Send Ricky Lazaro to Honor WWI Heroes in D.C.

My name is Ricardo Lazaro and I am a Senior in high school and an Eagle Scout. I just found out yesterday that I have been selected from a national competition sponsored by the World War I Centennial Commission as one of ten trumpet players to perform the opening “Fanfare” at the First Illumination of "A Soldier's Journey," a bronze sculpture that will serve as the centerpiece of the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. The First Illumination is scheduled to take place at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW in Washington, D.C. on September 13, 2024.

I am the youngest of the 10 national finalists and the only high school student in a line-up of civilian trumpet players that includes several professional trumpeters as well as several professors of trumpet. The 10 civilian trumpeters will perform the opening Fanfare alongside 10 additional trumpeters from the Washington DC area representing the National Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the United States Navy Band, the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own”, and the United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps.

A description of the sculpture from the Smithsonian Magazine: "Across five scenes and 38 larger-than-life size human figures, it will be nearly 60 feet long and 10 feet high. And it may become the greatest memorial bronze of the modern age." The frieze created by artist Sabin Howard "tells the story of an American reluctantly answering the call to war--a deeply personal and individual story and the grand symbolic story of the nation all at once." “A Soldier’s Journey” is ithe largest freestanding high relief bronze in the Western Hemisphere.

I will have to miss two days of school but I think the honor of remembering and paying homage to the sacrifices of the soldiers of WWI will more than justify these absences. Unfortunately, the World War I Centennial Commission does not offer any funds for travel expenses to Washington, D.C. I am hoping to raise enough money to buy a round trip ticket from San Antonio to Washington, D.C. as well as some money for food and a hotel.

I need to report to the WWI Commission site no later than 3:00 PM on September 12th to be fitted for the WWI Army solder uniform that all of the trumpeters will wear. That evening I have a rehearsal that starts at 5:00 PM. The ceremony takes place the next day, on September 13, 2024 and will begin at 7:00 PM. My Dad is going with me and we need to stay in D.C. Thursday and Friday nights.

Please help me get to D.C. on September 13th! Any little bit will help me a lot.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Ricky Lazaro