On July 4, 1924, Harrisonburg and Rockingham County officials and community members dedicated the World War I Liberty Monument in Harrisonburg, brought there through the leadership of American Legion, Rockingham (now Dayton) Post 27. World War I began in August 1914, pitting the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire against the Allied Powers of Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Canada, and Japan; the United States entered the war in 1917, and an armistice that took effect on November 11, 1918, ended the fighting. The four years of war caused more than 40 million military and civilian deaths, with 116,708 U.S. military dead and 205,690 wounded. In the months after the armistice, veterans organized the American Legion, which Congress chartered in September 1919, and Rockingham (Dayton) Post 27 was established that same month. Its members immediately sought a permanent memorial to the 48 comrades from Harrisonburg and Rockingham County who died during World War I, and their fundraising campaign raised $10,000 to purchase the Liberty Monument created by nationally renowned sculptor Charles Keck (1875-1951). As the monument's 100th anniversary approached, Post 27 led efforts to restore Lady Liberty to its original luster, with financial assistance from the City of Harrisonburg and conservation guidance from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and Howard Wellman Conservation LLC was hired to clean and preserve it. July 4, 2024, marked 100 years since the dedication, and the monument has stood in memory of all men and women who have died in wartime service to the nation. Its two alphabetized sets of names also reflect the racial segregation of the era in which it was dedicated, with the smaller set listing Black soldiers from the city and county who died during World War I.