Preserving the memory of World War I

As the United States inches further and further away from World War I, fewer of its citizens know much about what was dubbed “The War to End All Wars.” That, Ret. U.S. Army Col. Robert D’Alessandro said during the 2015 National Convention, is why the mission of the World War One Centennial Commission is so important.

“Too many Americans – particularly our younger Americans – have little knowledge or understanding of the ‘Great War’ and its continuing relevance to the 21st century,” said D’Alessandro, one of the commission’s commissioners. “We still live under the long shadow of World War I in so, so many ways.”

D’Alessandro said that before World War I, the United States was an ‘inward-looking" country, but that changed during the course of the war. “Americans now saw themselves as active participants for the good in world affairs,” he said.

One of the missions of the World War One Centennial Commission is to plan, develop and execute programs, projects,and activities to commemorate the centennial of World War I.

D’Alessandro, who also serves as American Battle Monuments Commission deputy director of Headquarters Operations, called on the Legion to help the commission with its mission.

“At the commission we need The American Legion to serve as our active partners, to help us tell these stories,” he said. “Our country and the world need to hear about the service of over 4.7 million Americans in this war. Today’s young people should hear about the 198,000 Texans who served in World War I, the 400,000 New Yorkers, the 324,000 Pennsylvanians, the 200,000 Ohioans. Every state and every territory overwhelmingly answered the call to serve."We need you … the membership of The American Legion, and we need the social media impact that it brings, we need the prestige that The American Legion brings to tell these stories loudly and proudly. It’s vitally important that we understand how this war shaped our nation and the world we live in today.”

D’Alessandro said honoring those who served in World War I will have an impact on future generations of military personnel. “If we come together and coordinate a sustained national tribute to those who served in World War I, then we can turn to those young people thinking of enlisting, and we can be honest in telling them that their service … will always be remembered,” he said. “It is our task to ensure that (the World War I) generation is not forgotten. It is our mission to provide a voice to these Americans who can no longer speak. By doing so, we send a powerful mission to veterans of later wars who are still now with us, that 50, 75, 100 years from now they too will never be forgotten.”