WWII Vets Finally Have National Memorial for Veteran’s Day
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 – The Vietnam Memorial has been in Washington since the early 1980s, only a decade after the conflict ended. In contrast, veterans of World War II have seen 60 years go by before their efforts were memorialized this spring on the National Mall.
Dominic Romano, quartermaster of the Connecticut State Veterans of Foreign Wars, said a main reason why a national memorial wasn’t established faster “was when the World War II veterans came home, they just settled down and raised a family and they never gave any thought to a memorial.”
Only after the Vietnam Memorial went up it 1982 and then the Korean Memorial in 1995, did veterans really become aware that Washington was lacking a World War II Memorial, said Romano, who served with the Navy in the Pacific.
Romano, of Oakville, gives credit to U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) for spearheading the memorial effort. He recalls her coming to one of their national meetings some 10 years ago. “She was heart broken about” there not being a World War II memorial, Romano said.
He also credits President Bush for helping deal with opposition to the memorial, which was concerned that the memorial would tarnish the view between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial.
“We never would have had that memorial if it wasn’t for President Bush,” Romano said.
“People of the World War II generation we have found typically tend not to want to draw a lot of attention to themselves,” said Bill Line, spokesperson for the National Park Service, which operates the memorial.
After the war, when the soldiers returned they wanted to put the brutality of the war behind them and start families, said Line. They did not think it necessary then to create a memorial, because they thought the war effort was something they were glad to do and merely a duty required of them.
In contrast, the time after the Vietnam War was very different, which led to a faster establishment of the Vietnam Wall, Line said.
“While the Vietnam Vets Memorial is certainly a memorial to those who died in Vietnam, it is largely an area people go to heal themselves,” said Line.
“WWII is much more a celebratory and commemorative memorial,” Line said.
According to Mike Conley, spokesman for the American Battle Monuments Commission, which provided federal oversight on the memorial, the push for a national World War II Memorial began with a veteran named Roger Durban. In 1987, Durban was at a fish fry in Ohio with his congresswoman, Rep. Kaptur, when he asked why there wasn’t a World War II memorial in Washington. In response to Durban’s query, Kaptur returned to Washington and introduced a bill later that year to create a memorial..
The legislation authorizing the World War II Memorial in Washington was signed into law in 1993 by President Bill Clinton. In 1995 a site around the Rainbow Pool between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial was approved.
In 1996 there was a national design competition in which Frederich St. Florian, a Providence, R.I., based architect, was chosen to design the memorial. Several modifications were made to St. Florian’s original design, which is a normal part of the design approval process, according to Conley.
“What changed is that his original design had two semi-circular large earthen berms on the north and south sides of the plaza, and over time that evolved into the two pavilions and 56 pillars that now compose the design,” said Conley
The original design elements that remained were a lowered plaza incorporating the existing Rainbow Pool and the orientation of the tallest features facing north and south, and not obstructing the east-west view between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, which was a project requirement, Conley said.
The memorial, which opened to the public April 29, 2004 and was dedicated on May 29, 2004, has a recessed oval shaped plaza, facing east to west, surrounding an oval shaped Rainbow Fountain with water spouting at both ends. The oval-shaped plaza is bordered on each side by 56 pillars, connected by a bronze rope, each inscribed with a U.S. state or territory. At each end of the oval, ramps lead up to two pavilions, one for the Pacific and one for the Atlantic. On the west side of the oval sits an arcing blue wall with a field of gold stars, with the other side being open as the main entrance.
During the war, Line said “there was unprecedented unity in the country; everyone came together to defeat tyranny and oppression.” He said the unity theme is expressed through the oval shaped design, with the states and territories dotting its perimeter.
Line noted that the memorial is intended to pay tribute to the efforts of the entire World War II generation from troops in combat to Rosie the Riveter.
The memorial has been a very popular stop for visitors to Washington, Line said, and appeals to both Americans and foreigners, especially western Europeans and Japanese visitors. Although he couldn’t provide visitor numbers, Line said that National Park Service in Washington receives an overwhelming amount of calls regarding the memorial.
Romano has made two trips to the memorial since its dedication, which he attended. “It was a thrill, one of the thrills of my lifetime,” Romano said of the dedication.
He will stay in Connecticut this Veteran’s Day, Romano said, but he plans another trip to Washington to see the World War II Memorial, which he describes simply as “electrifying.”
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