[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 140 (Thursday, October 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10795-S10796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

       By Mr. ROBERTS:

  S. 1284. A bill to prohibit construction of any monument, memorial, 
or other structure at the site of the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, 
VA, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources.


                  CONSTRUCTION PROHIBITION LEGISLATION

  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation that 
really should not have to be introduced to address a controversy that 
should not be taking place. The legislation is intended to prevent 
further construction of any memorial on the parcel of Federal land 
surrounding the U.S. Marine Corps memorial commonly known as the Iwo 
Jima memorial located in Arlington, VA.
  Mr. President, the reason I am introducing this legislation is that, 
unfortunately, this site has been selected for a 50-foot high Air Force 
memorial approximately 500 feet from the Iwo Jima statue.
  Mr. President, I realize full well that this legislation and this 
issue will and has caused considerable emotional debate and difference 
of opinion within our Marine and Air Force communities. I stress that 
in my opinion it does not have to be that way.
  First, the points that I will raise should not be construed as any 
denigration or challenge to the worthiness of a memorial to the proud 
men and women of the U.S. Air Force who have served our Nation so very 
well. In fact, one of my points is that our U.S. Air Force deserves its 
own special place that will not compete with any other memorial.
  In discussing this legislation, I am going to leave the legal issues 
to those with better expertise in the nuance of law. The point I would 
like to stress is very basic. It supersedes reports and hearings and 
commission recommendations and whether or not the proponents of 
construction of another memorial have successfully--and apparently they 
have--traversed the procedural obstacle course and the tripwires 
necessary to gain approval for construction.
  Simply put, the Iwo Jima memorial represents and memorializes an 
absolutely unique and special time in our Nation's history. Just as 
Bunker Hill and Saratoga and Yorktown and Gettysburg, Belleau Wood and 
Bataan, Normandy, Chosin Reservoir, and other battles have been etched 
in our national psyche as touchstones and reminders of courage, valor 
and bravery in defense of freedom, and have special meaning for this 
Nation and the valiant members of our Armed Forces that fought bravely 
in each of those campaigns, Iwo Jima became a rallying point for this 
country and the U.S. Marine Corps during the dark days of the war in 
the Pacific.
  Mr. President, on a personal note, for me, the Iwo Jima memorial has 
special meaning. My dad, then a Marine major, Wes Roberts, took part in 
the battle of Iwo Jima. His accounts of the bravery and sacrifice are 
part of our family's history and inspiration. Fifteen years later, then 
Marine Lt. Pat Roberts, stationed in Okinawa with the 3d Marine 
Division, revisited Iwo Jima, along with the first official Marine 
party to pay a personal tribute and visit to that island. My assignment 
was to cover the visit and dedication for the Stars and Stripes 
newspaper.
  I shall never forget the experience. Iwo Jima veterans, enlisted and 
officers, stood on Mt. Suribachi in the quiet of the gentle wind 
overlooking a now lush green island in the blue of the Pacific, and 
there was not a sound. Then, in hushed tones, mixed with emotion and 
tears, the Iwo Jima veterans relived, recounted that battle and said 
many a prayer for their fallen comrades.
  Lt. General Thomas A. Wornham placed a 5th Marine Division insignia 
on the flagpole atop famous Suribachi. Former members of his old unit, 
the 27th Marines, stood with visiting dignitaries. They listened 
quietly. The general said, ``We landed over there by those two rocks. 
The terraces were much higher then. I crawled on my hands and knees 
right by that small hill.''
  In a low whisper, Col. John W. Antonelli, former 2d battalion 
Commander in the 27th, said, ``I cannot look at this scene, this 
island, without thinking of my Marines who died in

[[Page S10796]]

order to capture it. From the top of Suribachi, I can see where they 
fell. One of my best friends was killed in that ravine. Every time the 
Marines would take cover there, they invited the incoming artillery.''
  Then Col. Donn J. Robertson, former 3d battalion commander in the 
famous regiment, told listeners how the island had changed. ``This new 
lush vegetation would have given our boys much needed cover then. As I 
stand here looking down from Suribachi, I realize how the enemy had us 
covered in interlocking fire. We landed on a beautiful day just like 
this, sun shining, blue sky, blue ocean. I am thankful to be alive.''
  Standing on Suribachi, it was difficult for any of us to imagine how 
anyone could have survived the landing and day-after-day assault. The 
day after the island was declared secure more marines suffered 
casualties than they had in the last 10.
  But survive they did, and Old Glory was raised over Iwo Jima on the 
23d of February, 1945, and captured on film to become a pictorial 
moment in history unequaled in portraying uncommon valor. Almost 10 
years later, that special event in our Nation's history was recreated 
and consecrated forever in the dedication of the Iwo Jima memorial here 
in our Nation's Capital and now attracts over 1 million visitors every 
year.
  Let me stress, Mr. President, that Iwo Jima is not purely a Marine 
Corps memorial. It does, of course, represent an extremely important 
event in the proud history of our corps, but it is, in a larger sense, 
a memorial for the American people. Many consider the Iwo Jima site as 
hallowed ground and certainly not a site where there should be a 
competing memorial.
  I also wish to acknowledge that the Air Force Association has been 
forthright and aboveboard in the process to find a suitable site for 
their proposed memorial. I applaud and support their efforts to 
properly recognize the superb contribution the men and women of the 
U.S. Air Force have made to this country. The point is that I do not 
believe it serves any purpose for either memorial to compete with or 
stand in the shadow of the other.
  I also realize the proponents of the Air Force memorial will say it 
will not interfere with Iwo Jima, and it will be located behind a line 
of trees so that it cannot be seen from the Iwo site.
  Now, the sense I get from those statements is that the Air Force 
memorial will figuratively be in the shadow of Iwo Jima. If so, that, 
quite frankly, is not fair to the Air Force and to those the memorial 
is intended to honor. A location should be found where the memorial can 
stand clearly, proudly, and in its own place without competition from 
any other structure.
  In addition, the National Planning Commission report recognizes that 
the site for the proposed Air Force memorial is, ``fragile and 
delicate.'' The report further recognizes that the area encompassing 
the Iwo Jima memorial and the Netherlands Carillon and the Arlington 
National Cemetery is ``reverent space whose beautiful nature is already 
heavily disrupted by heavy automobile and bus traffic on the periphery 
and by tour bus traffic within the area itself. The planned 
construction of 40 additional parking spaces adjacent to the memorial, 
which is currently a wooded area, would further diminish the natural 
beauty of the memorial and the park surroundings.''
  I realize in the passage of time, even the most memorable acts of 
courage and valor and bravery tend to fade into yesterday's history 
books. Succeeding generations tend to forget the lessons of the past, 
and the world, indeed, is a different place. Today, great historical 
events, and even the lives and lessons of our Founding Fathers are many 
times mere footnotes in a fast-paced society, or worse, subject to 
revision depending on what is politically correct at the moment.
  But, let us not add to or hasten this erosion by unnecessarily 
competing or infringing upon what has been accurately called ``sacred 
and reverent space.''
  This so-called controversy about the location of the proposed Air 
Force memorial in conjunction with the Iwo Jima memorial is, in fact, a 
paradox of enormous irony. The battle of Iwo Jima was fought to secure 
a safe haven and staging area for bomber aircraft flown by the 
forerunners of the U.S. Air Force. Marines fought and died to help save 
the lives of the fliers of the Army Air Corps. For 43 years, ever since 
the memorial was dedicated on the Marine Corps birthday in 1954, the 
Iwo Jima memorial has been in fact a memorial to both brave marines and 
fliers of World War II.
  Why, why then, why indeed, should any memorial so inspired, so true 
to the memory and sacrifice of both marines and Army Air Corps fliers, 
why should such hallowed ground be subject to encroachment and 
duplication of yet another memorial for the same purpose, a memorial 
that should stand in its own right and on its own site?
  We should preserve the sanctity of a memorial that has come to be 
viewed by all Americans as a de facto memorial to World War II. Nothing 
should detract from the serene and hallowed setting of the Iwo Jima 
memorial.
  In a letter I have received from the Commandant of the U.S. Marine 
Corps, Gen. C.C. Krulak, the Commandant eloquently sums up what all 
marines feel in their hearts and what I have tried to explain in my 
remarks. I quote from his letter:

       Although I was just a young boy, I remember watching as the 
     Iwo Jima memorial was erected on the edge of Arlington 
     Cemetery. I remember that November day in 1954 when my 
     godfather, Gen. Holland ``Howlin Mad'' Smith, stood before 
     that magnificent statue and, with tears slowly streaming down 
     his cheeks, softly said, ``My marines, my marines. . . .'' 
     Truly, this is a sacred place.

  Mr. President, the commandant went on to say that, as the last marine 
on active duty to have witnessed the Iwo dedication, he truly believes 
that this Nation must preserve its sanctity. For, as General Krulak 
said, the Iwo Jima memorial is more than a monument; it is a place for 
reflection, a place to pay respect, and a place to gain inner strength. 
Over 23,000 marines were killed or injured on Iwo Jima, and each year, 
over 1 million Americans pay tribute to those marines.
  General Krulak closed his letter by saying:

       In speaking for them, for their survivors, and for all 
     marines past, present and future, the sanctity of the Iwo 
     Jima memorial must be preserved.

  Semper fidelis, general, semper fidelis.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in this effort.
                                 ______