National WWI Memorial — A Soldier’s Journey: First Illumination Ceremony
Published: 15 September 2024
By Doughboy Foundation Staff

Candles crop
Participants in the First Illumination Ceremony at the National World War I Memorial on September 13, 2024 hold candles during the event. (Left to Right) World War I Centennial Commission Chair Terry Hamby; World War I Centennial Commission Executive Director Daniel Dayton; Jeffrey P. Reinbold of the National Park Service; Reverend Dr. Margaret Grun Kibben; former Congressman Judge Ted Poe; former World War I Centennial Commission Vice Chair Edwin Fountain; National World War I Memorial Architect Joe Weishaar.

Current and former Commissioners of the United States World War I Centennial Commission gather in front of the A Soldiers Journey sculpture at the National World War I Memorial prior to the First Illumination ceremony on September 13, 2024. (Left to Right) Commission Chair Terry Hamby, appointed to the Commission by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and elected Chair on September 13, 2017; former Chair Colonel Robert J. Dalessandro, USA (Ret.), appointed to the Commission by then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, resigned from the Commission in 2017; Commissioner Commander Zoe Dunning, USN (Ret.), appointed to the Commission by then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi; Commissioner Major General Alfred A. Valenzuela, USA (Ret.), appointed to the Commission by then-President Barack Obama; former Vice Chair Edwin L. Fountain, appointed to the Commission by then-Senate Majority Harry Reid, resigned from the Commission in 2019; Commissioner Monique Brouillet Seefried, Ph.D., appointed to the Commission by the then-Speaker of the House John Boehner; Commissioner Ambassador Theodore “Tod” Sedgwick, appointed to the Commission by then-President Barack Obama; Commissioner Dr. Libby O’Connell, appointed to the Commission by then-President Barack Obama; Commissioner Dr. Matthew Naylor, appointed to the Commission by the National World War I Museum and Memorial; Commissioner Debra Anderson, appointed to the Commission by the Veterans of Foreign Wars; and Commissioner Colonel Thomas Moe, USAF (Ret.), appointed to the Commission by then-Speaker of the House John Boehner. (Not in photo: Commissioner John D. Monahan, appointed to the Commission by the American Legion.) (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Doughboy Foundation)

A view of the American flag during the First Illumination of “A Soldier’s Journey” At The National World War I Memorial September 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Doughboy Foundation)

Guests take their seats for the First Illumination of “A Soldier’s Journey” At The National World War I Memorial September 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Doughboy Foundation)

World War I reenactors prepare to participate the First Illumination of “A Soldier’s Journey” At The National World War I Memorial September 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Doughboy Foundation)

Buglers perform during the First Illumination of “A Soldier’s Journey” At The National World War I Memorial September 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Doughboy Foundation)

A segment of “A Soldier’s Journey” during the First Illumination at The National World War I Memorial September 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Doughboy Foundation)

Speakers during the First Illumination of “A Soldier’s Journey” At The National World War I Memorial September 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Left to Right) Daniel S. Dayton, Executive Director, WWI Centennial Commission; Rev. Dr. Margaret Grunn Kibben, Chaplain, U.S. House of Representatives; Edwin M. Fountain, former Vice-Chair, WWI Centennial Commission; Joseph Weishaar, Lead Designer, National WWI Memorial. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Doughboy Foundation) \

(Above and below) The audience views the First Illumination of “A Soldier’s Journey” At The National World War I Memorial September 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Doughboy Foundation)

Speakers during the First Illumination of “A Soldier’s Journey” At The National World War I Memorial September 13, 2024 in Washington, (Left to Right) Sabin Howard, Sculptor, “A Soldier’s Journey”; Terry Hamby, Chair, World War I Centennial Commission; Jeffrey Reinbold, Superintendent, National Mall and Memorial Parks; The Honorable Ted Poe, Former U.S. Congressman. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Doughboy Foundation)

Guests hold candles for the “Lights of Remembrance” during the First Illumination of “A Soldier’s Journey” At The National World War I Memorial September 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Doughboy Foundation)