DeJonge, a photographer from Grand Rapids, Mich., documented the last World War I survivors, including Frank Buckles. The two men then fought for the restoration of the D.C. World War I memorial, which is slated to be rededicated Thursday. How did you get involved in the restoration of the memorial?
On March 6, 2008 … I went to the White House and the Pentagon to unveil the collection [of photographs of veterans] with Frank Buckles, the last World War I veteran. And at the end of those ceremonies, I said, “Let’s go see the only memorial to your generation in Washington, D.C.” And we went to the D.C. War Memorial and found it abandoned with homeless camps near it, covered in algae and mold.
Was that what you were expecting?
That was not what we were expecting. We were both shocked and dismayed. And if you can imagine being there with the very last World War I veteran of everyone in the United States and weaving his wheelchair in and out of the cracks to approach that memorial, it was a shocking, disheartening moment in American history.
Who was Frank Buckles?
Frank Buckles was the last World War I veteran of the United States. He was the last World War I veteran from the Western Front from the entire world. He lived in Charles Town, W.Va. He died this spring at the age of 110 and had a funeral at Arlington with full military honors.
What does Thursday’s rededication mean for you?
Well, I made two promises on March 6 to Frank Buckles. One was that we would get the memorial restored for him, and two, that we would fight for national recognition of his generation on the National Mall. So we’re halfway completed, but unfortunately there are people in opposition to the idea of sharing space and recognizing the D.C. residents as part of America and making it the “National and D.C.” or “D.C. and National World War I Memorial.” – Kytja Weir
