division.

The legislation authorizing the Vietnam War addition (S.J.R. 66) was passed by the 93rd Congress and signed by President Gerald R. Ford on August 23, 1974. As with the World War I and World War II memorials, no public funds were used to erect the addition, but the design and plans were subject to the approval of the secretary of the interior, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission.

The First Infantry Division was the first division deployed to Vietnam. The first units arrived in June 1965, and in November 1965 the division became operational. The division was so successful in its missions that it was sent home in the spring of 1970, although the war did not officially end until 1975.

After receiving congressional approval in 1974 to erect the Vietnam War addition, the Society of the First Division asked the American Battle Monuments Commission to represent it in obtaining the necessary approvals for construction of the monument. By 1970 new laws regarding historic and environmental preservation required the review and approval of several federal and local agencies.

The regional director of the National Capital Region of the National Park Service approved the construction plans for the addition, which were also endorsed by the National Capital Memorial Advisory Committee, a group formed to advise the secretary of the interior. Further approvals were also necessary from the Commission of Fine Arts, the National Capital Planning Commission, the District of Columbia state historic preservation officer, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation before the National Park Service could issue a construction permit.

The Commission of Fine Arts unanimously approved the proposed scheme at its meeting on February 26, 1976. The approval of the state historic preservation officer for the District of Columbia was necessary to ensure that the new memorial would not affect historic properties. On March 25, 1976, the state historic preservation officer determined that the project would not adversely affect neighboring buildings or the surrounding landscape. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation also determined that the Vietnam War addition would not adversely affect the Old Executive Office Building or the Corcoran Gallery of Art (properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places). The National Capital Planning Commission approved the design plans of the Vietnam War addition at a meeting on April 1, 1976. The plans had to conform to the objectives and policies of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to ensure that the new work would not affect the environment of the National Capital Region.

After receiving all the requisite approvals, the American Battle Monuments Commission requested permission from the National Capital Region, which authorized final approval for the addition on November 2, 1976. The contractor for the project was the William P. Lipscomb Company of Arlington, Virginia. The construction of the monument took less than a year and was completed by May 1, 1977. The final cost of the addition was about $142,000. The Vietnam Was monument was dedicated in a ceremony on the morning of August 20, 1977, attended by about 500 people.

Desert Storm Plaque

Desert Storm Plaque

The Desert Storm Plaque commemorates the lives of 27 soldiers who died while serving in the Desert Storm operation in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. For the first time in the division's history, the dead included a female soldier and a contract civilian. The memorial is a plaque placed on a low, granite stone set at the eastern edge of the rectangular flower bed, directly opposite the central block of the Vietnam War addition. The memorial stone measures about three feet by four feet and is about one foot high; it includes a black tablet with gold letters listing the names of the lost soldiers and the divisions in which they served. Also included are the names of members of the Third Brigade of the Second Armored Division, which was attached to the First Infantry Division during the war. As stated in the inscription, the plaque is dedicated to "the soldiers of the First Infantry Division (Mech) who made the supreme sacrifice in Desert Storm (Iraq and Saudi Arabia) 1991."

The First Infantry Division's role in the Desert Storm operation began in 1990 when troops and equipment were deployed to Saudi Arabia on November 8 in preparation for Operation Desert Shield. Upon return from Vietnam in 1970, the division had become a mechanized division, made up of six mechanized infantry battalions and four armored battalions. The division's training equipped it to lead the armored attack into Iraq on February 24, 1991, and by February 28 the Gulf War was over. The American troops overwhelmed the Iraqis while keeping casualties low. Of the more than 12,000 soldiers deployed with the First Infantry Division, 27 died in the war. The division returned on May 10, 1991, to Fort Riley, Kansas.

The memorial was dedicated on May 29, 1995. The cost of the Desert Storm plaque, about $20,000, was fully funded by the Society of the First Infantry Division. The plan for the Desert Storm memorial was limited to a simple structure built within the area bounded by the World War II and Vietnam War monuments and did not require congressional approval.

While designing the Desert Storm Plaque, the Society of the First Infantry Division developed a long-term plan for several future additions. In 1993, the society developed a concept for the monument that distinguished between memorials for "limited actions", comparable to Desert Storm, and major conflicts with greater fatalities, such as the existing memorials for the three wars. Smaller blocks of granite placed around the edge of the flower beds on the east and west sides of the terrace were suggested for limited actions. For larger conflicts, memorials comparable in size and form to the World War II and Vietnam War monuments could be built along the outside edge of the footprint, replacing the hedge.

The Desert Storm plaque was dedicated on Memorial Day, May 29, 1995. The First Infantry Division Gulf War commander, Major General Thomas G. Rhame, Second Armored Division, Brigadier General Jerry Rutherford, jointly unveiled the memorial tablet.

In 2001, the entire monument was rehabilitated. Victory was cleaned and regilded. The bronze tablets were cleaned and waxed. The granite was repaired and cleaned. The cobblestone plaza was repointed. The recent work was done by the National Park Service funding.

Designed by Cass Gilbert and Daniel Chester French, two of America's greatest architects and artists, the First Division Monument is more than an artistic element within the landscape of President's Park and the city. It is a symbol of American valor and the sacrifice of soldiers on the fields of battle. The design of the monument is an example of the early twentieth-century shift away from representation of a single event or individual in memorials. Today, the monument continues to evolve with the history of the First Infantry Division. The participation of the Society of the First Infantry Division in the monument's custody ensures that the monument is not frozen in time. Annual Veterans Day ceremonies at the monument are perpetual reminders of the duty and sacrifice of the First Infantry Division and of all American soldiers.

Scott W. Boatright

View of the First Division Monument, looking south, September 1999

No Mission Too Difficult
No Sacrifice Too Great
Duty First