World War I (aka The Great War) ended slightly more than 106 years ago. All of the men (and the few women) who served in the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) are now dead, but we should not - cannot - let them be forgotten. The AEF showed up in France in 1917 under the command of Black Jack Pershing (his nickname came from his service as the commanding officer of the Black Buffalo Soldiers). General Pershing refused to allow American troops to be fed into the British and French formations piecemeal and insisted on creating an American Army. under American command, fighting battles as Americans.
America did not "win" WWI, but the American forces performed extremely well and helped c compel the German Army and government to recognize that Germany could not win the war.
That marked the emergence of the United States as a world power. The men and women who served us 100+ years ago were the instrument by which we gained our position in the world. We cannot allow them to be forgotten, for their monuments to deteriorate and collapse.
They are my brothers - "for he who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother…"
whoever said we can't change history was wrong! Just ask CDOT! and the Rememberance plaque at 287 & Baseline? Karen, thanks much for all of your hard work getting this together for all of us to learn about what is going on!
Karen, thanks for the update. I was first introduced to your writing about Lafayette through my own quest to learn about the pillars. It was a short road to subscribing and supporting after that!
I'm very excited that we may be able to enjoy the pillars at Atlas for many years to come. Their meaning and purpose are lost in their current location.
Thank you! I'm so glad you found my reporting on the pillars, the Rotary Club did an amazing job of collecting all the history into one document.
Moving them to Atlas Valley does seem like a way to preserve the pillars while at least keeping them on Arapahoe. As was pointed out in a previous comment they would be more accessible in this location and could have more information about their original purpose.
Thanks for this story and all the history. I’ve always wondered what those pillars were about and why it was just disappearing right before our eyes. So glad that communities have come together to restore and protect that memorial. Hopefully it will land at the Atlas Valley location only because it will be more accessible for understanding the history and reading the signage and potentially hosting a peace prayer group there.
Glad you enjoyed it, Annette. There have been a lot of twists and turns, I hope they can be saved and maintained. Great point about them being more accessible to the public so people can learn more about them.
World War I (aka The Great War) ended slightly more than 106 years ago. All of the men (and the few women) who served in the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) are now dead, but we should not - cannot - let them be forgotten. The AEF showed up in France in 1917 under the command of Black Jack Pershing (his nickname came from his service as the commanding officer of the Black Buffalo Soldiers). General Pershing refused to allow American troops to be fed into the British and French formations piecemeal and insisted on creating an American Army. under American command, fighting battles as Americans.
America did not "win" WWI, but the American forces performed extremely well and helped c compel the German Army and government to recognize that Germany could not win the war.
That marked the emergence of the United States as a world power. The men and women who served us 100+ years ago were the instrument by which we gained our position in the world. We cannot allow them to be forgotten, for their monuments to deteriorate and collapse.
They are my brothers - "for he who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother…"
I am keeping an eye on the progress being made to save the monuments. Fingers crossed that the folks working diligently on it will be successful.
whoever said we can't change history was wrong! Just ask CDOT! and the Rememberance plaque at 287 & Baseline? Karen, thanks much for all of your hard work getting this together for all of us to learn about what is going on!
Doug Conarroe has a piece on his website about the Blue Star Memorial Plaque
https://www.lafayettehistory.com/lafayettes-blue-star-highway-memorial/
Karen, thanks for the update. I was first introduced to your writing about Lafayette through my own quest to learn about the pillars. It was a short road to subscribing and supporting after that!
I'm very excited that we may be able to enjoy the pillars at Atlas for many years to come. Their meaning and purpose are lost in their current location.
Thank you! I'm so glad you found my reporting on the pillars, the Rotary Club did an amazing job of collecting all the history into one document.
Moving them to Atlas Valley does seem like a way to preserve the pillars while at least keeping them on Arapahoe. As was pointed out in a previous comment they would be more accessible in this location and could have more information about their original purpose.
Thanks for this story and all the history. I’ve always wondered what those pillars were about and why it was just disappearing right before our eyes. So glad that communities have come together to restore and protect that memorial. Hopefully it will land at the Atlas Valley location only because it will be more accessible for understanding the history and reading the signage and potentially hosting a peace prayer group there.
Glad you enjoyed it, Annette. There have been a lot of twists and turns, I hope they can be saved and maintained. Great point about them being more accessible to the public so people can learn more about them.