Gehry’s Ghastly Eisenhower Memorial

National Review Online ^ | 1/10/2012 | George Weigel

[mojito]

...The present Eisenhower Memorial design, by postmodernist Frank Gehry, has virtually nothing to do with the Dwight David Eisenhower of history. Plans call for Ike to be memorialized in sculpture as a barefoot farmboy on the Great Plains: not the great wartime leader; not the soldier-diplomat; not the chief executive of the United States who presided over eight years of peace and prosperity. The Gehry conceit seems both obvious and entirely in tune with the postmodern deconstruction of history: There are no great men; there are no great virtues; there is no great striving; nor is there great accomplishment or great service to others. No one, visiting the Eisenhower Memorial as designed by Frank Gehry, would have the slightest reason to grasp the truth of the man himself....

None of it is conveyed by the other elements in the Gehry design: 80-foot-tall, nondescript cylindrical posts (they can’t even be properly described as pillars) holding up perforated metal “tapestries,” creating what Gehry himself once called a “theater for cars.” But what does a “theater for cars,” or any other kind of postmodernist knock-off of a Fifties drive-in, have to do with creating a memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme Allied commander who planned the invasion of Normandy, the president who ended the Korean War and who proposed “Open Skies” as a means to lower the temperature of the Cold War?

Nothing. And that, one is forced to conclude, is the idea....

[South Dakota]

On a street corner in Rapid City SD there is a bronze statue of Ike in his military uniform that is striking in how much it resembles him.

Sadly there is one of LBJ too

[colorado tanker]

Why in the wide wide world of sports did Rapid City want to honor LBJ???

[TheOldLady]

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[SuzyQue]

Unfortunately, it just felt like being in an urban park or mall entry. Even when the very nice guard/guide told us all about it and explained all of the symbolism, it was sort of a “this is it?” kind of place. Sad, but in an unintended way.

[healy61]

Little Frank, tell mommy what is that?

It’s poop, mommy. Poop.

Oh, little Frank, you are so bright. Mommy loves you.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

When I was 6 (1960), my grandmother took us to Staunton, VA because Eisenhower was going to be there. The day sticks out in my mind because I was so enthralled by the rain cover a policeman had over his hat. It is funny what grabs a kid's attention

Eisenhower was sitting in the back of shiny black convertible, hat-less, wearing a dark overcoat, smiling and waving to the crowd. He looked like he could have been anyone’s nice Grandpa dressed for church.

I would be willing to bet my grandmother and every other person her age there that day went to see General Eisenhower as well as President Eisenhower.

I am not surprised. A “postmodernist” (whatever the hell that is) will never memorialize General Eisenhower as a warrior.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/menu.php?mid=5

Dwight D Eisenhower Memorial Commission
There is a “Contact Us” link on the rght side of the page.

[Verginius Rufus]

Is there a monument to Eisenhower in Gettysburg?

I haven't seen an actual Gettysburg quarter (one of those issued in 2011) but only an online depiction of the design. There is a pedestal with a man standing holding something. I can't tell if it is supposed to be Eisenhower following through on a golf swing or a Civil War soldier with a rifle.

[Texas Fossil]

The Gettysburg College SCUSA delegation under the Eisenhower Monument at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. From left to right: Luke Feltz '12, Mary-Beth Kinchen '13, Katelyn Stauffer '13, and Brian Engelsma '12

http://www.eisenhowerinstitute.org

[tanknetter]

Yes, a lot of the brass thought the Airborne were going on a suicide mission which was nevertheless necessary to the operation.

There was an open dispute between the SHAEF chiefs about whether the airborne should be dropped deep into Normandy (to pull the Germans away from the landing beaches) or closer into the beaches in order to seize the causeways, quickly link up with the landing forces and provide them the exits they needed from the beachheads.

Dropping them deeper was a "safer" option for the airborne, but posed major risks to holding the beachheads and driving the landing forces inland. Dropping them closer in was estimated to produce something like 70% casualties in the first day. It was one of the toughest decisions Ike ever had to make, and since the chiefs were divided he was the one who had to make it. He chose the close-in option, and then went out to meet some of the paratroopers he felt he'd consigned to death.

As it turned out, casualties with the airborne were below 30%. Partly due to the fact that there were massive misdrops (the Germans shot the hell out of the incoming C-47s and many of the pilots decided to dump their sticks early), forcing the airborne to improvise and function more as an "infestation" force than anything really cohesive (at least from the Regiment levels and above).

[tanknetter]

Is there a monument to Eisenhower in Gettysburg?

His farm is there (located behind where Longstreet launched his attacks against the Union left flank on the 2nd day of the battle), maintained by the US Park Service and open to the public for tours.

That's more than enough, imho. Eisenhower was one of the truly great Americans in our history. But people shouldn't forget that it was also he who helped destroy a great deal of the historic fabric of the Gettysburg Battlefield by establishing Camp Colt right smack dab in the middle of where Pickett's Charge took place. It really isn't understood how much the terrain was changed by driving tanks through and over it, but the belief is that the change was significant and that people walking that area of the battlefield today are experiencing something fundamentally different from July 1863.

(It should also be noted that other areas of the battlefield were significantly altered over the years as well - so Ike certainly isn't alone in this. A big chunk of Devil's Den was blasted to establish a sight-seeing trolly line, and then there's the matter of the "restructuring" of Little Round Top to create the Eastern end of Warren, Sykes and the since-abandoned Chamberlain Avenues)

[Verginius Rufus]

Thanks. I haven't been to Gettysburg, but would like to get there some day.

Gen. Longstreet later became a Republican.

[reg45]

if he were still alive I guess I'd be getting court-martialed

or have to clean the latrines for a month with a toothbrush

[reg45]

Tear down the D. of Ed. Building and build a proper memorial to a great man, a great General, and a great President.

[tanknetter]

I haven't been to Gettysburg, but would like to get there some day.

Its a great experience. I'd highly recommend going there in early Spring, right after they switch to the extended Summer hours schedule which keeps the battlefield open after sunset. Walking Devils Den and the Slaughter Pen after dark is really amazing.

Where they have solid documentation of the 1863 topography, the NPS is working hard to restore the parts of the battlefield that have been changed. Little Roundtop, particularly the 20th Maine's position, is a big problem. The saddle area between Little and Big Roundtop was filled in to create the sightseeing road system in the early 20th Century, resulting in a Western and Southern slope that is both shallower and shorter than the Alabamans repeatedly charged up. The Eastern side of the position is a real mess - it was regraded to create Chamberlain Avenue in the area where the "swinging door" part of the bayonet charge by the refused line took place. While Chamberlain Ave was abandoned and most of the macadam was removed decades ago, the roadbed still exists and is clearly visible.

[colorado tanker]

Thanks for the interesting details!

[Jonah Hex]

I prefer this Eisenhower memorial myself.

[Deb]

UGH! The Roosevelt memorial! You made a direct hit on one of my main Washington hates. What a bloated, ridiculous waste of money and time. Its like a left-wing Disneyland.

Also, someone said that the statue of Mrs. R. was the only one in D.C. of a woman. There's the one nicknamed, Three Woman In A Tub, that shows Susan B. Anthony and two others, but the one of a Eleanor is the only memorial to a woman.

Don't get me started.

[Fresh Wind]

More work by this master...

[colorado tanker]

Let’s not either one get started! Yep, the Roosevelt Memorial is a real stinker.