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The World War II MemorialHow the Site Was ChosenThe Rainbow Pool on the Mall, the most famous, historic open space in America, was approved as the site for the World War II Memorial -- and an original off-axis Mall site was quickly discarded -- without any public debate or awareness and without adequate public notice. The public learned of the key vote only after the vote was taken by the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) in Washington, D.C., one of two federal bodies responsible for reviewing public construction in the Nation's Capital.
The colossal 7.4-acre Memorial will deface the idyllic 90-year old Rainbow Pool site with a granite plaza and break the great sweep of open space and vistas connecting the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, the nation's two most prominent memorials. Here are the facts. Congress authorized construction of the World War II Memorial in 1993 and directed the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to build it. The National Park Service (NPS) started the process by identifying six potential sites -- but the Rainbow Pool was not among them. As required by federal law, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) voted -- at the request of the ABMC -- to locate the Memorial on the Mall near the Vietnam Memorial on July 25, 1995. Next, the Commission on Fine Arts (CFA) also was required to vote on the site. But on September 19, 1995 -- in a surprise move -- the CFA voted to shift the Memorial to the Rainbow Pool. Until that day, no one had dared to suggest disturbing the historic open area of the Mall which has been called "one of the world's premier examples of civic art, which itself is a monument to democracy." The audacious land grab was proposed for the first time, then approved minutes later on the same day -- without allowing the public any time to comment. The backroom maneuvering continued when on October 5, 1995 - only 17 days later -- the NCPC changed direction and voted for the Rainbow Pool site as well. The public notices for the two meetings failed to alert the public to this disaster for the Mall and did not mention the Rainbow Pool site -- an egregious violation of the public trust. Apparently the sponsors felt that the American people would rebel, had they been consulted. In an article in The New York Times, April 4, 1999, James S. Russell cited the lack of debate on the location of the question of World War II Memorial. "Had such a debate occurred, the Mall axis might well have been deemed the wrong place for a war memorial, however important the conflict," he said. We need your help to force Congress to conduct a fair and open debate on the merits of this site, as well as the design (see "Irreconcilable Differences" below). It's not too late but we can't win our fight without your help. Please contact your United States Representative and two United States Senators today. With your help will stop this process cold in its tracks then start the process of building a Memorial that all Americans -- especially our veterans -- will view with pride! |
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