What an unfortunate testimony to national priorities
that a World
War II memorial honoring those who served in the
armed forces and
those who sacrificed at home remains unbuilt more
than 50 years
after the battles in Europe and the Pacific ended.
More delays loom over the vista of the National
Mall, with a lawsuit
filed Oct. 2 to block construction of a planned
memorial between
the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
Designed by Rhode Island architect Friedrich St.
Florian, the WWII
structure would bisect the expanse between
Washington and
Lincoln, replacing the Rainbow Pool that sits at the
east end of the
long Reflecting Pool that is easily recognized in
aerial views of the
mall.
The site was quietly chosen in 1995 after a less
prominent location
closer to the Vietnam and Korean war memorials had
been
recommended.
Since St. Florian's original design was unveiled in
1997, opposition to
the style and location have steadily grown, with
critics including
architects, historic preservationists and some
veterans. But the
current plan still enjoys powerful supporters,
including veterans
groups, politicians and a fund-raising leader in the
person of former
Sen. Bob Dole.
The Fine Arts Commission approved the design and
site in July; the
National Capital Planning Commission followed suit
in September,
though by a 7-5 vote.
But the federal Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation, which has
input but not a vote, harshly criticized the project
in a letter to
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. Babbitt has the
final say -- he
approves the construction permits.
There is no doubt that a piece of public art to
recall what was lost
and what was gained in World War II is warranted.
Yet St. Florian's
interpretation -- with a large plaza sunken below
street level, a
replica of the Rainbow Pool, large arches, columns
and victory
wreaths -- has been called uninspired and worse.
From artist's renderings on the Internet, the design
doesn't compare
with the sheer drama of the gargantuan men raising
the U.S. flag on
Iwo Jima at the Marine War Memorial; the
overwhelming sense of
sadness conveyed by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial's
wall of
names; or the haunted look in the eyes of the
ponchoed steel men
patrolling the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
Critics of the World War II site make several
persuasive arguments.
First, that the placement detracts from the two-mile
national park
anchored by the Capitol and Lincoln, with Washington
in the middle
and Jefferson clearly visible across the Tidal
Basin.
Secondly, that a monument focusing on militaristic
values of victory
and sacrifice should not be interjected into such
prominent
juxtaposition with memorials that stand for the more
universal
American ideals of freedom and idealism that the war
effort meant
to preserve.
There are other considerations, such as the symbolic
importance of
that stretch of Mall to the civil rights movement.
The beauty and serenity of the Mall are worth
preserving. While the
lawsuit challenging the process by which the
monument came to
approval may not succeed, it's not too late to
relocate this worthy
memorial.
Nor would that diminish its value.
Great monuments don't usually take their place of
honor the day
they open for business. That comes after many
visitors have passed
by, have wept and prayed and embraced the solace and
inspiration
they found there.
What a pity that such a worthy project should be
consumed in such
dissension.
One longs to trek the steps up to Mr. Lincoln's
mighty chair and ask
that towering, wise face to help with a resolution.
