World War I Memorial Foundation Represented at 75th Annual Commemorative Observance at D.C. War Memorial

World War I Memorial Foundation secretary/treasurer and board member Edwin L. Fountain spoke on Frank Buckles’s dream of a national World War I memorial and on pending Congressional legislation, S. 2097, that would achieve this if enacted. Buckles, 109, is the last U.S. World War I veteran and the honorary chairman of the foundation. Michael T. Kelly of the National Park Service gave an overview of memorial’s restoration plan.

Keynote speaker District of Columbia Superior Court Associate Judge Robert R. Rigsby said, "every veteran I talk to, every soldier I see in uniform, everyone I know who has answered the call to duty is a living monument to the service and sacrifice of World War I veterans." In 2009, Rigsby became the first military judge in history to deploy full-time to an active theatre of war, as the sole military judge for Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, for which he received the Bronze Star.

The first annual Commemorative Observance was held on May 1, 1936, and was organized by the D.C. Salon Departmentale Eight & Forty, a subsidiary organization of The American Legion Auxiliary. Over the intervening years the event has been expanded to honor all war dead from the District of Columbia who fought in all conflicts for the United States. The District of Columbia World War Memorial and May Day Corporation, comprised of The American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, the Forty & Eight, and the Eight & Forty, was formed in 1940 for the purpose of arranging annual May memorial observances at the District of Columbia War Memorial. Expenses of the Annual Observances are borne by contributions from each of the four organizations, as well as members of the public.