A Soldier's Journey

A Soldier's Journey portrays an American soldier's passage through a hero's journey that also stands for the American experience of World War I: departure, initiation, ordeal, aftermath, and return. In the departure, his daughter hands him his helmet while his wife reaches out as if to hold him back, evoking debate over American involvement in the war. In the initiation, he joins the parade to war as the United States enters the battle in Europe, with African Americans and other ethnic groups included among those answering the country's call. In the ordeal, the parade gives way to tension before the charge and then to violent combat, where the central figure calls his comrades forward with the battle cry associated with Belleau Wood. The aftermath shows the physical and mental wounds of the fighters and includes American women who served at home and on the fighting front. As the soldier pauses and looks outward in shock and loss, with empty helmets at his feet, the scene invites reflection on the costs of war. In the return, he rejoins the homecoming parade, as one figure looks back with pride and a flag-bearer leads the country forward into the American century. He then returns home and gives his helmet back to his daughter, who looks into it and sees World War II, the war that would bring America back to Europe a little more than twenty years later.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States