Why Post-WWI Pilgrimages?

Several years ago, I became interested in a new pilgrimage route that was being mapped along the trench lines of the Western Front of WWI. The idea of a pilgrimage route through a former place of war was compelling to me. In addition, the development of new pilgrimage routes was on my radar because of such initiatives occurring in several places around the world - - to include across Scandinavia, in Japan, and new trails connecting places in Hungary to the Camino de Santiago. It didn’t take long before the Western Front Way piqued my interest even more because I soon discovered that there was a strong historical precedent for pilgrimages to the Western Front. During the interwar period, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims visited former battlefields, cemeteries, and memorials. The veterans of the Great War called these journeys pilgrimages and many guidebooks were published that give us insight into the importance of the pilgrimages. Such psychological themes as healing, meaning-making, belonging, and connection are reflected in the publications.

Two of my great-grandfathers fought in this war and the war impacted my family in significant ways. Reading about the veterans and the pilgrimages gave me insight into a part of my family history that had otherwise been kept private. Once I discovered where my paternal grandfather had been assigned in France, visiting these places became a pilgrimage for me. And, as many a battlefield pilgrim will say, once I started visiting the sites, I connected deeply to the people, events, and meaning of the sites and I am drawn back again and again. I channeled much of this meaning and enthusiasm into a Fulbright award focused on pilgrimages to Belleau, a center of American memory in France as well to creating a virtual pilgrimage dedicated to the US Army’s 26th “Yankee” Division during WWI.