David
Mon March 31, 2003 9:00am
Rating: 10
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Waiting for word
Brenda Wilson stands alongside her son Raymond Wilson as she holds a photo of another son, U.S. Marine Pfc. Tomorio Burkett in front of their Buffalo, New York home on Saturday. Burkett, 21, is listed as Missing In Action after his unit came under heavy fire from an Iraqi ambush in an attempt to secure a bridge near An Nasiriyah.
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David
Thu April 17, 2003 1:23pm
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Maternal Marine
Wednesday, April 2, 2003, A U.S. Marine with the 15th Expeditionary Unit holds a baby as the baby's mother attempts to pass through a checkpoint at the Saddam Hospital in An Nasiriyah on Wednesday.
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David
Thu April 17, 2003 1:36pm
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Medical battallion Chief
Thursday, April 3, 2003, Medical battallion Chief Hospital Corpsman David Jones from New York, serving with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, holds a newborn Iraqi baby in the town of Nassiriya April 2. Doctors supporting U.S. Marine combat operations in Iraq had to brush up their child delivery skills when a young Iraqi woman, Jamila Katham, was brought to their base and gave birth to a six-pound baby girl, U.S. Marine surgeons said. The baby, Katham's first child, has been named Rogenia. The mother and child, both said to be doing well, were given food, water and bandages and were later driven home in a U.S. military ambulance.
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David
Thu April 17, 2003 2:00pm
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A British soldier holds a
Saturday, April 5, 2003, A British soldier holds a catalogue of photographs of dead people, as coffin-sized boxes with bags containing human remains are lined up in a warehouse at an abandoned Iraqi military base in Zubayr, southern Iraq, on Saturday. British forces said Saturday they had found an estimated 200 coffin-sized boxes containing hundreds of human remains along with a catalogue of photographs of the dead. Capt. Jack Kemp of the Royal Horse Artillery said he believed the people had been dead for several years.
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David
Thu April 17, 2003 4:12pm
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William Buesing III, fath
Sunday, April 6, 2003, William Buesing III, father of U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Buesing, 20, holds an American flag given to him by a member of a Marine color guard as he grieves over his son's coffin during funeral services Saturday in Cedar Key, Fla. Buesing was one of nine Marines who died in a confrontation with Iraqi troops near Nasiriyah, Iraq, on March 23.
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David
Fri April 18, 2003 11:00am
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An elderly Iraqi Kurdish
Tuesday, April 8, 2003, An elderly Iraqi Kurdish "peshmerga" fighter holds his prayer beads Monday in Qadir Karam, an area recently abandoned by Iraqi forces, southeast of Kirkuk.
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David
Fri April 18, 2003 11:33am
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A man holds up the Quran,
Friday, April 11, 2003, A man holds up the Quran, Islam's holy book, during a demonstration against the U.S.-led war in Iraq after April 11 prayers at Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, Egypt.
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David
Sat December 20, 2003 2:29pm
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A reporter holds a tradit
A reporter holds a traditional Arab men's robe found in a hut at a farm where U.S. soldiers captured former Iraqi lerader Saddam Hussein, Dec. 15 2003.
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 10:35pm
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ARS - Safeguard Class Res
Function: Rescue and salvage ships render assistance to disabled ships, provide towing, salvage, diving, firefighting and heavy lift capabilities.
History: Fleet tugs are used to tow ships, barges and targets for gunnery exercises. They are also used as platforms for salvage and diving work, as participants in naval exercises, to conduct search and rescue missions, to aid in the clean up of oil spills and ocean accidents, and to provide fire fighting assistance. USNS Apache (T-ATF 172) is the last of the Powhatan class of ocean tugs delivered to the Navy in 1981.
Description: The mission of the rescue and salvage ships is four-fold: to debeach stranded vessels, heavy lift capability from ocean depths, towing of other vessels, and manned diving operations. For rescue missions, these ships are equipped with fire monitors forward and amidships which can deliver either firefighting foam or sea water. The salvage holds of these ships are outfitted with portable equipment to provide assistance to other vessels in dewatering, patching, supply of electrical power and other essential service required to return a disabled ship to an operating condition. The U.S. Navy has responsibility for salvaging U.S. government-owned ships and, when it is in the best interests of the United States, privately-owned vessels as well. The rugged construction of these steel-hulled ships, combined with speed and endurance, make these rescue and salvage ships well-suited for rescue/salvage operations of Navy and commercial shipping throughout the world. The versatility of this class of ship adds immeasurably to the capabilities of the U.S. Navy with regard to rendering assistance to those in peril on the high seas.
General Characteristics, Safeguard Class
Builders:
Peterson Builders
Power Plant:
Four Caterpiller 399 Diesels, two shafts, 4,200 horsepower
Length, Overall:
255 feet (77.72 meters)
Beam:
51 feet (15.54 meters)
Draft:
16 feet 9 inches (5.11 meters)
Displacement:
3,282 long tons (3,334.67 metric tons) full load
Speed:
14 knots (16.11 miles, 25.93 km,
per hour)
Crew:
6 officers, 94 enlisted
Endurance:
8,000 miles (12,872 km) at 8 knots (14.824 km/hr)
Salvage Capability:
7.5-ton capacity boom forward; 40-ton capacity boom aft
Heavy Lift:
Capable of a hauling force of 150 tons
Diving Depth:
190 feet (57.91 meters), using air
Armament:
2 .50 caliber machine guns
2 Mk-38 25mm guns
Ships:
USS Safeguard (ARS 50), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Grasp (ARS 51), Little Creek, VA
USS Salvor (ARS 52), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Grapple (ARS 53), Little Creek, VA
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 10:35pm
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LPD - San Antonio Class A
Function: The Landing Platform Dock 17, San Antonio Class, is the latest class of amphibious force ship for the United States Navy. The mission of the LPD 17 ships is to transport marines, with helicopters and air-cushioned landing craft to trouble spots around the world. The first ship, the San Antonio (LPD 17), is currently under construction and is scheduled to be delivered in November 2002.
History: In December 1996 the U.S. Navy awarded a contract to an industrial alliance led by Litton Industries Avondale with Bath Iron Works and Raytheon Company to design and construct the first of an anticipated twelve ships under the Navy's LPD 17 program. Litton Avondale will build eight of the twelve, including the first of class ship and the second. Bath will construct four, including the third of class vessel. The second ship, New Orleans (LPD 18), is planned to commission in 2004.
Description: The ship is of all steel construction with diesel propulsion. The ship provides three vehicle decks of 25,402 square feet and two cargo holds with 25,548 cubic feet for bulk cargo and ammunition magazines in addition to 1,234 cubic m for cargo fuel. Accommodation is provided for two LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushioned), 720 troops and 15 vehicles.
At the stern of the ship the landing deck is able to accommodate two Sikorsky CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopters, four Bell AH/UH-1 Iroquois twin Huey helicopters, four Boeing CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, or two Bell V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.
The hangar deck provides aviation maintenance facilities and is sufficiently large to accommodate one Sea Stallion, two Sea Knight, three Iroquois helicopters or one Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The hangar doors are constructed by Indal Technologies. Each blast-resistant door weighs 18,000 kilograms and has three horizontal folding panels.
LPD 17 was planned to be equipped with the Mark 41 launcher for the Raytheon Evolved Seasparrow surface-to-air missile (ESSM), but budgetary considerations have meant that this may not now be fitted. Two Mark 31 launchers are capable of launching the fire and forget Raytheon Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM). RAM is a point defence anti-missile missile.
San Antonio will have two Mk 15 Phalanx close-in weapon systems (CIWS) from Raytheon and General Dynamics. Each Phalanx CIWS has one 20 mm M61A1 Vulcan Gatling-principle gun which fires 3,000 rounds per minute at a range of 1.5 km. The ship is also equipped with three Mark 38 25-mm machine guns and four 12.7 mm machine guns.
San Antonio is one of the classes of vessels planned to receive the SSDS (Ship Self Defense System) being developed by the U.S. Navy. SSDS will be an integration of all the ship's self defence systems and will include multi-function radar, ESSM, Advanced Integrated Electronic Warfare System and infrared search and track system (IRST). LPD 22, the sixth of class is scheduled to be the first ship to receive the complete system, which will be retrofitted to the rest of the class. SSDS is also to be fitted to the U.S. Navy projected new carriers (CVN 76) and destroyers (DD 21).
General Characteristics, LPD
Builders:
Defoe SB Co, Bay City
Dillingham SR, Portland
Norshipco, Norfolk
Tampa SY
Keith Ship Repair, New Orleans
Power Plant:
Four medium speed turbocharged marine diesels; two shafts; two single reduction gears; two controllable pitch propellers
Length, Overall:
683 feet (208.18 meters)
Beam:
105 feet (32 meters)
Displacement:
25,300 long tons (25,706 metric tons) full load
Aviation Facilities:
Hangar "O" level maintenance facilities for one CH-53E, or two CH-46s, or three UH/AH-Is helicopters, or one MV-22 tiltrotor aircraft
Landing deck for two CH-53E, or four AH/UH-1, or four CH-46, or two MV-22 tiltrotor aircraft
Medical Facilities:
Two operating rooms
24-person hospital ward
100 casualty overflow
Maximum Speed:
22+ knots
Weapons Systems:
Mark 41 16-cell vertical launch missile system for evolved Sea Sparrow missile
Mark 31 Mod 0, Rolling Airframe missile launchers
Two Mark 15 Phalanx CIWS
Mark 38 25mm machine guns
Mark 26 0.50 calibre machine guns
Countermeasures:
AN/SLQ-25A Nixie towed decoy system
Mark 36 Mod 18 Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Chaff (SRBOC) launchers
Nulka decoy countermeasures
Raytheon AN/SLQ-32Q(V) system
TISS
Radar:
AN/SPS-48E
AN/APQ-9B
AN/SPS-64(V)9
AN/SPS-67(V)3
Crew:
Ship's crew, 422; officer accomodation, 190;
accomodation for enlisted men, 1038
Ships:
San Antonio (LPD 17), commissioned September 2002
New Orleans (LPD 18), to be commissioned Summer 2003
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 10:35pm
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T-AVB - Wright Class Avia
Function: Two aviation logistics support ships are assigned to the Military Sealift Command Maritime Prepositioning Program. They carry aviation maintenance equipment in support of U.S. Marine Corps fixed and rotary wing aircraft.
History: SS Wright and SS Curtiss are outfitted with both a stern ramp and side ports. Their roll-on/roll-off deck runs the complete length of the ship. When outfitted with mobile facilities, the ships can service aircraft while anchored offshore.
Description: The mission of the rescue and salvage ships is four-fold: to debeach stranded vessels, heavy lift capability from ocean depths, towing of other vessels, and manned diving operations. For rescue missions, these ships are equipped with fire monitors forward and amidships which can deliver either firefighting foam or sea water. The salvage holds of these ships are outfitted with portable equipment to provide assistance to other vessels in dewatering, patching, supply of electrical power and other essential service required to return a disabled ship to an operating condition. The U.S. Navy has responsibility for salvaging U.S. government-owned ships and, when it is in the best interests of the United States, privately-owned vessels as well. The rugged construction of these steel-hulled ships, combined with speed and endurance, make these rescue and salvage ships well-suited for rescue/salvage operations of Navy and commercial shipping throughout the world. The versatility of this class of ship adds immeasurably to the capabilities of the U.S. Navy with regard to rendering assistance to those in peril on the high seas.
General Characteristics, Wright Class
Builders:
Todd Shipyards, Galveston, TX
Power Plant:
Two combustion engineering boilers; two GE turbines; 30,000 hp; one shaft
Length, Overall:
602 feet (183.49 meters)
Beam:
90.2 feet (27.49 meters)
Measurement:
11,757 dead weight tons
Displacement:
23,872 long tons (24,255.1 metric tons) full load
Speed:
21 knots (24.17 mph, 38.90 kph)
Crew:
37 crew and one Aircraft Maintenance Detachment totaling 362 men
Ships:
SS Wright (ex-SS Young America) (T-AVB 3)
SS Curtiss (ex-SS Great Republic) (T-AVB 4)
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David
Thu October 7, 2004 9:46am
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Marne Medal
Marne Medal -- This medal was issued to soldiers who fought in the Marne battles, by the Soldiers of the Marne Association (a private group). It was first issued in 1937, and was still awarded up into the 1980s until the Association deemed there to be no more surviving Marne veterans. The Association was then merged into another group as a general memorial organization which still holds yearly ceremonies and such.
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David
Mon July 25, 2005 11:25am
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Meuse-Argonne American Ce
The World War I Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial is located east of the village of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon (Meuse), France and about twenty-six miles northwest of Verdun. It may be reached by automobile from Paris via toll Autoroute A-4 or Highway N-3 to Ste. Menehould, about one hundred and fifty-two miles. Follow Highway N-3 to Clermont-en-Argonne, then via Varennes-en-Argonne about nineteen miles to the cemetery. It may also be reached from Verdun via Consenvoye or Dun-sur-Meuse, a distance of about twenty-seven miles. Rail service from Paris (Gare de l'Est) to Verdun takes about three and a half hours. Hotels and taxis are available at Verdun.
Meuse-Argonne, covering one hundred and thirty acres, holds the largest number of American Dead in Europe, a total of 14,246. Most of those buried here gave their lives during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I. The immense array of headstones rises in rectangular rows upwards beyond a wide central pool to the chapel which crowns a ridge. A beautiful bronze screen separates the chapel foyer from the interior, which is decorated with stained glass windows portraying American unit insignia. Behind the altar are the flags of the Allied nations.
On either side of the chapel are memorial loggias. One panel of the west loggia contains a map of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Inscribed on the remaining panels are the names of the 954 American Missing whose remains were never recovered or identified to include those Missing during our expedition to northern Russia during 1918-1919.
The cemetery is open daily to the public from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm except December 25 and January 1. It is open on host country holidays. When the cemetery is open to the public, a staff member is on duty in the Visitors? Building to answer questions and escort relatives to grave and memorial sites.
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David
Mon July 25, 2005 11:58am
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World War II Memorial
National WWII Memorial
Visiting the Memorial
The memorial opened to the public on April 29, 2004 and was dedicated one month later on May 29. It is located on 17th Street, between Constitution and Independence Avenues, and is flanked by the Washington Monument to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west. The memorial is now operated by the National Park Service and is open to visitors 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Authorization
President Clinton signed Public Law 103-32 on May 25, 1993, authorizing the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to establish a World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., or its environs. It will be the first national memorial dedicated to all who served during World War II and acknowledging the commitment and achievement of the entire nation.
The law also authorized the president to appoint a Memorial Advisory Board to offer advice to the ABMC on site selection and design of the memorial, as well as to perform its primary duty of promoting and encouraging private donations for the building of the memorial. The board was appointed in September 1994, and works under the chairmanship of Pete Wheeler, commissioner of veterans affairs of the state of Georgia.
Purpose
The memorial will honor 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 will be 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 will stand 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, sculptor Ray Kaskey, and stone carver and letterer Nick Benson. 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.
Fundraising 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, and the memorial opened to the public on April 29, 2004. The memorial will be dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004.
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, including three memorials in the United States. The commission is also responsible for the establishment of other memorials in the U.S. as directed by Congress.
Chronology
In 1993, the Congress passed legislation authorizing the building of a National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., or its immediate environs. The authorizing legislation was signed into law by the President on May 25, 1993. The responsibility for designing and constructing the memorial was given to the American Battle Monuments Commission, an independent federal agency created by law in 1923. The memorial will honor all who served in the American armed services during World War II and the entire nation's contribution to the war effort. The following summary highlights key events in the history of the project.
1987 - 1993
Dec 10, '87 - Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) introduces legislation to authorize establishing a memorial on federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs. Similar legislation was introduced in 1989, 1991 and 1993.
May 25, '93 - President Clinton signs Public Law 103-32 authorizing the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a World War II Memorial in the District or its environs.
1994
Sep 30 - The President appoints a 12-member Memorial Advisory Board (MAB), as authorized in Public Law 103-32, to advise the ABMC in site selection and design, and to promote donations to support memorial construction.
Oct 6-7 - The House and Senate pass Joint Resolution 227 approving location of the World War II Memorial in the Capital?s monumental core area because of its lasting historic significance to the nation. The President signed the resolution into law on October 25th.
1995
Jan 20 - ABMC and MAB hold their first joint site selection session attended by representatives of the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the National Capital Memorial Commission (NCMC), the National Park Service (NPS), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Seven potential sites are visited:
Capitol Reflecting Pool area (between 3rd Street and the Reflecting Pool)
Tidal Basin (northeast side, east of the Tidal Basin parking lot and west of the 14th Street Bridge access road)
West Potomac Park (between Ohio Drive and the northern shore of the Potomac River, northwest of the FDR Memorial site)
Constitution Gardens (east end, between Constitution Avenue and the Rainbow Pool)
Washington Monument grounds (at Constitution Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets, west of the Museum of American History)
Freedom Plaza (on Pennsylvania Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets)
Henderson Hall, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery (Henderson Hall was dropped from consideration because of its unavailability).
Mar 2 - The ABMC and MAB unanimously select the Constitution Gardens site as the most appropriate one out of the six alternatives.
May 9 & Jun 20 - The NCMC holds public hearings on the site for the World War II Memorial with consideration given to both the Constitution Gardens site and the Capitol Reflecting Pool site on Third Street.
Jul 27 - The CFA concludes after a public hearing that the Constitution Gardens site would not be commensurate with the historical significance of World War II, and requests that further consideration be given to the Capitol Reflecting Pool and Freedom Plaza along with a new alternative, the traffic circle on Columbia Island on the Lincoln Memorial-Arlington Cemetery axis. The Rainbow Pool is discussed as a possible alternative site.
Aug 6 - The ABMC proposes to the chairmen of the CFA, NCPC and NPS that the Rainbow Pool site with space on both sides of the pool be studied as a replacement for the Constitution Gardens site.
Sep 19 - In a public meeting, the CFA unanimously approves the Rainbow Pool site with the understanding that design guidelines be developed in consultation with them.
Oct 5 - During a public meeting, the NCPC approves the Rainbow Pool site on the condition that the Mall?s east-west vista formed by the elm trees bordering the Reflecting Pool would be preserved.
Nov 11 - The President dedicates the memorial site in a formal ceremony that concludes the 50th Anniversary of World War II commemorations. A plaque marks the site as the future location of the World War II Memorial.
1996
Apr 19 - The ABMC and General Services Administration (GSA), acting as agent for the ABMC, announce a two-stage open design competition for the memorial that closed on Aug 12th.
Aug 15-16 - Four hundred and four entries are reviewed by a distinguished Evaluation Board that selects six competition finalists. The second stage competition closes on Oct 25th.
Oct 29 - A Design Jury composed of distinguished architects, landscape architects, architectural critics and WWII veterans review the designs of the six finalists.
Oct 30-31 - The Evaluation Board evaluates finalist design submissions and interviews the six design teams. Both the Design Jury and the Evaluation Board, independently of each other, recommend unanimously that the Leo A. Daly team with Friedrich St. Florian as design architect be selected. ABMC approves the recommendation on Nov 20th.
1997
Jan 17 - The President announces St. Florian?s winning memorial design during a White House ceremony.
Mar 19 - Senator Bob Dole is named National Chairman of the memorial campaign.
Jul 24 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves many elements of the design concept, but voices strong concern over the mass and scale and the interior space of the concept as presented. The CFA requests that the design be given further study and resubmitted at a later date, but unanimously reaffirms the Rainbow Pool site.
Jul 31 - In a public hearing, the NCPC reaffirms its approval of the Rainbow Pool site, but requests design modifications and an analysis of various environmental considerations prior to the commission's further action on a revised design concept.
Aug 19 - ABMC announces that Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Federal Express Corporation, will team with Senator Dole as National Co-Chairman of the World War II Memorial Campaign.
1998
Apr 7 - ABMC approves the recommendation of its Site and Design Committee that St. Florian?s revised design concept be forwarded to the CFA, the NCPC and the District of Columbia?s Historic Preservation Office for their action.
May 21 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves the revised design concept.
Jul 9 - In a public hearing, the NCPC approves the revised design concept.
1999
Apr 21 - ABMC approves the recommendation of its Site and Design Committee that St. Florian?s preliminary design be forwarded to the CFA and NCPC for their action.
May 20 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves the memorial?s preliminary design.
Jun 3 - In a public hearing, the NCPC approves the memorial's preliminary design.
2000
Jul 20 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves the memorial?s final architectural design.
Sep 21 - In a public hearing, the NCPC approves the memorial?s final architectural design.
Nov 11 - A groundbreaking ceremony attended by 15,000 people is held at the memorial?s Rainbow Pool site.
Nov 16 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves several ancillary elements of the memorial: an information pavilion, a comfort station, an access road and a contemplative area.
Dec 14 - In a public hearing, the NCPC approves several ancillary elements of the memorial: an information pavilion, a comfort station, an access road and a contemplative area.
2001
Jan 23 - Construction permit issued by the National Park Service.
Mar 9 - Construction, which was to begin in March, is delayed indefinitely pending resolution of a lawsuit filed by a small opposition group in Washington, D.C., and a procedural issue involving the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), one of the agencies required by law to approve the memorial.
May 21-22 - The House and Senate pass legislation directing that the memorial be constructed expeditiously at the dedicated Rainbow Pool site on the National Mall in a manner consistent with previous approvals and permits. President Bush signed the legislation into law (Public Law 107-11) on Memorial Day, May 28th.
Jun 7 - The General Services Administration, acting as agent for the American Battle Monuments Commission, awards a $56 million construction contract to the joint venture of Tompkins Builders and Grunley-Walsh Construction.
Jun 21 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves the granite selections for the memorial.
Jul 3 - In a public hearing, the NCPC approves the granite selections for the memorial.
Aug 27 - Tompkins/Grunley-Walsh begin site preparation work at the memorial's Rainbow Pool site on the National Mall. Construction begins one week later.
2002
Mar 21 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves designs for flagpoles and announcement piers at the ceremonial entrance, and artistic enhancements to the field of gold stars. A proposed announcement stone design was not approved.
Apr 4 - In a public hearing, the NCPC approves designs for flagpoles and announcement piers at the ceremonial entrance and an announcement stone at the east memorial plaza, and artistic enhancements to the field of gold stars.
Jul 18 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves concepts for 24 bas-relief sculpture panels, and requests that the announcement stone be designed for the ceremonial entrance of the memorial rather than the proposed location on the plaza.
Oct 17 ? In a public hearing, the CFA approves the redesigned announcement stone at the ceremonial entrance, and endorses the thematic content of proposed inscriptions but recommends minor adjustments in their presentation.
Nov 21 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves inscriptions for the memorial.
2003
Apr 22 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves inscriptions for the memorial.
2004
Apr 29 - The National World War II Memorial opens to the public.
May 29 - The National World War II Memorial is formally dedicated in a ceremony that draws 150,000 people.
Nov 1 - The memorial becomes part of the National Park System when it is transferred from the American Battle Monuments Commission to the National Park Service, which assumes responsibility for its operations and maintenance.
National World War II Memorial Inscriptions
The following inscriptions are inscribed in the National World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C. The inscriptions are presented by location.
Announcement Stone
HERE IN THE PRESENCE OF WASHINGTON AND LINCOLN,
ONE THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY FATHER AND THE OTHER THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY PRESERVER OF OUR NATION, WE HONOR
THOSE TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICANS WHO TOOK UP THE STRUGGLE
DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND MADE THE SACRIFICES TO
PERPETUATE THE GIFT OUR FOREFATHERS ENTRUSTED TO US:
A NATION CONCEIVED IN LIBERTY AND JUSTICE.
Flagpoles
AMERICANS CAME TO LIBERATE, NOT TO CONQUER,
TO RESTORE FREEDOM AND TO END TYRANNY
Eastern Corners
PEARL HARBOR
DECEMBER 7, 1941, A DATE WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY?NO
MATTER HOW LONG IT MAY TAKE US TO OVERCOME THIS
PREMEDITATED INVASION, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, IN THEIR
RIGHTEOUS MIGHT, WILL WIN THROUGH TO ABSOLUTE VICTORY.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
THEY HAVE GIVEN THEIR SONS TO THE MILITARY SERVICES. THEY
HAVE STOKED THE FURNACES AND HURRIED THE FACTORY WHEELS.
THEY HAVE MADE THE PLANES AND WELDED THE TANKS,
RIVETED THE SHIPS AND ROLLED THE SHELLS.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
WOMEN WHO STEPPED UP WERE MEASURED AS CITIZENS OF THE NATION,
NOT AS WOMEN?THIS WAS A PEOPLE?S WAR, AND EVERYONE WAS IN IT.
Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby
THEY FOUGHT TOGETHER AS BROTHERS-IN-ARMS.
THEY DIED TOGETHER AND NOW THEY SLEEP SIDE BY SIDE.
TO THEM WE HAVE A SOLEMN OBLIGATION.
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
Southern Walls
BATTLE OF MIDWAY JUNE 4-7, 1942
THEY HAD NO RIGHT TO WIN. YET THEY DID, AND IN DOING SO THEY CHANGED
THE COURSE OF A WAR?EVEN AGAINST THE GREATEST OF ODDS, THERE IS
SOMETHING IN THE HUMAN SPIRIT ? A MAGIC BLEND OF SKILL, FAITH AND
VALOR ? THAT CAN LIFT MEN FROM CERTAIN DEFEAT TO INCREDIBLE VICTORY.
Walter Lord, Author
THE WAR?S END
TODAY THE GUNS ARE SILENT. A GREAT TRAGEDY HAS ENDED. A GREAT
VICTORY HAS BEEN WON. THE SKIES NO LONGER RAIN DEATH ? THE SEAS
BEAR ONLY COMMERCE ? MEN EVERYWHERE WALK UPRIGHT IN THE
SUNLIGHT. THE ENTIRE WORLD IS QUIETLY AT PEACE.
General Douglas MacArthur
Northern Walls
WE ARE DETERMINED THAT BEFORE THE SUN SETS ON THIS TERRIBLE STRUGGLE
OUR FLAG WILL BE RECOGNIZED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AS A SYMBOL OF
FREEDOM ON THE ONE HAND AND OF OVERWHELMING FORCE ON THE OTHER.
General George C. Marshall
D-DAY JUNE 6, 1944
YOU ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK UPON THE GREAT CRUSADE TOWARD
WHICH WE HAVE STRIVEN THESE MANY MONTHS. THE EYES OF
THE WORLD ARE UPON YOU?I HAVE FULL CONFIDENCE IN YOUR
COURAGE, DEVOTION TO DUTY AND SKILL IN BATTLE.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Western Corners
OUR DEBT TO THE HEROIC MEN AND VALIANT WOMEN IN THE SERVICE
OF OUR COUNTRY CAN NEVER BE REPAID. THEY HAVE EARNED OUR
UNDYING GRATITUDE. AMERICA WILL NEVER FORGET THEIR SACRIFICES.
President Harry S Truman
THE HEROISM OF OUR OWN TROOPS?WAS MATCHED BY THAT
OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE NATIONS THAT FOUGHT BY OUR
SIDE?THEY ABSORBED THE BLOWS?AND THEY SHARED TO THE
FULL IN THE ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENEMY.
President Harry S Truman
Southern Fountain Copings
CHINA * BURMA * INDIA SOUTHWEST PACIFIC CENTRAL PACIFIC NORTH PACIFIC
PEARL HARBOR * WAKE ISLAND * BATAAN CORREGIDOR * CORAL SEA *
MIDWAY * GUADALCANAL * NEW GUINEA * BUNA * TARAWA *
KWAJALEIN * ATTU * SAIPAN TINIAN GUAM * PHILIPPINE SEA * PELELIU *
LEYTE GULF * LUZON * MANILA * IWO JIMA * OKINAWA * JAPAN
Northern Fountain Copings
NORTH AFRICA SOUTHERN EUROPE WESTERN EUROPE CENTRAL EUROPE
BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC * MURMANSK RUN * TUNISIA *
SICILY SALERNO ANZIO ROME PO VALLEY * NORMANDY *
ST.LO * AIR WAR IN EUROPE * ALSACE * RHINELAND *
HUERTGEN FOREST * BATTLE OF THE BULGE *
REMAGEN BRIDGE * GERMANY
Southern and Northern Arches
1941 ? 1945 VICTORY ON LAND VICTORY AT SEA VICTORY IN THE AIR
Freedom Wall ? Field of Gold Stars
HERE WE MARK THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
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David
Wed August 3, 2005 3:15pm
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Geronimo holds a Model 18
Geronimo holds a Model 1873 Springfield Infantry Rifle. ramrod and cleaning stick. Others from left to right: Yanozha; Chappo (Geronimo's son; Yanozha's half brother, Fun. Note the Windsor knot in Yanozha's tie. Their photograph was taken during the Canon de los Embudos peace conference in Mexico. Photographed in March, 1866)
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