From 1917 to 1918, the citizens of Washington served in World War I, and the community honored those who served while remembering those who made the supreme sacrifice: Francis E. Seeley, Louis P. Gage, David Blixt, Warren B. Mitchell, and George W. Wersebe. The memorial also records the names of many other Washington citizens who served, including men and women from the community, and closes with the lines, “So nigh is grandeur to our dust / So near is good to man / When duty whispers low thou must / The youth replies I can.”