Washington -More than 100,000 people attended the dedication of the new World War II Memorial Saturday on the mall. The memorial first was open to the public last month, more than 55 years after the war ended.
The memorial is located between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The seven-acre memorial is two-thirds landscaping and water and is memorialized in granite and bronze.
U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Lisbon, hosted a reception for the veterans from Ohio to come to watch the ceremony and meet one another.
I thought it was important to be here and greet (the veterans) and make sure they are having a good experience
Strickland said.
Herman Zerger, 80, a WWII veteran from Woodsfield, said it was important for him to attend the dedication because he was in the war, and veterans of the war are dying at a rate of 1,300 per day.
Zerger was a prisoner of war for 95 days after being captured in France. The bronze-star winner has been back to the country five times and plans to go back one more time while he is still able.
Sam Lanza, a WWII veteran from Warren, said the memorial is a little late but better late than never.
Lanza, a Purple Heart winner and disabled veteran, summed up the memorial with one word: beautiful.
It was a long day but it's worth it. It's a once in a lifetime deal
Lanza said.
The memorial was funded by $200 million in donations from 600,000 contributors. The ground was broken in 2000, after 17 years of work on it. From 1987 to 1993 Congress worked on passing a bill to build the memorial for the greatest generation -a term coined by news anchor and author Tom Brokaw.
Brokaw, one of the speakers at the dedication ceremony, said many people are reluctant to talk about the war because there are so many bad memories.
P.X. Kelley, chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission, gave his thanks to the 16 million Americans who fought in the war. At the back of the memorial a wall has 4,000 freedom stars on it to represent the 400,000 people who gave their lives. Only about one in four veterans are still alive.
WWII was the most significant event in the history of America
Kelley said. The greatest war the world has ever known.
Fifty-six granite pillars are lined around the outside of the memorial. They represent the states and territories at the time. Two arches, one for the Atlantic and one for the Pacific, symbolize the two theaters of the war.
Also on hand at the ceremony were Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kansas, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush and National Spokesman for the WWII memorial campaign Tom Hanks.
We acknowledge debt of long standing to an entire generation of Americans. They saved our liberty and saved the liberty of all mankind
President Bush said, concluding the ceremony.
17
Archives
Natalie Long
200406012510midsize.jpg
