[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 155 (Friday, November 7, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2197-E2198]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   HONORING THE IWO JIMA MEMORIAL, THE MARINE CORPS AND THE AIR FORCE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 5, 1997

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, as all of you in the House know, I am proud 
of my years in the Marine Corps and of what that distinguished branch 
of the military has done throughout our history and what it has meant 
to me personally. At the same time, I would hope it is also recognized 
that I have always been a fierce supporter of each and every branch of 
the military and of our courageous veterans who put their lives in 
harms way for this great nation and all it stands for. In fact, those 
of us who have worn the uniform are becoming fewer and farther between 
in this Congress and it is imperative that we all bind together and 
continue to bolster our national defense and look out for our brothers 
and sisters who have served. That is so important.
  And you know, Mr. Speaker, I have always been able to count on the 
camaraderie and loyalty among members of the military, regardless of 
whether they're Marines, Air Force, Army or Navy. That's because there 
is a mutual respect and honor for one another. And it's time for each 
of us to recognize that honor and solemn respect once again. This time 
it is in relation to the placement of a memorial and museum honoring 
the deserving members of the U.S. Air Force. I am an enthusiastic 
supporter of that memorial, having voted to allow its creation and 
having pledged my support to help raise funds to build it. The problem 
is, Mr.

[[Page E2198]]

Speaker, the Air Force Memorial Foundation, in large part because of 
flawed and fraudulent information and procedures related to placing 
this monument, has insisted on building this facility on the hand-
picked hollowed ground that has been home to the Iwo Jima Monument for 
nearly fifty years. That monument has come to represent so much to so 
many people around this country and the world and in many ways, is one 
of the most famous monuments in our history. I would hope that those 
who have served in uniform and are in a position to impact the 
placement of the proposed Air Force Memorial would stand down and leave 
this site with honor and grace in respect to the Marine Corps, Marines, 
their loved ones, and all Americans who recognize the sanctity of this 
solemn memorial. I appeal to them to take heed of former Secretary of 
the Navy, James Webb, Jr.'s, advice and commend to everyone the 
following column that was printed in the Washington Post today. The 
eloquence and heartfelt manner in which Mr. Webb expressed himself is 
indeed powerful and sincere and constitutes the most compelling 
argument as to why this hallowed ground should be preserved as is that 
I have come across to date. His account is all you need read to 
understand the deep significance of this renowned monument to so many.

                [From the Washington Post, Nov. 5, 1997]

       James H. Webb Jr.--Wrong Place for the Air Force Memorial

       Earlier this year I had the sad honor of burying my father, 
     Col. James H. Webb, Sr., U.S. Air Force (retired). His grave 
     sits on a gentle hill in Section 51 of the Arlington National 
     Cemetery, just next to the small park on which stands the 
     nation's most famous military landmark, the Marine Corps War 
     Memorial.
       Between his grave and the sculpture of the Marines raising 
     the flag at Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, the Air Force 
     Memorial Foundation proposes to build a large and intrusive 
     memorial of its own. It is deeply unfortunate that the 
     location of this proposed memorial promises nothing but 
     unending controversy. And I have no compunction in saying 
     that the foundation's methods in lobbying for this site would 
     have puzzled and offended my Air Force father, just as it 
     does both of his Marine Corps-veteran sons.
       Until late this summer, few among the general public even 
     knew that this site, which is within 500 feet of the Iwo Jima 
     statue, had been approved by the National Capital Planning 
     Commission (NCPC). The Air Force's first choice had been a 
     place near the Air and Space Museum, a logical spot that 
     would provide the same dignity, synergy and visitor 
     population that benefit the Navy Memorial's downtown 
     Washington location. Later, deciding on Arlington Ridge, the 
     Air Force during hearings erroneously maintained that the 
     Marine Corps posed no objection to the erection of a memorial 
     so near to its own. The Marine Corps had yet to take an 
     official position, and no Marine Corps witnesses were called 
     to discuss the potential impact.
       Once the NCPC decision became publicly known, it was met 
     with a wide array of protest, including that of citizen 
     groups and a formal objection from the Marine Corps. Despite 
     a lawsuit and several bills having been introduced in 
     Congress to protect the site, the Air Force is persisting.
       This is not simply a Marine Corps issue or a mere 
     interservice argument. Nor is it a question of whether the 
     Air Force should have a memorial. Rather, it is a matter of 
     the proper use of public land, just as important to our 
     heritage as are environmental concerns. We have witnessed 
     an explosion of monuments and memorials in our nation's 
     capital over the past two decades. New additions should 
     receive careful scrutiny. Their placement, propriety and 
     artistic impact concern all Americans, particularly those 
     who care about public art, through which continuing 
     generations will gain an understanding of the nation's 
     journey.
       The mood around the heavily visited ``Iwo'' is by design 
     contemplative, deliberately serene. The site was selected 
     personally just after World War II by Marine Commandant Gen. 
     Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr., who was concerned that the statute 
     required ``a large open area around it for proper display.'' 
     Dozens of full-dress official ceremonies take place each year 
     at the base of the hallowed sculpture. Even casual 
     ballplaying is forbidden on the parkland near it. It is, for 
     many Americans, truly sacred ground.
       To put it simply, the proposed Air Force memorial would 
     pollute Arlington Ridge, forever changing its context.
       The main argument in favor of this location--that it is 
     within a mile of Fort Myer, where the first-ever military 
     flight occurred in 1908--is weak, as all the services have 
     extensive aviation capabilities that might be traced to that 
     flight. The Air Force also argues that since the ``above-
     ground'' aspect of its memorial would be 28 feet lower than 
     the top of the flagpole on the Iwo Jima statue, it will not 
     interfere with the grandeur of the Marine Corps memorial. 
     What Air Force officials take pains to avoid discussing is 
     that if one discounts the flagpole, their memorial would 
     actually be higher, wider and far deeper. Some 20,000 square 
     feet of below-the-ground museums and interactive displays are 
     planned, enough floor space for 10 average-sized homes.
       The Air Force plan for an extensive three-story museum and 
     virtual-reality complex at its proposed memorial is a clear 
     departure in context from this quiet place. During the period 
     leading up to America's bicentennial commemoration, the 
     Marine Corps itself considered constructing a visitor 
     center and museum on the land adjacent to the Iwo Jima 
     memorial. It abandoned this plan be cause such facilities 
     would be inconsistent with the purpose and the impact of 
     the monument itself. It is not without irony that the land 
     the Marine Corps deliberately left open is now being 
     pursued by the Air Force for the very purpose that was 
     earlier rejected.
       Existing federal law precludes this sort of intrusion. 
     Title 40 of the U.S. Code states in section 1907 that ``a 
     commemorative work shall be so located as to prevent 
     interference with, or encroachment upon, any existing 
     commemorative work and to protect, to the maximum extent 
     possible, open space and existing public use.'' There can be 
     no clearer example of the intentions of such law than the 
     case of the Marine Corps War Memorial.
       The puzzling question is why the Air Force leadership 
     argues so vociferously that its memorial will not negatively 
     affect the Iwo Jima memorial.
       I grew up in the presence of some of the finest leaders our 
     Air Force has ever produced, leaders who would never have 
     considered dissembling before a political body about whether 
     the Marine Corps concurred in a proposal that might diminish 
     the impact of its most cherished memorial--leaders who in 
     this situation would have shown the public, and particularly 
     the Marine Corps, great deference, knowing that its open 
     support was vital. Indeed, leaders who remembered that the 
     very mission in the battle of Iwo Jima, carried out at a cost 
     of 1,000 dead Marines for every square mile of territory 
     taken, was to eliminate enemy fighter attacks on Air Force 
     bombers passing overhead and to provide emergency runways for 
     Air Force pilots who had flown in harm's way.
       It is now up to Congress to enforce the law and assist the 
     Air Force in finding a memorial site that will honor its own 
     without taking away from the dignity of others.

     

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