First Division Monument
First Division Monument
Location: South of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Erected: 1924
Sculptor: Daniel Chester French
Architects: Cass Gilbert and Cass Gilbert, Jr.
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
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.
No Mission Too Difficult
No Sacrifice Too Great
Duty First
DREADNOUGHTS OF DESERT STORM
Copyright © 2001 by [LIGHTNING FORCE]. All rights reserved.
Revised:
01/01/10 09:50:04 -0600.