I know very little about WWI, so the Kaiser and the Red Baron. For the Red Baron, I picture him like he’s shown on pizza boxes.
Feeling very philistinical right now!
I should read back through the thread but since I just watched the Caine Mutiny ---- anyone mention Bogart yet?
The first name that popped into my mind was Woodrow Wilson, followed almost immediately by “Black Jack” Pershing.
That’s who I thought of too. I have a degree in English education, though.
For me it would be the Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
I once saw a picture taken as he and his wife lay in state. Because their union was morganatic, her bier had to be a little shorter than his… The rank obsessed aristocracy could allow them to be equal, even in death.
I like Lord Kitchener, Secretary of War and Famous Moustache on the “BRITONS! Join your country’s Army!” posters. I’m a WWI buff.
Sad that there is so little memorializing happening in the U.S. (Yeah, we were only in it 1917-1918, but still). On a recent London trip I made a point of hitting the more impressive monuments. The Royal Artillery Memorial is a gasser! No pun intended.
Ukelele Ike, I looked at that picture and noted it said the realism of that memorial was in contrast to other WWI memorials. Were they more symbolic or something?
Without having seen it up close the Royal Artillery Memorial appears to have been designed in the shape of a crucifix & decorated with huge, realistic statues of soldiers, living & dead. All crowned by a field piece–termed “phallic” by some. (There are always a few in the crowd.)
A cursory search shows more classical designs. London’s Cenotaph replaced a temporary structure–quite plain, it’s decorated only by two laurel wreaths & is devoid of religious symbolism. Soldiers from the entire Commonwealth, of all descriptions & all religions, died in the war. Last November, a memorial to Sikhs who’d served was unveiled in Staffordshire.
Pancho Villa.
We will probably do our memorializing in 2018 when we can take credit for winning.
Expect WWII to go the same way - its hard to commemorate the beginning in 1939 if you didn’t bother to get in until almost 1942.
If you haven’t been yet, check out the Kansas City WW1 memorial and museum. It’s both impressive and educational. And also reverent.
Eddie Rickenbacker
I can boast a – rather tortuous – personal connection to the Royal Artillery Memorial. A great-uncle of mine (whom I never met – he emigrated to the other side of the world in the 1920s) fought in World War I: had a bad time, but came through alive and basically in one piece. My great-uncle was a sculptor, and was acquainted with Charles Sergeant Jagger, chief designer of the RA Memorial. According to family lore passed down from great-uncle: Jagger had aspirations toward creating said Memorial even before he was chosen for the job, and enthusiastically told g-u just how he planned it to look.
Many of them were reminiscent of the Boer War memorials, which focused on either classical or biblical themes or the “beautiful dead,” which would be more comforting to viewers. The WWI machine gunners’ memorial is just across Hyde Park Corner from the Artillery Memorial, and it features a statue of David holding the sword of Goliath.
The colossal statues of the artillerymen on Jagger’s memorial are standing at ease, relaxed, but still assertive. Except for the dead one. The art critics of the day didn’t like the dead one being on there, either.
I have a son at the University of Missouri Journalism School, and I DO plan a Kansas City trip within the next year or two. To eat barbecue, have a cheeseburger at Winsted’s, and to see the U.S. WWI memorial. (Maybe something having to do with jazz music, too, since it was Count Basie’s and Charlie Parker’s hometown)
Based just on the thread title, the name who popped into mind was Robert Borden, who was the Canadian Prime Minister during the war, and united two political parties to pass a military draft. Probably not significant for anyone not Canadian.
Lenin, sgt York, Kaiser Wilhelm, red Barron, Pershing, Princip, Patton.
My first thought was Archduke Ferdinand, followed by Hemingway (I just read one of his books).