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April 30, 2004
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Images courtesy Burson-Marsteller
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With little ceremony the National World
War II Memorial, dedicated to Americans who served in one
of the most brutal wars in history, opened to the public yesterday.
The opening came 59 years after the close of the war, and
saw huge crowds throughout the day.
Designed by a team led by Los-Angeles
architects Leo A. Daly, Rhode Island-based architect Friedrich
St. Florian, sculptor Raymond J. Kaskey, and landscape architect
James A. van Sweden, the memorial honors the 16 million men
and women who served in the armed forces during the Second
World War, and the over 400,000 who died.
Located on the east end of the Reflecting
Pool, between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial,
the design is dominated by the Memorial Plaza, a round a round
granite space lined with bronze plaques, and the Rainbow Pool,
a curvilinear pond adorned with fountains on either end. Two
43-foot arches, marking hostilities in the East and the West,
mark entries on the north and south ends of the plaza. While
56 granite pillars, representing each state and territory,
surround the plaza, connected by oak and wheat bronze wreaths.
The memorial was conceived in 1993, when
President Clinton authorized the American Battle Monuments
Commission to establish the project. Some have complained
that the memorial blocks the vista between the Washington
Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, while others find the design
too austere, but for veterans of the war, the site is a welcome
recognition of their service.
Construction began in September 2001,
after more than $195 million in cash and pledges had been
received, $16 million from the federal government. An official
dedication will take place on Saturday, May 29 — Memorial
Day Weekend.
Sam Lubell
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