There are four bronze plaques on this World War I memorial, two on each support leg, front and back, and each notes area servicemen who made sacrifices during "The World War." On the back of the west leg is:
Service Roll
"To the members of F Co., 140th"
"Lafayette, we are here" -- (Pershing)
Except General Pershing didn't say that. One of his staff, Lieutenant Colonel Charles E. Stanton, said it, when he and Pershing visited the tomb of the Marquis de La Fayette, to honor the nobleman's assistance during the Revolutionary War and assure the French people that the people of the United States would aid them in World War I. The full quote is:
"America has joined forces with the Allied Powers, and what we have of blood and treasure are yours. Therefore it is that with loving pride we drape the colors in tribute of respect to this citizen of your great republic. And here and now, in the presence of the illustrious dead, we pledge our hearts and our honor in carrying this war to a successful issue. Lafayette, we are here."
Note on the plaque on the front of the eastern leg of the arch a reference to John McCrae's poem, "In Flanders Fields", ""For those who sleep in Flanders Fields where poppies grow." There is even controversy about whether the last word should be "grow" or "blow", but this is not a direct quote anyways.
As for the arch itself, it was funded by a proverbial passing of the hat among local citizens and organizations, and mostly constructed of native stone and concrete in 1919. It originally stood in the intersection of Main St and Cedar Ave, a block east, once the site of the city well and a bandstand that replaced the well. Despite rainy weather that delayed its completion, it was dedicated on September 26, 1919 to open Cabool's Fair and Stock Show. It originally had lights -- 48 ten watt bulbs -- and was first illuminated in October of that year, but the vibrations of passing trains was found to destroy the fragile bulbs.
On March 4, 1920, the brass plates were put into place, costing about $300, and the final cost of the arch itself was about $1000. In June of the same year, work was finalized with the completion of a concrete platform around the arch, decorated at each corner by flower pots. Interestingly, the arch drew attention in Kansas City, where an editorial in the Kansas City Post praised the memorial and the work put into it by a town of only about a thousand people, while Kansas City's own ideas paled by comparison for such a large city as theirs. The call went out for the citizens of Kansas City to equal Cabool in terms of their own devotion to their boys who had died during the World War.
The arch was hit by a car in 1923, prompting calls for better awareness and safer driving, but by 1941, it was considered an obstruction to traffic, and relocated here.