The American Soldier:
Traveling Exhibit Depicts Soldiering through Nine American Wars

	The American Soldier exhibit (above) is now open for public viewing, through Labor Day, at the Women's Memorial. Photo by Teresa Ballard, Courtesy of Lighting by Lyttle.

Memorial Day marked the beginning of The American Soldier’s story at the Women’s Memorial. Exhibit producer Cyma Rubin helped unveil the traveling exhibit—The American Soldier: A Photographic Tribute to Soldiers and Marines from the Civil War to the War in Iraq—during formal opening and gala reception May 13. The invitation-only event featured special guest speakers, including: Pete Geren, Secretary of the US Army; General George Casey, Chief of Staff of the US Army; and General James Conway, Commandant of the US Marine Corps.

The idea for The American Soldier was born when Rubin saw a cover photo—depicting a battle-weary World War II, Battle of the Bulge soldier resting against a pile of blankets that he was to carry back to his freezing comrades—in a New York Times magazine in 1995.

Rubin collected more than 4,000 photographs, taken by combat photojournalists and Pulitzer Prize winning photographers, of American soldiers and Marines at war. Then, Rubin painstakingly selected the 115 images that she believes best “tell the story of the American foot soldier,” she said. They are images that “capture the camaraderie, the humanity, the heroics” of the American soldier during the nine major wars America has fought since 1861.

“When civilians see soldiers, they often just see the uniform. I wanted to show them the soldiering,” Rubin told the crowd.

	The Women's Memorial was bathed in patriotic lights for the special opening gala of The American Soldier traveling exhibit, a May 13, invitation-only event hosted by EADS-North America. The exhibit is now open to the public through Labor Day. Photo by Teresa Ballard, Courtesy of Lighting by Lyttle.

Guests, many of them current and former soldiers and Marines, responded that the exhibit succeeds in conveying the powerful emotions that a foot soldier may feel in war.

 “It’s difficult to capture what goes through a soldier’s mind,” General Casey explained,” but this exhibit has “captured the human dimension of combat. The exhibit reminds us all that war is fought by human beings … You can see what’s in the minds and hearts of our soldiers and Marines, and it will make you proud.”

General Conway added, “You’ll see poignant pictures of people in victory. You’ll see pictures of people in great personal loss. … You’ll see the reasons why young Americans join the armed services.”

And, viewers will see the history of American soldiering. They’ll see how much has changed since 1861, and how much has not changed at all, noted Sergeant Major Carlton Kent Command, Sgt Major of the Marine Corps. “The uniforms have changed over the years, but the warriors have not,” he observed. “These photographers have risked their lives to take that picture of a soldier in combat [and their] single photo can capture everything about war: laughter, tears, joy, confidence. … The [emotions of] soldiers don’t change.”

Gala guests enjoyed a sneak-preview tour of the exhibit, laid out upon specially installed wall panels at the Women’s Memorial. The American Soldier exhibit opened to the public the next day. The exhibit is free and remains open for public viewing through Labor Day. The exhibition was made possible through the sponsorship of EADS-North America and Business of Entertainment, Inc. For more information, visit The American Soldier Web site.

View the Feature Story Archive

(June 2008)