海角大神

It was supposed to be the 鈥渨ar to end all wars,鈥� but World War I did nothing of the sort. Instead, it ushered in a new era of conflict and striving, inspiring women and veterans to take to the streets 鈥� in some legendarily violent clashes 鈥� to protest for their rights.聽

It also redrew the borders of the Middle East and inspired its survivors 鈥� who had endured trench warfare, chemical weapons attacks, and bodily harm on a previously unthinkable scale 鈥� to rethink jingoistic calls to the glory of war.

The new national World War I memorial, the design for which was unveiled in Washington聽Tuesday, is for an America that is finally ready to confront some of the challenging societal fault lines revealed by the Great War, says the team behind the monument.

鈥淧eople are ready for these stories now,鈥� says Libby O鈥機onnell, chief historian for the History Channel and member of the World War One Centennial Commission.聽

"These stories," which highlight America's early grappling with women's rights, African-American rights, and the treatment of veterans, will be commemorated by a memorial in D.C.'s Pershing Park. one American solider lost in the war 鈥� 116,515 in total. The commission said Pershing Park was "the next best place" to put the memorial due to a law passed by Congress that says the National Mall is a "substantially completed work of art."

Despite concerns about how the United States handles human rights and widespread political stalemate in Washington, 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e making great strides,鈥� says Dr. O鈥機onnell. 鈥淭here are things that we couldn鈥檛 talk about at the dinner table even 15 years ago that we can now.鈥�

Anguish that led to recent riots over the police violence faced by African-American communities, for example, is creating a new conversation around race, and the US experience of World War I can contribute to it, those communities say.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D) of Missouri saw anger within his own African-American community around commemorating the war. 鈥淭hey were very angry over the fact that African-American men had been excluded from battles during World War I,鈥� he recalled, as a result of the belief among many that 鈥渢hey were cowards and lacked the fortitude to fight.鈥澛�

The 369th Infantry Regiment, comprised of African-American and Puerto Rican soldiers, was put under French, rather than American, command during World War I, 鈥渂ecause many white officers didn鈥檛 want it,鈥� O鈥機onnell says.聽

Nicknamed the 鈥淗arlem Hell Fighters,鈥� the 369th became among the most decorated of units, changing the way the nation viewed its black citizens.聽

When they returned to the US, however, 鈥淪ome of them were lynched 鈥� in their military uniforms,鈥� she says. 鈥淪ome of these stories have been pushed to the side, because they don鈥檛 reflect well on our country 鈥� but we鈥檙e ready to talk about them now.鈥�

In his home district of Kansas City, as well as through his work in Congress, Representative Cleaver helped to spearhead the creation of the national World War I memorial.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important for us to have monuments and memorials, so that people will not forget not only the history of that war, but the hell of that war,鈥� Cleaver said in a press briefing聽Tuesday. 聽

People confronted that challenge in different ways. Women said goodbye to husbands, brothers, and sons and took to the floors of factories that marked a historic leap for the US in aviation and manufacturing 鈥� including technologies that helped to win the war itself.

鈥淪oldiers rode into this war on horseback, and flew out on airplanes,鈥� O鈥機onnell said, adding that women were vital in making that happen. 鈥淩osie the Riveter had a mother. We think this happens in World War II, but in fact the mothers of those women were working in factories while they were fighting for the right to vote during World War I.鈥澛�

Even as they demonstrated for the right to vote, however, and as the US was moving from a debtor to a creditor nation, President Woodrow Wilson 鈥渃alled these women treasonous, because he felt that they had no right to protest during the war.鈥� The women felt more than justified, however, because they were helping to keep the factories that were fueling the war running.聽

By the war鈥檚 end, 鈥淲ilson had given up 鈥� he realized he鈥檇 lost this one.鈥� Today, O鈥機onnell adds, 鈥淲e鈥檙e not arguing about whether people deserve to be treated equally 鈥� it鈥檚 about how do you bring it about.鈥澛�

In the aftermath of World War I, veterans, too 鈥� many of whom had been put out of work by the Great Depression 鈥� had to agitate for their rights, with 17,000 of them marching on Washington in 1932. They were driven away with gunfire and infantry troops commanded by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, then the Army chief of staff.聽

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 get any worse than that,鈥� O鈥機onnell says. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 one of the horrible stories in American history.鈥澛�

With notable hiccups, the nation has learned from its wars of the past 14 years 鈥� America鈥檚 longest 鈥� how to better treat its veterans. That the country will continue to remember its veterans 鈥� even those who served a century ago 鈥� is a key theme of the World War I memorial, says Rebekah Wilson, director of operations for the World War One Centennial Commission.

It was seven years ago that Ms. Wilson, who served as a sergeant in the Army, had her own wake-up call.

She happened upon the World War I memorial to D.C. veterans, just off the National Mall. 鈥淚 just came back from my second tour in Iraq. It had one dinky light, the sidewalks were broken, it was overgrown, there was litter everywhere 鈥� I was like, 鈥榃hat is this?鈥� 鈥� she recalls.

鈥淚 thought about my friends who were coming back with PTSD, and we sit here and say we鈥檙e going to remember the sacrifices you made for this country, and it hasn鈥檛 been 100 years and we鈥檝e forgotten 鈥� it really struck me,鈥� she says, tearing up.

She went home and began organizing cleanups for the memorial, for a war in which the nation lost more troops than the Korean and Vietnam Wars combined. Of the 4.7 million Americans who went off to World War I, nearly 117,000 died 鈥� and that鈥檚 when the US population was less than a third of what it is today. Some 53,000 were lost聽in six months聽of fighting alone.聽

鈥淗ow can we turn to a young person who鈥檚 thinking about joining the military and tell them their service will be remembered when we have a whole generation," O鈥機onnell says, "who has suffered worse casualties than the Korean and Vietnam Wars combined?鈥�