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
That's nice, but where's Hillary?
Yo, bad acid trip, there.
In her wildest dream.
Democratic presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry (news - web sites) (D-MA), listens during a discussion with first responders and emergency management experts at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida June 2, 2004. REUTERS/Joe Skipper US ELECTION
Heard this new line from the prince of nuance?
President Bush has mismanaged the U.S. military, effectively instituting a 'back-door draft' and complicating the mission in Iraq.
I suppose I should look up the quote, read it in context, when certainly it will make some semblance of sense? *giggle*
Computer's still not working right, grrrrrrrrr.
You've some how mistaken me for a person who can read directions.
Democratic presidential candidate, Senator John KerryChanging Topics:
Charles Krutheimer (or whatever his last name is...) the FNC analysist.
I've noticed he sits in his chair funny, with his body aligned in a strange position. His shoulders appear to be uneven and he holds his head like his neck is fused.
Does anyone have any knowledge about his physical condition?
I notice things like this since I have a great deal of difficulty maintaining my head in a totally upright position due to a severe whiplash injury which was repaired with a fusion,,, which wasn't totally successful.
Just wondering.
What is a back-door draft, anyway? Is that what you feel when your hip-huggers are too low? (Now I've done it - John Kerry in hip-huggers!)
Seriously, is he saying young people are going into military service against their will? What a doofus.
WE weren't totally accurate in predicting three months ago that Sen. John Kerry would dump Terry McAuliffe as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. McAuliffe continues to hold the title. But sources say Kerry has installed John Sasso, a loyalist from Boston, as his key man at the DNC.
"No checks are written until Sasso signs off. No decisions are made until Sasso says so," said one Democrat. "Terry McAuliffe was told to take it, or take a hike. And he's taking it."
McAuliffe, a multimillionaire from Syracuse, was hand-picked by Bill Clinton and has remained under the influence of Sen. Hillary Clinton. Sasso was a top advisor to Michael Dukakis and then a lobbyist in Beantown. "He is totally loyal to Kerry," said our source.
________________
Who here believes Kerry or his lackey Sasso is calling any of the shots at the DNC? Anyone?
Heheh - good grief.
Come'on now, SL.
Bill Clin ton the author. Way he finally hacked his manuscript which outweighed "War and Peace" down to a few paragraphs under 1,000 pages? He wouldn't cut. He was begged, pleaded, cajoled. Wouldn't cut a plug, a line, a hand he once shook, a baby he once kissed, a pol he once hated, a kudo he once rated — nothing. The way Knopf ultimately got around the problem and was able to say, "Honey, I shrunk the fibs" and bring it in at a skinny 957 pages was they cut the type size. (Cindy Adams)
Krauthammer was born in New York City and raised in Montreal. He was educated at McGill University, majoring in political science and economics, Oxford University (Commonwealth Scholar in Politics) and Harvard (M.D. in 1975). He practiced medicine for three years as a resident and then chief resident in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.
In 1978, he quit medical practice, came to Washington to direct planning in psychiatric research for the Carter administration, and began contributing articles to The New Republic. During the presidential campaign of 1980, he served as a speech writer to Vice President Walter Mondale. He joined The New Republic as a writer and editor in 1981. He writes regular essays for Time magazine and contributes to several other publications, including The Weekly Standard, The New Republic and The National Interest. In 1997, the Washingtonian magazine named him among the top 50 most influential journalists in the national press corps.
Krauthammer lives in suburban Washington with his wife Robyn, an artist, and their son.
***
I'll do some more digging, but I agree with your observation about his posture...
Seriously, is he saying young people are going into military service against their will?
When a person signs up with the military there is a clause(?) in the contract that they agree to when they sign that the military can hold them past their get out date if there's an emergency. There was also a recent story about reservists who were "hoodwinked" into signing up for longer enlistments but later in the story we learned recruiters routinely use this tactic (if you don't sign up here, the military can send you anywhere) and it's really nothing out of the ordinary.
We have to remember it's all Bush's fault. That's all we really need to know.
IG, do you think it's strange at that spelling bee nobody helped the young man who fainted? Not even his family? Is it against the spelling bee rules to help?
957 pages of really small print droning on about how everybody was out to git him. Really fun summer reading!!
Continuing the "I hate phonies" thread in a thread...
Too Much, Too Late
Baby boomers heap insincere praise on the "greatest generation."
He's referring to the order to stop current military members from leaving the military when their volunteer time is up.
Kerry's such a putz.
Dr. Krauthammer has a spinal cord injury - I can't remember if it was a diving accident but I think it was water related, hence his posture. If you look closely, you'll see he's sitting at Brit's table in a wheelchair.
I love the guy.
Breaking news!
Gore to deliver keynote speech at state Democratic Convention
Can't get the story yet, subscription only. I thought for sure algore would be told he has important business out of the country that week... The dims are dumber than I thought.
sorry, i didn't see your post on krauthammer before I posted. oops.
Gore - do you think its just to throw red meat at the crowd - he's their reminder of a "stolen" election? Big Gay Al is lookng bigger and gayer each time I see him rant on tv.
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