[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 77 (Friday, June 4, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1028-E1029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL STORY IS CLASSIC AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TIM RYAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 3, 2004

  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, May 29, the National 
World War II Memorial was dedicated on the National Mall here in 
Washington. This memorial honors the courage and sacrifice of the 
millions of men and women who served our Nation during one of the most 
critical times in history.
  How this monument came about is a classic story of American 
democracy. The spark came from Roger Durbin of Berkey, Ohio, who made 
the request to his U.S. Representative, Marcy Katpur. With the help of 
America's veterans, Congresswoman Kaptur led the effort to pass 
legislation that authorized the memorial. I commend my distinguished 
colleague and good friend for her deep commitment to all our Nation's 
veterans and her extraordinary work on behalf of those who served in 
WWII.
  The story of this legislation was told in an article which appeared 
in a special section of The Washington Post Sunday Magazine on May 23. 
For the benefit of my colleagues, I present the full text of the 
article.

                [From the Washington Post, May 23, 2004]

                            A Dream Realized

                          (By Suzan Richmond)

       ``This is really an American story,'' Rep. Marcy Kaptur 
     (D., Ohio) began. ``It all started at a township trustees 
     fish fry, in February 1987. I was standing in the middle of a 
     very large room, holding my plate. And all of a sudden, this 
     big booming voice shouted across the large room: 
     `Congresswoman Kaptur, why is there no World War II memorial 
     in Washington, D.C.?'
       ``I turned. I see this man, standing erect, shoulders 
     squared.
       The man was Roger Durbin, then age 67, a retired letter 
     carrier from Berkey, Ohio, population 272, who once was a 
     tank mechanic in the Battle of the Bulge. ``He had everyone's 
     attention,'' Kaptur recalled.
       She replied: ``There is one.''
       ``Oh, yeah?,'' he said. ``What is it?''
       ``Iwo Jima.''
       ``Wrong.'' he shot back. ``That memorial is to one service 
     in one campaign.
       ``I'm telling you, there's no place. I wanted to bring my 
     grandchildren to a memorial when I was in Washington to show 
     them what had affected my life. It's not there.''
       Once back in Washington, Kaptur did some research.
       ``I was stunned to find we had no central place in the 
     capital to pay tribute to this generation. Durbin was right. 
     I thought, this kind of omission couldn't be possible.
       ``I had been a member of Congress for a few years by then, 
     but I really understood what being a representative was about 
     after I met Roger,'' Kaptur continued.
       ``After that, we entered a marathon effort to pass the 
     legislation essential to placing a memorial to World War II 
     in Washington. I thought it would be easy. Boy, was I 
     wrong.''
       Indeed, from fish fry to legislation to site selection to 
     design competition to winning design to construction to a 
     World War II Memorial ready for dedication took 17 years.

[[Page E1029]]

       Roger Durbin died in February 2000 without ever seeing the 
     memorial he inspired. ``In a sense,'' said his granddaughter, 
     Melissa Growden, an art historian who has served on the WWII 
     Memorial Advisory Board since 1994, ``the torch has been 
     passed to me.'' Just after the war, she said her grandfather 
     ``had the mindset of a lot of that generation. They went over 
     there. They had a job to do. Then they went home and picked 
     up life where they'd left it.''
       It was only years later, Growden said, that Durbin began to 
     talk in detail about his time with the 10th Armored Division, 
     the force led by the legendary Gen. George Patton that 
     stormed across northern Europe and into Germany.
       ``He did a lot of public speaking then,'' Growden said. 
     ``And when he spoke he always cried.'' Over the years, she 
     saw evidence of his wartime service. ``I remember once seeing 
     his scrapbooks and its photos of a concentration camp--people 
     stacked eight deep.''
       ``My brother and I were raised with this incredible sense 
     of patriotism and gratitude. Our grandfather said to us, `We 
     fought so that you can enjoy the freedom and liberties that 
     we have today. I never want you and your generation and the 
     generations that follow to ever fight a war like the one we 
     fought in.'
       ``He usually closed his talks by saying, `The World War II 
     generation is an endangered species. Soon we'll be extinct.' 
     With this memorial they won't be.''

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