[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 132 (Thursday, October 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1838-E1839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENSE OF CONGRESS ON NEED FOR WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL ON THE MALL

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 17, 2000

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise to express my strong support for 
this legislation, S. Con. Res. 145, that expresses the sense of 
Congress that the construction of the National World War II Memorial 
should be constructed expeditiously and that the appropriate site for 
the Memorial is on our National Mall at the Rainbow Pool. I want to 
thank Senator Warner, Chairman Stump, and all the other Members of 
Congress who worked to bring this legislation before us today.
  As we enter the new century, it is appropriate that we reflect on the 
turning point of the past century. The World War II Memorial will 
commemorate that period between 1939 and 1945 that so profoundly 
reconfigured the modern world. So long as there is an America, this 
hallowed ground will pay homage to the superlative devotion that 
elevated duty, honor, and country to sacred proportion.
  The location of the World War II memorial between the Washington 
Monument and the Lincoln Memorial is not only appropriate, but also 
historically coherent. Those two memorials commemorate the defining 
national events of the 18th and 19th centuries: our Nation's founding 
in the Revolutionary War and our unification during the Civil War. It 
is only fitting that the event that reshaped the modern world in the 
20th century and marked our Nation's emergence from the chrysalis of 
isolationism as the leader of the free world be commemorated on this 
site.
  As we all know, the site and the form of the memorial have been the 
subject of ongoing qualification and even some controversy. This is how 
public dialogue should ensue in our country. I believe that the site 
and respectful style of the memorial are most appropriate. The refined 
design is a beautiful tribute to a generation of Americans who 
sacrificed their lives in service to our country with unparalleled 
valor and distinction. This design enhances the Mall's representation 
of American history. It retains open vistas--north and south as well as 
east and west. And it adds trees, plantings, and waterfalls while also 
capturing for visitors and all Americans the significance of this most 
historic event of the 20th Century.
  More importantly, we must acknowledge that the open, expansive 
process by which decisions have been made about this site and this 
design. The democratic process these brave Americans fought to defend 
has been pursued. The congressional deliberations--extensive hearings, 
floor action, and two separate bills--that led to the authorization of 
the memorial were long, frustratingly long, but they were thorough. As 
one sage commented, ``It has taken longer to build the memorial than it 
did to fight the war.'' I can now say it has taken us twice as long to 
build the Memorial as to fight the war--over 13 years.
  Our first bill authorizing the memorial was filed in 1987, and the 
final bill was passed in 1993. The Administrations of two presidents, 
five Congresses, and a decade of administrative reviews have elapsed.
  After authorization, the procedures of the American Battle Monuments 
Commission and the other bodies responsible for approving the memorial 
have been open and fair. There have been 17 open, public meetings held 
on the proposed Memorial since 1993. Questions have been raised and 
suggestions offered by Members of Congress, the general public, and 
interest groups about the site and style of the memorial. With that 
deliberative process, the concept has been refined and become more 
elegant and appropriate for this hallowed site.
  The concept of a World War II Memorial in Washington sprang from a 
dogged Army veteran, my constituent, Roger Durbin of Berkey, Ohio, who 
fought with the 101st Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge. It 
was Roger's question to me about why there was no memorial to World War 
II in Washington to which he could take his grandchildren that inspired 
the historic project that is before us today.
  The thought of Roger reminds me of that auspicious day, Veterans Day, 
1995, when the memorial site was consecrated with soil from American 
battlefield cemeteries around the world. Roger Durbin participated in 
that dedication, accompanied by his wife Marian. He wrote about it as 
follows:

       I stood on the site of the Memorial, November 10, 1995, 
     watching the activity thereon. Touch football, stickball, 
     Frisbee, picnicking, etc. as people enjoyed a sunny day as 
     they would have in an ordinary public park. The next day I 
     stood with President Clinton at the end of the glorious site 
     dedication ceremony and scattered sacred soil

[[Page E1839]]

     gathered from 16 military cemeteries from around the world 
     and Arlington upon the sparse and worn grass. That is when it 
     became the most sacred, revered, beautiful spot in America.

  Sadly, Roger passed away earlier this year. Roger was deeply wounded 
that he would not be able to see his idea come to fruition. The 
architectural rendition of the Memorial was framed above his fireplace, 
and he has assembled a copious note and scrapbook about the legislation 
and administrative proceedings for the record.
  For thousands of other veterans, the same is true. Since the site 
dedication in 1995, perhaps a third of the World War II veterans then 
living have left us. There are fewer than 6 million World War II 
veterans living today, and we are losing them at a rate of 1,000 a day! 
I feel a great urgency to complete this project on schedule. As many as 
possible of the brave Americans who served during that conflict, abroad 
and on the home front, should bear witness to this memorial in its 
final form. Is this too much to ask?
  Of course, all veterans' organizations and students of history 
recognize what this generation achieved in the triumph of freedom over 
tyranny. As Americans in future generations visit our Nation's Capital, 
they will have an opportunity to stop along the Mall to reflect on a 
time when America went to war to defend our fundamental political 
values. Millions of visitors every year traverse this site already as 
they wend their way between the various memorials, parks, roads, and 
special events that give our National Mall its public character. They 
will be able to reflect on the level of commitment that engaged 
millions of Americans and our allies in combat during World War Il.
  The World War II memorial will thus serve as a symbol of our legacy 
to the future centuries: a determination to defend democracy at any 
cost. The world's political landscape was reshaped for all time as a 
result of the Allied victory. I urge the Commission to approve the 
architectural and landscape design as presented today. Let us move 
expeditiously toward the groundbreaking this coming Veterans Day in the 
first year of a new century and the advent of the new millennium.
  Again, Madam Speaker, I fully support S. Con. Res. 145 and urge its 
passage.

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