|
|
Rendering of the future World War II Memorial. |
Here is a rendering of a proposed design:
Courtesy Of The WWII
Memorial Museum Page
Proposed New WWII Memorial Museum Designed by Richard Berry
Click On The Image For A Full-Size View
Proposed Modified Approved Design of WWII Memorial Museum
Click On The Image For A Full-Size View
|
|
|
|
View of Memorial Arch and Pillars from Plaza
|
View of Memorial Arch and Pillars from Ramp
|
|
|
|
View from Across 17th Street
|
|
|
|
|
View of Freedom Wall and Field of Gold Stars
|
View from Lincoln Memorial
|
WASHINGTON, D.C.
– A crowd of 12,000 people, mostly WWII veterans and
their families and friends, attended the long-awaited groundbreaking ceremony
for the National World War II Memorial on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at the
memorial’s Rainbow Pool site on the National Mall.
Conceived in 1987, authorized by Congress in 1993, and the subject of 19
public hearings over the past five years, the memorial passed a major
milestone when the final architectural design was approved by the National
Capital Planning Commission in September, clearing the way for the
groundbreaking ceremony. The Commission of Fine Arts approved the design
in July
American Battle Monuments Commission Chairman
General Fred Woerner, USA (retired), welcomed the audience, saying that
“It’s a privilege for the Commission to host this groundbreaking ceremony
in honor of our World War II generation. They are all heroes in the eyes
of the nation.”
President Clinton said, “With this memorial we secure the memory of 16
million Americans, men and women who took up arms in the greatest struggle
humanity has ever known. We hallow the ground for more than 400,000 who
never came home. We acknowledge a debt than can never be repaid."
Speaking directly to the members of the World War II generation, he said,
“We are the children of your sacrifice and we thank you forever.”
Senator Bob Dole, national chairman of the memorial campaign, thanked his
fellow WWII veterans for their service, and said, “For some, inevitably,
this memorial will be a place to mourn. For millions of others, it will
be a place to learn, to reflect, and to draw inspiration for whatever tests
confront generations yet unborn.”
“In the 20th century it fell to millions of
citizen-soldiers—and millions more on the home front, men and women—to
preserve democratic freedoms at a time when murderous dictators threatened
their very existence,” Senator Dole said. “Their service deserves
commemoration here, because they wrote an imperishable chapter in the
liberation of mankind.”
Fred Smith, national co-chairman of the fundraising campaign, remarked how
efforts at home transformed a nation suffering from pre-war depression. “The
enemy collapsed under America’s superior capability to manufacture and
deliver large quantities of equipment and supplies. Industry made
an overwhelming contribution to final victory, and this effort transformed the
nation forever.” He later observed that “Nothing reflected home front
commitment and resolution more than the blue and gold stars hung in the
windows of homes across the nation: enduring symbols of service and
sacrifice.”
Haydn Williams, chairman of ABMC’s memorial committee, called World War II
“a special moment in time, one which changed forever the face of American
life and the direction of world history…The addition of the World War II
Memorial to the Mall’s great landmarks will represent a continuation of the
American story. It will provide a linkage to the democratic ideals of
the past.”
