I found a new Memorial--the "little dome". It's a World War I monument to DC residents who died in the First World War. It seems to need a lot of expensive repair and I loved it just as it was. The cicadas were all strumming as loudly as possible in the trees nearby, and the sun was in the golden part of its trip to the sea. I could have been in Attic Greece or 1920's America, so peaceful yet alive was the spot.
The architect was Frederick Brooke, with two assistant architects, Horace W. Peaslee and Nathan G. Wyeth.
The architect was Frederick Brooke, with two assistant architects, Horace W. Peaslee and Nathan G. Wyeth.
The first inscription reads: "This memorial was erected through the voluntary subscriptions of the people of Washington. It was dedicated on Armistice Day in Nineteen Hundred and Thirty One by Herbert Hoover President of the United States. Within this corner Stone the Names of the Twenty Six Thousand Washingtonians who when the United States Entered the World War Answered the Call to Arms and Served In the Army Navy Marine Corps and Coast Guard."
The second inscription reads: "The Names of the Men and Women from the District of Columbia who gave their Lives in the World War are here Inscribed as a perpetual Record of Their Patriotic Service to Their Country--Those Who Fell and Those Who Survived Have Given to This and to Future Generations and Example of High Idealism Courageous Sacrifice and Gallant Achievement."
These inspiring words are at odds with every World War poet I've ever read. Nevertheless, the "Little Dome" honors them, and gave focus to Washingtonians still grieving the war and its losses.
They are considering expanding this local monument into a national monument. I hope they don't ruin its beautiful simplicity.
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