Restored World War I memorial at Pittsburgh's Obama Academy links past and present

Isaiah Trumbull, co-president of Obama Academy’s graduating class, said a recent restoration project that breathed new life into a World War I memorial on the school’s East Liberty campus provided an opportunity for reflection.

Trumbull said the project inspired him to learn about some of the more than 500 people whose names are on the memorial, all of whom were students and alumni from the same school he now attends — though it was called Peabody High School at the time — and served in World War I.

One of the names, Trumbull said, served as a particular inspiration: Malcolm Cowley. A famed writer and literary critic, Cowley went to Harvard College after graduating from Peabody and later served in the U.S. Army during World War I.

Trumbull now intends to follow the same path. He, too, will attend Harvard and serve in the Army.

Trumbull said he felt a connection with Cowley and shares the “responsibility he felt” to serve his country.

“We have the opportunity to reflect on our own path to the future,” Trumbull said Thursday during an hour-long rededication ceremony of the 100-year-old war memorial that stands outside of his school.

The memorial was rededicated at the same time — 11 a.m. — and date it had originally been dedicated exactly 100 years ago.

The ceremony celebrated the completion of a recent restoration project that included the installation of a new flag pole and repairs to a damaged statue. As part of the initiative, a new outdoor space was created around the memorial where students can study and congregate, complete with new seating, picnic tables and planters.

Ed Carlisle, a Vietnam War Army veteran from Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood who attended the ceremony, said he thinks it’s wonderful to provide students with an opportunity to connect to their local history and learn from it.

“It teaches you there’s people here, men and women, who fought in wars to keep our freedom,” he said, adding that his father had fought in World War II and his uncles in World War I.

James Hill, a member of the city’s Historic Review Commission who chaired the $175,000 restoration project, touted the memorial as a way to bridge the past and present and unite the legacy of Peabody High School — which closed in 2011 — with the new Obama Academy now in its place.

“For the young people that are here, it’s so important to have a sense of history, to understand where we came from,” City Councilman Khari Mosley said. “We stand on the shoulders of giants. We should be proud of that.”

The memorial includes the names of 543 Peabody students and alumni who served in World War I, including 17 who were killed in action.

A flagpole rises above the 6-foot-tall bronze sculpture, which was crafted by Pittsburgh artist Frank Vittor and includes a statue of Columbia, the personification of America; a mother and son; a returned soldier about to be crowned with laurels; the allegorical figure of Victory clutching a wreath; and a depiction of Immortality.

The restoration project is not just about refurbishing an old memorial, said Mariah Gaines, co-president of the school’s class of 2024. It’s also about “reigniting a sense of pride” and encouraging students “to be selfless” like the people it honors.

“The achievements and sacrifices of these men and women are not lost on the students of Obama Academy,” she said.

Gaines and Trumbull joined local officials in a ceremony that included lifting the new flag while a trumpet played Taps. Local dignitaries joined students in presenting wreaths to the memorial. A band of Obama Academy students played the national anthem, and local Vietnam veterans presented flags.

In what officials described as an effort to link the history of Peabody High School with the new legacy of Obama Academy, students sang Peabody’s alma mater before debuting a new alma mater for Obama Academy.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, a Peabody graduate, said the moment was “monumental for our kids to really learn about being a veteran, protecting our country and some of the lives that we lost.”

The community, he said, should take pride in the fact that more than 500 of its members fought in World War I.

They “played a major impact in making sure our democracy was safe,” he said.

Though the memorial was initially dedicated 100 years ago, its lessons resonate today, Pennsylvania Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-West View, told the students and community members gathered Thursday.

She challenged students to “honor the ideals these brave individuals fought for” and “fight to make the world a better place.”