World War 1 Memorial
Gardner, Worcester County, Massachusetts
Marker Inscription
Erected by a grateful city in honor of its heroic sons and daughters who served their country during the world war 1917-1918
The Story
In the years after the First World War, towns and cities across America raised monuments like this one to reckon with a conflict of unprecedented scale — the first in which the United States sent millions of its young people overseas. Gardner, a small Massachusetts furniture-manufacturing city, joined that wave of civic mourning and pride, dedicating this memorial to the local men and women who answered the call between 1917 and 1918. The inscription's notice of both sons and daughters reflects how the war drew women into service as nurses and support personnel, widening who a community counted among its heroes.
Why it matters
Community war memorials like this one turned a distant global conflict into a local act of remembrance, and they mark the moment the United States stepped onto the world stage as a modern military power.
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Related events
- · World War I
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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