Patrick Kilmurry lived next door to where I grew up in Woodbridge, NJ. He named the white house in which he and his wife Rose lived "Château-Thierry" after a battle in which he, under General "Blackjack" Pershing, fought--one of the first actions by the US during what what was then called "The Great War," "the war to end all wars," but now know as World War I.
The centennial of World War I will be next year--but you would hardly know it. There doesn't seen to be much planned and, as yet, there is no World War I Memorial in Washington. We have memorials to the Vietnam, Korean and Second World War on the a National Mall.
We are in the midst of the bicentennial of The War of 1812, and aside from a few happenings at nearby Fort McHenry, this also has gone by pretty much unnoticed.
I recall no commemorations for the Mexican-American War, which, in spite of whatever moral misgivings we might have about it, was of enormous significance; the conflict was arguably the most important since the revolution, adding to the US territory equivalent to the combined size of Italy, France and Spain.
Most of us -- not just the Civil War buffs -- can name at least a half dozen Civil War battles and generals and sing any number of songs from that conflict--but the Mexican War is largely forgotten and gets little more than a few paragraphs in our High School history text books. The Spanish American War also gets short shrift
Pat used to let me wear his dough boy, Smokey the Bear style campaign hat and tell me about "Over There." The sign "Château-Thierry" isn't on the house anymore. I'd like to see a more formal commemoration down here in Washington. I think Patrick Kilmurry would have liked that.