World War I 100 Years Ago: Jan. 18-24

From The Indianapolis Star, Monday, January 20, 1919: Richard Lieber, Indiana State Park Commission chairman, is promoting his “Indiana Plan” for honoring the role played by American soldiers in the recent war. Under Lieber’s proposal, trees would be planted in a park in each county commemorating Indiana soldiers who gave their lives to the American cause in France. Every person from the county who served in the American military forces would be honored by a tree displaying his name. Each county would select a suitable piece of land and plant a tree symbolic of strength to be known as the “War Oak,” “War Ash,” or some other appropriate name. Such a grove would provide an individual memorial to the soldiers who lost their lives and a fitting symbol since trees, like men, fell before the shells of modern guns.