Nearly 59 years after the end of World War II, the National World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, May 29, 2004.
The Memorial Day weekend celebration on the National Mall culminated an 11-year effort to honor America’s World War II generation. The memorial was authorized by Congress in 1993 and construction began in September 2001 after several years of fund raising and public hearings.
Eighteenth District Congressman Bob Ney was the Ohio State chair for the project, which he calls the most important national memorial to be built in recent history.
Ney says the memorial is a fitting tribute to the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the United States during World War II, the more than 400,000 who died, and the millions who supported the war effort from home.
Ney stated, “It’s long overdue. We’re going to have some area set aside at the Capitol where people can stand. Of course, we’re expecting a million people. My father’s a W.W. II veteran. He was on a tin can serving with his brother Bill in the Navy. we’re very excited about the dedication. I’ll be out there participating in different parts of the ceremony.”
The official dedication celebration covers four days to include a W.W. II-themed reunion exhibition on the National Mall staged in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
The Veterans History Project was created by Congress to collect and preserve audio and video taped oral histories, along with letters, diaries, maps, photographs, and home movies, of America’s war Veterans and those who served in support of them. The project covers World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars, and includes all participants in those wars, men and women, civilian and military.
Ney says, “Veteran participation in this project is especially important. We also have the veteran’s oral history project, which we’ve been pushing for all veterans. We’ve had a lot of W.W. II veterans telling their stories. Unfortunately, about 1,500 W.W. II veterans are passing away everyday. So, the memorial’s a great thing. It’s just long overdue.”
The 174 million-dollar memorial was funded almost entirely by private contributions.
Courtesy, Jill LeBrasseur, Reporter, WMOA News
For more information, visit http://www.wwiimemorial.com.