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Facts About the WWII Memorial
The following are some facts about the World War II Memorial that will help you get started with your letter to your two U.S. Senators and member of the U.S.House of Representatives.
We fully support the idea of a memorial to honor the World War II experience but we are equally supportive of protecting the Nation's most sacred and historic open space on the Mall.
The Mall is already overcrowded with memorials and no more monuments should be built there.
A grand, rising structure should be built that signals the achievement of the World War II generation, not a sunken tomb that conveys tragedy and sorrow.
Any structure of this size and magnitude -- 7.4 acres -- would alter forever this openness and grandeur that is America's "front lawn".
One of the greatest civic spaces that exists anywhere in the world will be irreparably damaged by this memorial.
The public has been ignored and this memorial has been forced down the throats of the American people while timid arts bureaucrats have looked the other way.
No real assessment of the impact of this memorial on the Mall and the city has been conducted, as the law requires.
The interests of veterans are represented by the American Battle Monuments Commission, but no one is representing the civilians who contributed so much to winning World War II.
The Rainbow Pool is no empty space waiting to be filed but a spectacular open space designed to add grandeur to the two splendid memorials on each side.
A World War II memorial is a worthy goal but should not, as this memorial would do, prevent visitors from enjoying the beauty and historic significance of the existing monuments on the Mall.
The current design concept violates the directive of the Commemorative Works act of 1986 to preserve the open spaces and vistas of Washington, DC.
This plan to deface the Mall should be discarded and a fitting museum be built elsewhere that would do justice to the history of World War II.
Great public gatherings like the spectacular New Year's Eve celebration last year will not be possible if this memorial is built across the center of the Mall.
The Mall today beautifully symbolizes our founding ideals and should not be tampered with.
Only Congress can stop this unfortunate plan in its tracks and start over.
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