Vets Converge On New Memorial.
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| Fri, 05-28-2004 - 1:11pm |
How are you spending this Memorial w'end?
We'll attend our towns yearly parade. Probably spend a peaceful w'end. Might get together with our neighbours. DH needs to recover from a week spent in Chicago on business.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/28/national/main620124.shtml
There's been a Vietnam War Memorial on the Washington Mall for 20 years, a Korean War Veterans Memorial there for nine, but until now, nothing for the veterans of World War II.
That changes this weekend, when the Mall's latest memorial is officially dedicated.
"It wasn't until we built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and then the Korean War Memorial. Finally, a World War II veteran said 'Hey, how come there is no World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.?'" commission spokeswoman Betsy Glick said.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend Saturday's ceremony, including President Bush. Tens of thousands of World War II veterans — "the greatest generation" — are already in Washington for the event, reports CBS News Correspondent Bob Fuss.
"Oh, I think it's fantastic. Took long enough to build it," said Robert Brown of Fort Dodge, Iowa, who flew B-17s over Germany. "Should've been built 50 years ago."
The 16 million men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II are quickly disappearing.
"Sadly, there are probably less than 4 million of those veterans with us today, and they're leaving us at the rate of about 1100 a day," said Glick.
The memorial actually opened a month ago, so the aging veterans could see it.
"Finally, after all these years, they are going to recognize the World War II veterans," said Lawrence Petsco of Whittier, Calif.
"It's great, it's very fitting for us," said Cleo Nalati of Kansas City. "They got to know what history has happened to them, what's happened. We fought for this country, saving it."
Placed along the center line of the Washington Mall between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial has fountains, a circle of classical pillars and a wall of gold stars.
"In World War II, when someone passed away, the family hung a gold star in the window," said Glick.
"This is a symbol we are leaving other generations that sometime in your life you may be called upon to make a sacrifice to your country," said former U.S. Senator and World War II veteran Bob Dole in an interview with CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "I think it's a powerful memorial it does not interfere with any view in Washington. And the veterans love it. I don't care what a few architects say. It's good enough for us."
"It's hard to imagine a more honorific place ... The Capitol at one end ... the Washington Monument in the middle," said architecture critic Ben Forgey told CBS News.
Organizers have given tickets to 117,000 people nationwide. A viewing area for those without tickets will include seating for 10,000, and standing room for 30,000. Some estimates have put Saturday's crowd at 800,000 — about twice the number of people who attend the Fourth of July festivities there each year.
"It makes me feel I am a part of this. I assisted in making this possible," former flight nurse, Capt. Lillian Keil, told CBS News Early Show National Correspondent Thalia Assuras. Keil was one of the most decorated women in U.S. military history, flying on more than 250 missions, including the D-Day invasion.
Jim Evans believes the timing of this dedication has more significance because of the fighting in Iraq. Evans, who served with the 2nd Marine Division, fought in the Pacific theater and was wounded twice in Saipan.
"We have very good men over there dying for us," said Evans, 80, of San Marcos, Calif. "It's tough because when you see those images, it brings back memories of fighting."
Platoon Sgt. Eugene Baker, 80, of Blackshear, Ga., saw the war from beginning to end and feels blessed that he wasn't among the more than 400,000 U.S. soldiers killed.
"There's a lot of things I wanted to forget about that war — and I did — but I never forgot my friends I left over there," Baker said. He was part of the 101st Army Airborne division that parachuted over Utah Beach in Normandy during D-Day.
It may seem strange that a man trying to forget much about the war would drive 600 miles to an event staged to remember it, but Baker said neither his nor any soldier's personal experiences are the memorial's intended focus.
"The nation needs this," Baker said, "if for nothing else than to make people stop and think about how we got here and where we're going."
"We had 600,000 contributors" whose contributions totaled $195 million, Dole said. "$5 million of that came from the federal government. The rest is all private."
A postage stamp will be issued commemorating the dedication of the Memorial, and available in all post offices nationwide on Saturday.


By Tuesday, we're hoping to have vegetated so much, we'll be ready for the salad bar!
;-)