Posted on 05/28/2004 5:07:42 AM PDT by BigWaveBetty
The memorial honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S. during World War II, the more than 400,000 who died, and the millions who supported the war effort from home. Symbolic of the defining event of the 20th Century, the memorial is a monument to the spirit, sacrifice, and commitment of the American people to the common defense of the nation and to the broader causes of peace and freedom from tyranny throughout the world. It will inspire future generations of Americans, deepening their appreciation of what the World War II generation accomplished in securing freedom and democracy. Above all, the memorial stands as an important symbol of American national unity, a timeless reminder of the moral strength and awesome power that can flow when a free people are at once united and bonded together in a common and just cause.
Site
The first step in establishing the memorial was the selection of an appropriate site. Congress provided legislative authority for siting the memorial in the prime area of the national capital, known as Area I, which includes the National Mall. The National Park Service, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission approved selection of the Rainbow Pool site at the east end of the Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. President Clinton dedicated the memorial site during a formal ceremony on Veterans Day 1995.
Design
ABMC engaged the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Public Buildings Service to act as its agent to manage the memorial project. The design submitted by Friedrich St.Florian, an architect based in Providence, R.I., was selected as one of six semi-finalists in an open, national competition. Leo A Daly, an international architecture firm, assembled the winning team with St.Florian as the design architect. The team also includes George E. Hartman of Hartman-Cox Architects, Oehme van Sweden & Associates, and sculptor Ray Kaskey. St.Florian’s memorial design concept was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission in the summer of 1998. The commissions approved the preliminary design in 1999, the final architectural design and several ancillary elements in 2000, granite selections in 2001, and sculpture and inscriptions in 2002 and 2003.
Fund-raising Campaign
The memorial is funded primarily by private contributions. The fund-raising campaign was led by National Chairman Senator Bob Dole and National Co-Chairman Frederick W. Smith.
Senator Dole, a World War II veteran seriously wounded on the battlefield and twice decorated with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, was the Republican nominee for president in 1996 and the longest-serving Republican Leader in the U.S. Senate.
Frederick W. Smith is chairman, president and chief executive officer of FedEx Corporation, a $17 billion global transportation and logistics holding company. He is a graduate of Yale and a former U.S. Marine Corps officer, and serves on the boards of various transport, industry and civic organizations.
The memorial received more than $195 million in cash and pledges. This total includes $16 million provided by the federal government.
Timeline
Construction began in September 2001. The memorial opened to the public on April 29, 2004. The memorial will be dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004 -- Memorial Day Weekend.
ABMC
The American Battle Monuments Commission is an independent, executive branch agency with 11 commissioners and a secretary appointed by the president. The ABMC administers, operates and maintains 24 permanent U.S. military cemeteries and 25 memorial structures in 15 countries around the world. The commission is also responsible for the establishment of other memorials in the U.S. as directed by Congress.
Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist Max Desfor poses with his September 2, 1945 photograph (R) of Japan's formal surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, at the Memories of World War II photography exhibition in Washington, May 24, 2004. The newly published documentary photography book 'Memories of World War II' is being released to coincide with the dedication of the National WWII Memorial in Washington on May 29. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang
These photographs will be among of the images presented in AP's exhibit 'Memories of World War II''
American soldiers, riding camels while off duty, wave to a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in this March 1943 file photo, in Tunisia.
U.S. reinforcements wade through the surf as they land at Normandy in the days following the Allies' June 6,1944, D-Day invasion of occupied France.
U.S. troops in the Pacific islands continued to find enemy holdouts in this March 10, 1945 file photo long after the main Japanese forces had either surrendered or disappeared.
Looking north from 44th Street, New York's Times Square is packed Monday, May 7, 1945, with crowds celebrating the news of Germany's unconditional surrender in World War II.
U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment of the Fifth Division raise the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on Feb. 23, 1945.
U.S. soldiers of Pennsylvania's 28th Infantry Division march along the Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe in the background, on Aug. 29, 1944, four days after the liberation of Paris, France.
Also on exhibit Norman Rockwell's paintings 'Four Freedoms.'
Freedom of Speech
Freedom to Worship
More photos at wwiimemorial.com
World War II Memorial Rose
For your enjoyment, Kerry photo album.
Amen, and good morning to all.
Tom Selleck (news) as Dwight D. Eisenhower appears in this scene from A&E's 'Ike: Countdown to D-Day,' in this undated publicity photo. The film, paying tribute to Eisenhower and his World War II D-Day achievement, airs Memorial Day, Monday, May 31, 2004 at 8 p.m. EDT. (AP Photo/A&E, Ken George)
DESPITE being frustrated by traffic jams on his commute from Chappaqua to his Harlem office, Bill Clinton says he has no plans to buy a pied-a-terre on the Upper West Side. The former president — who was a half-hour late to a press conference yesterday denied The Post's story that he's looking for a pad in the city, Stefan C. Friedman reports from our City Hall bureau.
"No offense to the Upper West Side, but . . . I'm not a two-house sort of guy," Clinton said. "I'm kind of a nester. I've got a place to live, and I'm going to live there." After apologizing for keeping reporters waiting, Clinton continued, "I think I'm just going to start taking the train."
_____________________
PAT Boone says he'll never watch CBS again because "60 Minutes II" aired images of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse. The squeaky-clean crooner claims that showing those pictures has made the U.S. more of a target than ever.
"For me, CBS has become 'the enemy within,' and I hope never to watch the network again," Boone wrote in a letter to conservative NewsMax.com.
Boone the famously bland singer who was once criticized for singing cleaned-up versions of songs made popular by black singers (he changed Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame" to "Isn't That a Shame") goes on to say: "I think most Americans ought to reflect on the results of their irresponsible and unpatriotic behavior and perhaps narrow their viewing options by one network. The next time America or Americans suffer at the hands of terrorists, thank CBS."
Good Morning!
Wonderful opening to this new thread, SL.
Have a hankie ready.
Wow, very moving link.
BTW, great thread!
Thanks Am. Good to see you. Kids keeping you busy? How old is the littlest one (Nicholas?) now? Hope things are going as smoothly as possible!
Day After Tomorrow review
If you gleam one thing from the hopelessly silly "The Day After Tomorrow," it's this: If another ice age comes, the poor Canadians are doomed.
In one of the most dramatic scenes in the disaster film, a scientist draws a line through the middle of the map of United States and gravely informs the president that for everyone still north of the line "it's too late" to be saved.
You can almost hear the collective groan from Canadian audiences: "What about us, ay?" during the scene.
Speaking of groans, the movie's screenplay is sure to get a few from non-Canadian audiences as well.
Where to start?
How about a scene where a handful of people survive an almost instant drop of temperature to 100 degrees below zero by huddling around a small fireplace.
Director/screenwriter Roland Emmerich ("Independence Day") also asks you believe that a guy could hike from Washington D.C. to New York City in Arctic-like conditions, the Statue of Liberty could withstand the largest tidal wave in recorded history and helicopters can fly from the Mexican border to Manhattan without apparently refueling.
The movie stars Dennis Quaid as Jack Hall, a government scientist whose dire predictions about global warming are ignored, especially by the surly vice president who looks suspiciously like Dick Cheney.
Turns out Hall's predictions of calamity are wrong, but only in one respect: Disaster isn't 100 years away, it's happening now.
The first sign that Mother Nature's on the rampage: grapefruit-sized hail pummeling Tokyo and snow falling in Bombay. Soon tornados are slamming into Los Angeles and rain is flooding the Atlantic Coast. In fact, the weather gets so bad that millions of Americans flee to Mexico, which closes its borders.
Most of the movie's screen time, though, is concerned with Hall's efforts to rescue his 17-year-old son (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is stranded in Manhattan, having taken refuge from the weather in the New York City Library with a motley collection of people, including a homeless man, a persnickety librarian and a classmate the teen has the hots for.
Quaid, who's one of the most reliable actors working today, doesn't have much material to work with. His character never rises above the bland hero type.
Gyllenhaal, who's made a reputation for himself in interesting independent films, doesn't make much of an impression as the teenager, either. Part of the problem -- besides the weak script that doesn't give him much to do -- is that the 23-year-old Gyllenhaal is too old for the part.
People will go see "The Day After Tomorrow" for the special effects, which are impressive, at least to a point. Sure a wall of water descending on Manhattan is cool -- as is the sequence of tornadoes destroying Los Angeles -- but because there's no compelling story or characters surrounding all the on-screen destruction, you just don't care.
Probably the most remarkable thing about "The Day After Tomorrow" is the political reaction to the film. Pro-business politicians are decrying the film as propaganda, while environmentalists hope the summer blockbuster serves as a sobering wake-up call to polluters.
Both sides of the political argument probably should have seen the movie before getting riled up. "The Day After Tomorrow" isn't worth arguing about, let alone plopping down your hard-earned money to see.
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/news/stories/20040528/localnews/523978.html
Has he been at that house more than 3 nights in a row since he bought it? I always see him in Europe or someplace else.
The Iraqi Governing Council has chosen the man who will head up the interim government once the U.S. hands over power June 30.Iyad Allawi, a Shiite Muslim physician who spent years in exile, received unanimous endorsement from the council, said member Mahmoud Othman.
The session is still in progress, as members negotiate nominations of a president and two vice presidents.
Allawi was a staunch opponent to the regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein, formerly holding the position of secretary-general of the Iraq National Accord, an opposition group whose membership included former military officers for Hussein's army. A 1996 coup attempt against Hussein advocated by the group failed.
During his years in exile, he served as a CIA informant, particularly after information from the better-known defector Ahmad Chalabi was discredited.
While living in London in 1978, Allawi survived an assassination attempt believed to have been ordered by Hussein.
The nomination for prime minister was previously turned down by Hussain al-Shahristani, a Canadian-educated nuclear scientist.
"In the national interest of Iraq, I don't think this is the time to give my reasons. I think we should all work to help the interim government to lead the nation onto democracy and prepare for elections," he said in a telephone interview with The Canadian Press Thursday. Link
Given the lack of support they've given us with the WoT while enjoying all the major millitary protection we've provided them I'd have to say, I'm not going to shed any tears if the Ice Age cometh on them.
NEW YORK -- Former President Clinton said Thursday that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is smart not to comment daily on every development in Iraq because "he recognizes that he's not the president." Link
If Effin' understands he's not president, then why is his campaign plane painted with the words 'John Kerry President'?
According to the Mayan calender I should have beach front property in the year 2012. I hope the surf will be good. (yes, I'm eeeeevil!)
We've been getting our house ready to put on the market so my Freeping time has been drastically cut. Nicholas is my oldest ( I can't believe you remembered that), Zachary is the youngest and he turns one next month!
I don't know how I'm going to survive this summer with 5 people in this house. I'm really exicited about finding a house with some more space--especially now that DH is officing from home. We haven't found anything yet, but there is a lot of good stuff out there.
I'm just stressed beyond belief. But I guess it's a good stress, so I shouldn't complain. =)
I can't either!! But mixing up children's names is par for my course these days.
Zachary almost a year old! Wow!
It sounds like your plate is very full these days. Wishing you the best of luck finding a new home (so exciting!) and making it through the summer.
Stop by and see us when you can, we'll keep a spot for you. :-)
Who's leashing up a naked Iraqi, smiling at genitial she sees.... Everyone knows it's Lynndie!
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