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.