PAGE COUNTY, Va. – The likeness of a local combat veteran is featured in a World War I Memorial statue the Smithsonian calls “the greatest memorial bronze of the modern age.”
The memorial, “A Soldier’s Journey,” was a 10-year-effort by sculptor Sabin Howard. Its creation began in 2019 after the World War I Centennial Commission was authorized by Congress to erect it at a cost of about $44 million dollars.
Thirty-eight separate figures, spread over approximately 58 feet of wall towards the western end of the Memorial Core, portray the experience of one American soldier.
Memorial architect Joe Weishaar calls it “The Everyman.”
The likeness of Luray’s Joe Winslow is featured in the portion of the composition labeled by Howard as the “pieta.” Winslow is depicted as the Chaplain, and is lifting a fallen soldier off the ground with the help of another soldier.
In-progress Sabin Howard sculpture, “A Soldier’s Journey”Photo byAndrew Holtz, Copyright 2024 #SabinHowardSculpture
The pieta is meant to convey the combatants gathering one another, caring for the wounded and fearful, and helping them move forward. This message especially resonated with Winslow who has always felt as though his calling as a Marine officer was strengthened by a duty to gather together young Marines around him and help them move forward, both professionally and personally.