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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

100 years ago: U.S. went to war with Germany

OLYMPIA -- World War I memorial on the Capitol Campus features Winged Victory looking over a U.S. soldier, marine, sailor and nurse. (Jim Camden/The Spokesman-Review)
OLYMPIA -- World War I memorial on the Capitol Campus features Winged Victory looking over a U.S. soldier, marine, sailor and nurse. (Jim Camden/The Spokesman-Review)

100 years ago today, the United States entered World War I, or  "The Great War" as it was called then, when Congress voted to declare war on Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey. Europe had been at war since August 1914, and essentially fought to a stalemate of trench warfare across several western European nations.

The vote to declare war -- these were the days when presidents usually asked Congress for permission before taking military action against another country -- was not unanimous. As Jim Kershner recounted this week, Spokane's Rep. C.C. Dill voted against the declaration and suffered the wrath of his constituents.

The war would continue until Nov. 11, 2018, and some Spokane soldiers wouldn't come home until the next year. 

Washington honored the men and women from the state who died in "The Great War," as it was then called, with this statue featuring Winged Victory looking over a soldier, sailor, Marine and military nurse. First announced in 1927, the statue by Seattle sculptor Alonzo Victor Lewis was dedicated in 1938.

It's on the Capitol Campus in a circle just north and east of the domed Legislative Building. 



The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.