The Air Force Memorial, planned for a site near the Iwo Jima Memorial, may be kicked off that location if the U.S. Marine Corps and a New York congressman have their way.
Although the Air Force Memorial Foundation received site approval more than two years ago from two key federal commissions, Rep. Gerald B.H. Solomon, R-N.Y., a former Marine, was outraged when he heard from concerned neighbors recently that the monument was to be built about 500 feet from the Marine memorial. In the closing days of the last congressional session, he introduced a bill that would prohibit any structure above or below ground on the extended grounds of what is known officially as the Marine Corps War Memorial.Solomon was concerned about "the impact the Air Force Memorial would have on one of the most recognizable memorials in the whole country," said spokesman Bill Teator. "It would be so close as to be a distraction."
Foundation Executive Director Robert D. Springer said Solomon's action would not deter the foundation from continuing to refine the design and raise funds for the $25 million, star-shaped memorial.
"We respect Rep. Solomon's thought that the Iwo Jima Memorial is very special not only to the Marines but to a lot of Americans," Springer said. "However, we have worked diligently not to encroach on the Iwo Jima Memorial and to protect its sanctity."
The Air Force Memorial controversy comes at a time when the proliferation of national memorials in the Washington area has led to heated debates about the number and size of new memorials on federal parkland.
Last month, a similar controversy concerning a proposed monument on federal parkland surfaced when critics attacked not only the design concept but the site of the World War II memorial. That memorial also had received site approval two years ago, but it attracted attention only when the design was unveiled.
Springer, a retired Air Force lieutenant general, said the foundation wanted to build between the Iwo Jima Memorial and the Netherlands Carillon because the site is near where Orville Wright demonstrated flight to the military.