Happy 4th from the Harding Project

In 1977, Military Review borrowed “Columbia Calls” for the July cover. Read below to learn why.

"Columbia Calls" For Americans, July always has had special significance. Aside from the summer vacations, outdoor barbecues and baseball, most of us take time to recall that this is the month of our nation's birth. Welling from within when the traditional 4th of July fireworks blaze into the sky comes a feeling of patriotism we often forget we have.

Our cover this month is patriotism of the most exhortative sort—the call to arms. "Columbia Calls" is a famous World War I recruiting poster, painted by artist V. Aderente for the US Army in 1916, and inspired by Francis Halsted's song of the same name (bottom right of the poster). Use of the original poster for this cover is through the courtesy of the Liberty Memorial Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, which houses the most extensive collection of World War I era posters known to exist.

Once the July cover theme for MR was agreed on, our search for the poster art naturally led us to the Liberty Memorial source. In the museum are hundreds of original posters, US and foreign, which propagandized every aspect of the Great War from Liberty Bonds to recruiting. Researchers, historians and artists who have discovered the collection recognize it as a rare and valuable source providing a glimpse of this turbulent period in history.

The Liberty Memorial was conceived as a monument to peace and patriotism immediately after World War. During one week in 1918, Kansas City residents contributed nearly $2.5 million for its construction. The site, on a high bluff overlooking the city, was dedicated in 1921 by a gathering of five Allied commanders, including General of the Armies John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force.

Visitors to Fort Leavenworth and Kansas City should plan to include the memorial in their itinerary during their stay in the Midwest. It can demonstrate just how important patriotism was to some people when their country called.

Happy 4th of July!