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