Doughboy Foundation - What's Next at the Doughboy Foundation

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The Memorial opened to the public on April 17, 2021.

What is next for The Doughboy Foundation

Taps

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Taps: An Evening Ritual

More than its statuary, the new National World War I Memorial is a public gathering place for reflection on the war that changed the world. It is here in the Nation’s Capital that the playing of Taps—the sonorous 24-note melody embodies egalitarianism, patriotism, democracy, and equality—will enable us to fulfill an obligation to keep faith with the American Doughboy.

Solemn public gatherings will evoke the sacrifice and service of the 4.7 million Americans who answered their country’s call. A varied cast of participants will take part in the tolling of a ship’s bell, the laying of wreaths, the distribution of poppies, and more, casting an unforgettable spell upon Washingtonians and visitors alike. Indelible stories of service will inspire those in attendance and online. At special commemorative ceremonies, Taps will be played on a storied instrument: General John J. Pershing's own bugle.

The Doughboy Foundation is actively seeking funding to support this project, and we’ll start the program once we have secured the first year’s expenses.

If you have questions, please contact: halsey.hughes@doughboy.org

Local WWI Memorial Support

WWI Monument Design

Memorial Grant Program

The new National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C., is the hub of a nationwide network of public reminders of the Great War. These local memorials help us keep faith with the men and women who served and sacrificed, but many have fallen into disrepair or have, in essence, vanished from public consciousness.

In conjunction with the centennial commemoration of World War I, the Doughboy Foundation catalyzed the renovation of one hundred memorials across the country—ranging from town squares and schoolhouses to football stadia and opera houses. To build on this work over the next decade, we need philanthropic capital to:

Restore and renovate memorials through matching grants that will leverage local interest. The Foundation has a track record of stimulating interest from students and community groups.
Register memorials that might otherwise be forgotten or neglected. A definitive database of the estimated 6,000-8,000 memorials, maintained by the Foundation, will be an enduring resource for communities and historians.

FACT: In the Commission’s 100 Cities, 100 Memorials project, a total fund of $200,000 resulted in over $6 million in local memorial restoration in 100 cities, a 30 times return on each dollar granted. This is why we are so excited to offer the continuation of this program.

What’s Great But Maybe Not Obvious:
In every county, city, and township where a local memorial restoration project is undertaken, there is renewed awareness, conversation and remembrance about the local Doughboys from that community, and how their service helped shape a nation.
Support the restoration, updates and social re-interpretation of local WWI memorials around the country by supporting this program:

Telling the WWI Story

Telling the Story In All Media

One of the greatest benefits of this job is that I get to learn about WWI, and I learn something new everyday. I’d like to share that joy with you, so the Doughboy Foundation will shortly release two apps using both virtual and augmented reality to help tell the stories, it will continue to produce specialized webinars, and will partner with the National Park Service to provide a wide range of activities at the Memorial, including wreath layings, concerts, and expert tours.

We already have a number of teaching and learning resources available on our website and in the App stores, including:

The WWI Memorial Apps

The WWI Memorial "Virtual Explorer" App to brings the entire WWI Memorial to your home or school.

The WWI Memorial "Visitor Guide App" to bring a whole new dimension to your visit to the WWI Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The Bells of Peace Participation App that remember the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 with an internatinal Bell Tolling initiative
The How WWI Changed America Teaching and Learning Resources - an entire WWI website you can download an put on your own computer or a thumb drive
The WWI Genealogy Research Guide to explore your family, or community connections to WWI
You will also find The Stories of Service Virtual Remembrances where you can tell the story of your ancestors' connection to WWI.
These stories will exist on our website as well as in both the Virtual Explorer and the Visitor Guide Apps

The Poppy

In Flanders Field poppies

The Poppy as a Symbol of National Remembrance

Soon after the Great War ended, the Allied countries adopted the poppy flower as their National Symbol of Remembrance. In the US, led by the American Legion, this began in 1920. For decades, Americans wore red poppies on Armistice Day, and children recited In Flanders Fields in schoolrooms across the country.

We will join veteran’s groups across the US to restore the poppy as the National Symbol of Remembrance.

Today, in the British Commonwealth countries, TV broadcasters routinely wear the red poppy each year from November 1 to November 11 in Remembrance. We should be doing this in the US.

The Doughboy Foundation will work with others to make National Poppy Day a centerpiece of its attention and programming.

FACT: In the UK and across Europe the symbol of remembrance is the Poppy, not so in the US.

This program does not require support funding. However we encourage you to go to our Merchandise Store to acquire Poppy pins at Doughboy.shop

When to wear your Poppy Pin:

Poppy Day on the Friday before Memorial Day
On Memorial Day
All of November including Veterans Day / Armistice Day

WAYS TO PARTICIPATE:
How many people can you get to wear a poppy?

Overview

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About Us

The Doughboy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization incorporated in the District of Columbia in 2013 under the name of the "United States Foundation for the Commemoration of the World Wars."

The Foundation supports and encourages planning and execution of programs, projects, and activities commemorating and educating the public on America's role in World War I, "The War that Changed the World." The Foundation encourages private & educational organizations, Federal, State, and local governments, and all individual Americans to Keep Faith with the Doughboys and all those who served in WWI. Our mission is three-fold:

Commemorate the experience of those Americans who served in WWI.
Honor the 4.7 million Americans who put on the uniform to answer the call of their country.
Inspire 21st-century Americans and all future generations to learn about, remember, and understand how WWI transformed our country and the world.

The Doughboy Foundation has worked hand-in-glove with the US WWI Centennial Commission to make the new National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC a reality. From the Memorial's conception in 2014, through the international design competition in 2015, through the design selection in 2016, through the three year design refinements and collaboration with the Commission of Fine Arts, the National Capital Planning Commission, the National Park Service and others resulting in the final approval in 2019, through the fundraising of $50 Million, through the construction during a pandemic in 2020, to the opening of the Memorial to the public in 2021 and beyond, the Doughboy Foundation has been an integral part of the effort to complete this long-overdue Memorial.

As the project completes and the Centennial Commission sunsets once the main sculpture is installed, the Doughboy Foundation will continue its mission of stewardship for the National WWI Memorial and the remembrance of all those who served and sacrificed in WWI.