photo by Victoria BelangerTucked into a grove of trees between the World War II Memorial and the Korean Memorial along Independence Avenue is one of Washington's most over-looked Memorials, the District of Columbia War Memorial. Unique for the National Mall, it commemorates the 26,000 Washingtonians that fought in the War, as well as the 499 that died in the process, the only Memorial to commemorate Washington, DC specifically.
Few of my groups visit there, although this may change when the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial opens across the street in a year or two. Perhaps that's a good thing, as this Memorial has been slowly falling into greater and greater neglect, even making it onto the DC Preservation League's 10 Most Endangered Sites in 2003. I don't know if folks remember the $200 Million in stimulus money that was for "moving the grass on the National Mall", as some alleged? As is so often lost in the noise, much of the money was to go towards the long overdue maintenance ($400 million worth) of National Park Service sites on the Mall. And if you doubt that's a problem, go walk along the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial. Bring a bathing suit, as portions of it are now almost permanently underwater.
Which brings me to the deferred maintenance of the DC War Memorial. I've been less than complimentary of the National Park Service from time to time, and will probably be again, but fair is fair. It's not their fault that they haven't been provided funding for upkeep of the Memorial. What are they supposed to do, chip in from their own pockets? No, the fault lies in the big white building at the east end of the Mall.
Now, this blog is not meant to be political, and certainly not partisan, but I find it disgraceful that matters have been allowed to progress so far with a Memorial to almost 500 Americans that died fighting for the country. If I had allowed a ship's bilge to fall into such a state as a very junior officer in the Navy, I would have caught hell (and often did!). Congress has less excuse than I did. I don't know if it's because almost all World War Veterans have passed on, or if it's because it's only DC's memorial, but it's unacceptable. What will happen to the Wall when the Vietnam War passes from living memory? Are Memorials transitory, and only for the recent wars, or are they there to remind future generations of the cost and sacrifice of those that passed before us?
Fortunately, this isn't the end of the story. After loosing the $200 million to "mow the grass", some of that money was reintroduced through the Park Service budget, including $7.3 million for the DC War Memorial. Furthermore, there is a very interesting proposal to turn the DC War Memorial into a National World War I Memorial. I'm not totally convinced, but it bears discussion. On one hand, this is a fitting spot, just feet away from the World War II, Vietnam, and Korean War Memorials. This is the National Mall, kept up (or should be) by the Federal government, and not just my city. And it is right and fitting that a Memorial be built somewhere to commemorate World War I. On the other hand, this Memorial was built by citizens of DC to remember Washingtonians killed in the War. We raised the money privately, and it's a little late to usurp the efforts of local Washingtonians, especially by a government that doesn't allow us a voice in the decision making process.
But enough editorializing. Even in it's current (and soon to be improving) state, the World War I Memorial is worthy of a visit for quiet contemplation. It's a nice little marble bandstand in the woods, best known for it's Dedication, where native Washingtonian John Phillip Sousa conducted the Marine Band. The most notable feature is the listing of the 499 names of the fallen Washingtonians, listed without regard to rank or race. Which was fairly significant for the time, when that's not how they were allowed to serve.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 9:13PM 