Ii Memorial

In a state where history is treasured and richly commemorated, there have long been memorials to Maryland's veterans of the Civil War, World War I and the Korean and Vietnam wars. But today -- when the 21-gun salute sounds and the fighter planes fly overhead in missing-man formation -- will mark the first time the state has erected a memorial exclusively for its World War II dead.At a scenic overlook of the state capital at the Naval Academy bridge, a spectacular memorial to the 6,454 Marylanders who died in the world's biggest military effort will be dedicated.

On a December morning in 1941, Eugene H. "Dutch" Albert was standing in formation on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania when a mass of airplanes descended on the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. "Where did the Army get all of those airplanes?" Albert recalled a fellow Navy man remarking. Then the bombs began dropping. Soon the crew realized they were under attack by the Japanese, an event that would catapult the United States into World War II. Sixty-five years after then-1st Class Petty Officer Albert lived through that "day of infamy," carrying off the wounded and dead from the battleship, he will attend an event near Annapolis dedicating the U.S. 50 bridge at the Severn River as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Bob Kerrey has begun an effort to scuttle the proposed design and location of a World War II memorial on the National Mall, saying he favors a larger and far more grand monument, to be built on a site that would not obstruct the Mall's sweeping vistas.Kerrey, a Nebraska Democrat who is a decorated Vietnam War '' veteran, is the first leading public figure to express opposition to the plans that President Clinton unveiled last month.In a statement yesterday, the senator made clear that he strongly supports a national memorial to honor veterans of World War II. But Kerrey complained that the winning design, in seeking to preserve the continuity and sightlines of the Mall, would create a monument "smaller and less significant than warranted given the importance and scope of World War II in our history."

John Franklin Burk Jr., a retired brigadier general and advertising executive who was a past chairman of the state's World War II memorial at Annapolis, died of heart and kidney failure Friday at the Department of Veterans Affairs nursing home in Northwood. The Timonium resident was 87. Born in Baltimore and raised in Long Green in Baltimore County, he was a 1935 graduate of Towson High School. Drafted into the Army in 1941, he rose during World War II to the rank of captain and earned the Combat Infantry Badge, three Bronze Stars and three battle stars for his service in the Battle of the Bulge, the Rhineland and in Central Europe.

Granite pillars stand for the 56 states and territories of the United States at midcentury. Arches represent the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of World War II. Gold stars mark the 400,000 American lives lost. These are a few of the elements that make the National World War II Memorial a sweeping exercise in architectural symbolism, a place where every piece of the composition is imbued with meaning. But the most powerful symbolism is rooted in the way the memorial has been placed on the National Mall in Washington, occupying a 7.4-acre tract halfway between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

WASHINGTON -- The people planning a World War II memorial for the National Mall here are in a race against time.They are $70 million short of the $100 million they need to begin constructing the massive monument, but veterans of the century's epic military struggle are dying at a sobering pace -- about 1,000 a day."The biggest concern isn't that the World War II memorial won't be built," said Mike Conley, spokesman for the commission that runs U.S. military cemeteries and monuments. "The urgency is for us to get it dedicated while veterans are still around to see it."

Despite living within an hour's drive of the nation's capital, many Carroll County veterans are declining invitations to the dedication of the National World War II Memorial tomorrow to observe the occasion with their comrades in familiar surroundings. The American Legion Gold Star Post 191 in Mount Airy will mark the dedication with patriotic music, stirring speeches, honors for the post's 200 World War II veterans - with a reading of each of their names - and a 21-gun salute. The personal touches for the veterans would be lost in the crush of the crowd of more than 200,000 expected for the dedication on the National Mall.

WASHINGTON -- Responding to criticism that the original design for a World War II Memorial was too expansive and ostentatious to fit comfortably on the national Mall, architects unveiled a pared-down design yesterday that envisions a memorial less obtrusive but no less powerful.In the new design, the 50 proposed concrete columns are gone, the walls are much lower and there are no enclosed rooms to serve as exhibit space. Elm trees already on the site will be preserved as a border.The changes are meant to appease critics who feared that the memorial's previous design would intrude on the the Mall's treasured sightlines extending from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial.

WASHINGTON - Former Sen. Bob Dole rejected criticism of the proposed World War II Memorial yesterday, saying the project is appropriate for its prominent site on the National Mall and is on track for groundbreaking this fall. "We believe we have met all the demands," Dole, national chairman of the World War II Memorial Campaign, told a House subcommittee. The nation cannot wait another half-century to honor the men and women who risked their lives during the war, because "there will be no one left to talk about it," Dole said.

WASHINGTON -- Sponsors of a World War II Memorial proposed for the capital Mall are struggling to recover from the unexpected rejection of their ambitious design.Now prospects for the monument, criticized by two agencies as too large and elaborate for the Mall, are uncertain.Within the next few weeks, the American Battlefield Monuments Commission, sponsor of the World War II project, will meet to decide how to regroup in time to make another presentation to the two agencies this fall.According to commission spokesman Joe Purka, the panel will choose between reworking the current plan or returning to the drawing board for a new design.

WASHINGTON - One year shy of half a century after the end of the war against fascism in Germany, Italy and Japan, the veterans of that war - now dubbed "the greatest generation" for saving Western democracy - finally have their memorial. Men and women in their late 70s and 80s and 90s, some of them admittedly puzzled as to why the Vietnam and Korean war veterans were memorialized before the World War II vets, are streaming here daily now. Raymond Pyles, 80, of Wheaton, a veteran of the Battle of Bulge, says: "It's beautiful, but it took a long time getting here."

Retired Sgt. Maj. Lance Sweigart's dignified voice seemed to silence even the whistling cicadas as it carried through the acres of headstones and wreaths. As the 30-year Army veteran sang the national anthem at yesterday's Memorial Day observance at the Baltimore National Cemetery, some veterans raised their hands in salute. Others recited the words with their hands over their hearts. Even the children in the audience stood still. It was one of several annual rituals that seemed to take on renewed meaning in light of both the continued fighting in Iraq and this weekend's dedication of the National World War II Memorial in Washington.

WASHINGTON - Thousands of World War II veterans, some striding briskly, others clutching canes or riding wheelchairs, descended on the sun-drenched National Mall yesterday to witness the dedication of a memorial to honor their service and heroism six decades ago. As 1940s swing music blared from speakers and President Bush thanked the veterans for having "saved our country," some of them observed that the day had been too long in coming and that so...

WASHINGTON - Marg Nelson began making arrangements months ago. First the airline tickets and the hotel reservations. Next, the Battle of the Bulge reunion details. Then the downloading of photos of the new World War II memorial on the National Mall. Then she tackled a final detail: finding a way for her elderly mother, Mabel, weakened by heart trouble, and her father Margden, on the mend from prostate cancer, to navigate around the 7 1/2 -acre memorial grounds for the dedication tomorrow.

Despite living within an hour's drive of the nation's capital, many Carroll County veterans are declining invitations to the dedication of the National World War II Memorial tomorrow to observe the occasion with their comrades in familiar surroundings. The American Legion Gold Star Post 191 in Mount Airy will mark the dedication with patriotic music, stirring speeches, honors for the post's 200 World War II veterans - with a reading of each of their names - and a 21-gun salute. The personal touches for the veterans would be lost in the crush of the crowd of more than 200,000 expected for the dedication on the National Mall.

World War II Memorial It's been a long time coming - nearly 59 years - but, finally, the 16 million Americans who served in World War II are getting their national memorial. The National World War II Memorial, situated between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial on the mall in Washington, will be dedicated Saturday. A ceremony, reunion, salute and memorial service for America's "greatest generation" will take place all weekend long in the nation's capital. The four-day "Tribute to a Generation" kicks off today and runs through Sunday.

WASHINGTON - A memorial to one of history's greatest crusades - World War II - will get its official start Saturday, when President Clinton and other dignitaries turn a few shovels of dirt on a small patch of land between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The $100 million marble memorial, two arches connected by low walls wrapped around a pool and fountains, has been 13 years in the making and will honor the 16 million men and women who served during the war, the 406,000 killed and the millions who supported the war from home.

WASHINGTON - In concept, a grand memorial honoring those who served in World War II, the nation's so-called greatest generation, would seem like a natural - an inspiring, patriotic project that few could argue with and many believe is long overdue. But since it was authorized by Congress eight years ago, the World War II memorial has been mired in hearings and legal proceedings, controversy and delays, with opponents objecting to its proposed location in the middle of the National Mall, in the sweeping open space between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.

Granite pillars stand for the 56 states and territories of the United States at midcentury. Arches represent the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of World War II. Gold stars mark the 400,000 American lives lost. These are a few of the elements that make the National World War II Memorial a sweeping exercise in architectural symbolism, a place where every piece of the composition is imbued with meaning. But the most powerful symbolism is rooted in the way the memorial has been placed on the National Mall in Washington, occupying a 7.4-acre tract halfway between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

WASHINGTON - The memories came to Joseph Schrock clear as the cloudless blue sky as he slowly walked around the new World War II Memorial, leaning on his wooden cane. There was his time with the horse cavalry, then the Army Air Corps, his 3 1/2 years in Europe, the journal he kept ... In mid-memory, a stranger in a business suit and high heels stopped him. "Thank you," said the woman, a Red Cross employee, extending a hand. "If it wasn't for you guys ... thank you." Schrock, an 87-year-old former Army master sergeant from Portland, Ore., nodded.