America’s Great War Centennial – a time for healing and remembrance

Without question, this past calendar year has been a trying time for our Nation.  It has been a period of more than just spirited civic discourse – it has been a time of division and strife, of rancor and grudge, of insult and invective.  We are a country that desperately needs to heal.  Friday, Nov. 11, 2016 – only three days after the election – marks Veterans Day, our annual occasion to honor the service of those who have humbly and valiantly answered the country’s call to duty.  In addition to remembrance, this Veterans Day should be a time for national reconciliation and an occasion to remember that service in defense of our exceptional country is a commitment and calling that goes beyond political partisanship.  

The approaching Veterans Day is particularly important.  It falls on the eve of the centennial of America’s entry into World War One, the very conflict that gave birth to Veterans Day, or as it was known until 1954, Armistice Day.  It was Armistice Day which commemorated the “War to end all Wars.”  In a few months, when the calendar flips to 2017, we will meet the 100 year anniversary of America’s entry into that conflict, our involvement technically occurring with a Congressional declaration of war on the German Empire on April 6, 1917.      

{mosads}World War 1 was the first international conflict that occurred on a multi-continental scale – something we are all too familiar with now.  It was also the first war to see the employment of technology that we have used in wars for decades since – from the airplane to the machine gun to the armored tank.  And for Americans, World War One marks the seminal moment when the United States emerged as a truly important and influential global power – for the war’s outcome may have been dramatically different had the doughboys in the American Expeditionary Force not sailed across the ocean for the fields of France.  From Château-Thierry to Belleau Wood and from Saint-Mihiel to the Atlantic high seas, 2 million American soldiers, sailors and Marines fought alongside our allies in Europe to turn the tide of battle against the ambitions of empire.  Victory – as it never is – was not without cost; the AEF sustained roughly 320,000 casualties, and 116,516 Americans paid the ultimate price with their lives before it was over.  Of course, the outcome of the Great War was far from final – as the lingering conditions following its conclusion ultimately gave way to another conflagration, even more sweeping and destructive, only a generation later.

It is unfortunate that our memory of the First World War – a war in which both of our Grandfathers were directly involved – has waned, its importance sidelined by other events and overshadowed by the vicissitudes of the last century.  It is especially unfortunate given the role of World War One in shaping the modern world; one needs to look no further than the Sykes-Picot Agreement to understand the relevance of The Great War to contemporary challenges in the Middle East.  We also need look no further than the horrific impact of chemical weapons on troops entrenched along the Western Front to recognize why we remain so concerned about their production and use today.  It is for these reasons, and countless others, that the work of the World War One Centennial Commission is vital to preserve our history and to ensure that the pivotal role of America, in this consistently relevant war, is not lost on future generations.

This Veterans Day, we must be better and bigger than our differences.  We must always remember that despite our disagreements – often temporary and more about process than goals – we exist as a common people, with common aspirations of success, and common desires of liberty.  We must pause our political bickering, and remember the service of brave and patriotic Americans who have donned a uniform – regardless of party or ideology – in service to our great country.  And finally, we must remember that despite these differences, there are forces external to our Nation that do not wish to see America exist, regardless of whether or not we remain unified as a citizenry.  The Generals in our family, John J. Pershing and George S. Patton, Jr., understood this reality innately and they dedicated their lives tenaciously facing similar forces.

April of 2017 will mark a Century since our fellow countrymen left our shores, fixed bayonets, and steadied forth to charge a fearsome enemy in a foreign land.  And while that conflict may seem as distant to us as the last echo of shell-fire on the Armistice, let us always remember the Great War, and those selfless Americans who fought in it, as these brave individuals are the very reason for our solemn respect on this day.

Sandra Pershing and Helen Patton both currently serve as Special Advisors to the World War One Centennial Commission, a Congressionally-charted Commission focused on educating the American public about our Nation’s history in the First World War. 

The views expressed by authors are their own and not the views of The Hill.