Professor makes his mark on WWI Memorial

On Thursday, May 16, the Commission of Fine Arts approved four quotations for inscription at the upcoming WWI Memorial at Pershing Park in Washington D.C. Of the four chosen, two were recommended by Professor Emeritus of english at James Madison University, Dr. Mark Facknitz.

I sent in about half a dozen passages, was thanked for them, and then I forgot about them until last week when I received the wonderful news that the fine arts committee had decided to use two of mine, said Facknitz

Facknitz, whose research includes war, commemoration, memory, and the arts, serves on the Historical Advisory Board of the World War One Centennial Commission. According to the official website, the Centennial aims to educate, honor and commemorate America’s forgotten war. In late July 2017, Vice Chair Edwin Fountain wrote an email to the Historical Advisory Board requesting worthy quotations for inclusion on the memorial.

One of the quotes proposed by Facknitz is several lines from American writer and poet Archibald MacLeish’s 1940 poem “The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak.” MacLeish served first as an Army ambulance driver and later a captain of artillery in WWI.

The other quote is a line from prominent American frontier writer Willa Cather’s 1922 novel One of Ours. According to Facknitz, who has in recent years divided his research interests between the Great War and Willa Cather, the main character in the novel is based on Cather’s cousin who was the first officer from Nebraska to die in WWI.

“Both are about the real cost, the loss of life, or lives cut short, and both hand the responsibility of commemoration––and continuity––over to the living."

As of today, about two-thirds of the necessary funds have been raised for the first national WWI Memorial. Construction is projected to begin this year and finish by the end of 2020. When it is complete, visitors will have a chance to do what MacLeish’s poem commands: “Remember us.”

If you are interested in interviewing Facknitz, please contact me. I would be happy to connect you.

Story by: Ciara Brennan 

Media contact: Hannah Robinson, 520-222-2808, robinshl@jmu.edu