Wall of Faces

Wall of Faces
Name	Wall of Faces
Location	National World War I Museum and Memorial, Kansas City, Missouri
Established	2013
Type	Memorial, digital archive

Wall of Faces The Wall of Faces is a commemorative digital and physical installation honoring American service members from World War I. It is associated with the National World War I Museum and Memorial and involves partnerships with the Smithsonian Institution, the American Legion, and the Doughboy Foundation. The project integrates archival research from the Library of Congress, National Archives, and state historical societies to present photographs, service records, and biographical data.

Overview

The project was initiated by the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City and involves collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. It collects photographic portraits, service citations, casualty lists, and unit rosters tied to campaigns such as the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, and the Second Battle of the Marne. Contributors have included institutions like the Imperial War Museums, the National WWI Museum, the American Battle Monuments Commission, and local historical societies across states including Missouri, Texas, Illinois, New York, and California.

History and development

Conceived after anniversaries of the armistice and centennial commemorations, the initiative drew on material from the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Smithsonian Institution, and university archives such as Yale, Harvard, and the University of Missouri. Early phases involved digitization efforts linked to projects like the Veterans History Project, collaborations with the American Legion, and grants from foundations including the National Endowment for the Humanities and private donors linked to the Doughboy Foundation. Exhibitions and data-sharing agreements were arranged with the Imperial War Museums, the American Battle Monuments Commission, and state departments of archives and history, facilitating the inclusion of photographs from veterans associations, regimental histories, and family collections.

Description and features

The installation presents thousands of portrait images arrayed in a large-format display within the National World War I Museum and Memorial, complemented by an online searchable database drawing on records from the National Personnel Records Center, the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and state archives. Biographical entries often reference service with units such as the 1st Division, the 42nd "Rainbow" Division, the 77th Division, and the 369th Infantry Regiment, and note battles including Cantigny, Belleau Wood, and Château-Thierry. The physical and digital panels include metadata fields used by the Smithsonian Institution and metadata standards employed by the Digital Public Library of America and university special collections.

Purpose and significance

The installation aims to humanize the scale of World War I casualties and service through portraiture and documented service records contributed by the Library of Congress, National Archives, and veterans organizations such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. It situates individual stories within broader campaigns like the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the Battle of Belleau Wood, and the Hundred Days Offensive, and aligns with centennial initiatives supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, state humanities councils, and academic programs at institutions including Columbia University, Princeton University, and the University of Kansas. The project fosters research by historians, genealogists, and curators from museums such as the Imperial War Museums and the National WWI Museum.

Public access and exhibitions

Displayed at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, the installation is complemented by online access hosted with contributions from the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and the Smithsonian Institution. Traveling exhibitions have been coordinated with institutions including the American Legion national headquarters, the Doughboy Foundation, state historical societies in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois, and university museums at the University of Missouri and Texas A&M. Educational programming has involved partnerships with the National Endowment for the Humanities, state departments of cultural affairs, local school districts, and veterans groups like the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Criticism and controversies

Scholars and commentators from institutions such as the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, and the Society for Military History have debated selection criteria, representation, and interpretive framing, raising concerns echoed by researchers at the Library of Congress and the National Archives about archival completeness and the impact of missing personnel files from the National Personnel Records Center. Civil rights organizations and academic programs at Howard University and Tuskegee University have critiqued representation of African American units such as the 369th Infantry Regiment and the presentation of race and segregation in sources, while veterans groups including the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars have discussed prioritization of commemoration versus contextual interpretation. Museum professionals from the Smithsonian Institution and the National WWI Museum have responded with transparency initiatives, outreach to state archives, collaborations with the American Historical Association, and efforts to expand contributions from family collections, university archives, and community history projects.

Category:World War I memorials in the United States