The National WWI Museum and Memorial has launched a new online exhibition developed in partnership with the American Battle Monuments Commission, expanding public access to the history, meaning and enduring legacy of America’s World War I memorials at home and overseas. 

The digital exhibition, “In a Shady Meadow Green: American Memorials to WWI,” uses primary sources and historic images from the museum’s and ABMC’s collection, as well as interpretive storytelling to explore how Americans honored those lost in the Great War. The exhibition invites visitors to consider a timeless question at the heart of remembrance: What is the purpose of a memorial? 

Created by the National WWI Museum and Memorial with support from ABMC, the exhibition connects audiences to the places where remembrance took lasting form after World War I. Through cemeteries, monuments and memorial landscapes, ABMC transformed distant battlefields into permanent places of honor, mourning and reflection for American service members who never returned home. 

Established by Congress in 1923, ABMC is responsible for commemorating the service and sacrifice of U.S. armed forces overseas. Its World War I sites mark the ground where Americans fought and fell, while preserving the memory of their courage for future generations. 

“Our partnership with the Museum and Memorial on this exhibition brings ABMC’s mission closer to those in the U.S. who may not have the chance to visit our cemeteries and memorials overseas,” said Ben Brands, ABMC historian. “This exhibition shows how they were created to honor those who never returned home and to carry their stories forward for future generations.” 

The new exhibition brings that mission into a digital space, allowing students, educators, families and the broader public to examine how individuals, communities and the nation chose to remember the dead after the war. It also highlights the deep connection between memorialization and national identity, showing how acts of remembrance continue to shape public understanding of service and sacrifice more than a century later. 

The partnership reflects ABMC’s continued commitment to education and public engagement. By working with America’s official World War I museum and memorial, ABMC is helping make these stories accessible to audiences beyond the physical boundaries of its commemorative sites. 

“In a Shady Meadow Green” offers an opportunity to reflect on the human cost of war and the responsibility of remembrance. It underscores that memorials are not only markers of loss but also places of connection—between past and present, between nations, and between the fallen and those who continue to honor them. 

The exhibition is available online through the National WWI Museum and Memorial. A lesson plan will also be available on the website for teachers to bring the exhibition into their classrooms.