After fighting ended in World War I, temporary structures lined the downtown side of Canal Street in New Orleans to stir support for a last round of United States war bonds.
Algiers Point resident and retired veteran Ron Hill found an intriguing picture in the h Digital Library. In the image, structures stand tall over Canal Street, complete with wreaths and plaques near the bottom that listed the names of New Orleanians who lost their lives in the war.
“Being a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, I have an interest in how we remember our veterans from past wars, and am particularly interested in how we honor Gold Star mothers — those who have suffered and given up so much for our country,” Hill said. “We often focus news stories of those who died, while rarely giving much media coverage to those who are left behind when we lose a warrior, and how families of warriors sacrifice for all of us.”
His question: What happened to this pair of WWI monuments that previously occupied Canal Street? Were they relocated?
Clues about these mysterious structures lie in a series of newspaper filings from 1919, provided by the New Orleans City Archives, and in the state of U.S. postwar finances.
Items are left at a memorial marker for Thomas Gragard, a Marine killed during WWI, in City Park in New Orleans Saturday, April 25, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic.
Fighting over and funds needed
When the U.S. entered the fray of WWI in 1917, declaring war on Germany, the country needed a way to finance the war effort. The resulting idea was a campaign to sell war bonds, branded the Liberty Loan Plan.
During the war, the U.S. had four rounds of bond selling. When Armistice Day came in November 1918, it was greeted with intense celebration — and followed by one last financial push.
In 1919, with fighting over and funds still needed, the fifth and final round of U.S. war bonds were sent out, titled the “Victory Liberty Loan.” New Orleans had a Victory Loan quota of around $21 million to meet, and local Victory Liberty Loan committee chairman Henry E. Groffman was hard at work.
Before the loan campaign launched the week of April 21, 1919, Groffman sent out a public call asking for the names of local Gold Stars through a newspaper notice. The Historic New Orleans Collection estimated 74,103 hns served in the U.S. armed forces during the war. Groffman asked for the names of locals who perished in this effort.
Before the loan campaign launched the week of April 21, 1919, Victory Liberty Loan committee chairman Henry E. Groffman sent out a public call asking for the names of local Gold Stars through a newspaper notice.
“What we want is the name of the man who died in the service,” Groffman is quoted in the April 11, 1919 issue of the New Orleans Item.
“Add to this the service, whether the navy, marine corps infantry, field artillery, aviation, medical corps, or any other branch of the government’s fighting force in which he was engaged. Unless this information is forthcoming in the immediate future, I am afraid we will not be able to carry out fully one of the most impressive features of the Victory Liberty Loan declaration.”
Drumming up public enthusiasm
Four days later, the newspaper described these impressive features: a display on Canal Street consisting of eight three-sided pylons, each between 18-20 feet tall. The design was obelisk-like, tapering upward from a square base into a narrow pinnacle and decorated with a gold and ivory color scheme.
Each erected pylon held a different symbol of war, such as a cannon, tank and airship. Names of Gold Star soldiers were placed on plaques near the bottom.
A display on Canal Street in New Orleans included the names of WWI Gold Star soldiers.
The pylons were accompanied by a display of electric lights and “novel displays of patriotic ideas,” including printed slogans from the Victory Loan Campaign, such as “Peace Insurance,” “Stamp the Bill Paid,” and “Make the Fifth Punch a Knockout,” all meant to drum up public enthusiasm for buying bonds over the weeks of the campaign.
The last mention of the display can be found in a brief note in the May 7, 1919, article of the New Orleans Item.
“Decorations on Canal which were placed for the Fifth Victory Loan and for the welcome of h troops will remain intact until after the arrival of the Jennings boys,” the article reads.
This undated photo displays the performance of restoration work on the Ninth Ward Victory Arch. (Photo via Monumental Task Committee)
The pylons disappeared from public notice — given the lack of other evidence, they appear to have been taken down along with the rest of the decorations after the campaign ended. Even still, New Orleanians were afire with enthusiasm for creating a proper war memorial. Debate over the form and design on this memorial began in the summer months of 1919, eventually resulting in the creation of the 9th Ward Victory Arch.
The carved stone arch was originally located in the center of McCarty Square. It was moved in 1951 to the edge of the square. The arch is America’s first permanent tribute to WWI U.S. servicemen, according to The Historic New Orleans Collection.