On Saturday, July 27th, Grunley was honored and excited to begin the final portion of our recently constructed National World War I Memorial in D.C. – the installation of “A Soldier’s Journey.” Sculpted by Sabin Howard, the 58-foot bas relief sculpture depicts the experience of one American soldier in 38 separate figures. Starting from the left, the soldier takes leave from his wife and daughter, charges into combat, and returns home to his family. Once installation is complete, “A Soldier’s Journey” will be the largest freestanding high relief bronze sculpture in the Western Hemisphere!

The sculpture was initially crafted in Sabin Howard’s studio in Englewood, New Jersey over the course of four and a half years. Once he was finished sculpting, each section was shipped to Pangolin Editions foundry in Stroud, England, where they were cast in bronze. Once cast, the sections arrived at the Port of Baltimore in mid-July in two shipping containers, and were transported to Crane Service’s yard for storage until their delivery to the memorial. The 25-ton sculpture consists of four sections, each weighing about 8,000 pounds. The entire piece was put in place by a 360-ton crane with a boom height of 110 feet and a 140-foot swing radius.