The Eli Lilly Foundation has pledged $5 million towards the National WW1 Memorial project in recognition of the service of Capt. J. K. Lilly, Jr., who was a medical supply officer on the Western Front.  A grandson of the founder, he later headed up the pharmaceutical giant.

With this gift the U.S. World War 1 Centennial Commission now has $44 million in hand and construction is moving full speed ahead. You can get updated on the project by clicking here, which includes live web cam coverage.

James (“Jim”) Patton BS BA MPA is a retired state official from Shawnee, Kansas and a frequent contributor to several WW1 e-publications, including "Roads to the Great War," "St. Mihiel Tripwire," "Over the Top" and "Medicine in the First World War." He has spent many hours walking the WW1 battlefields, and is also an authority on British regiments and a collector of their badges. An Army Engineer during the Vietnam War, he does work for the US World War 1 Centennial Commission and is affiliated with the WW1 Historical Association, the Western Front Association, the Salonika Campaign Society and the Gallipoli Association.