‘World War I Memorial BW’
courtesy of ‘christaki’
There is a monument on the mall that is dedicated not to a nation’s cause, nor to a great leader, nor to a private citizen. It is dedicated to the 499 men who gave their lives in support of their country in the Great War, from 1917 to 1918, in the European theater. The Noyes family helped spur legislation in 1924 to authorize this monument, and it was paid for through fundraising efforts amongst businesses and prominent families in the District, to the tune of $200,000 1924 dollars ($2.5M in 2011 dollars).
The District of Columbia War Memorial, recently refurbished with a grant from the stimulus program, is in jeopardy of being scooped up by the Congress and transformed into a national memorial that may strip the local character away from the District’s fallen from the memorial altogether.
H.R. 938, proposed by Rep Ted Poe of Texas calls for the establishment of a Kansas City, MO-based commission to, amongst other things, “establish a commemorative work at the site of the District of Columbia and National World War I Memorial consisting of an appropriate sculptural or other commemorative element reflecting the national character of the memorial.”
But here’s the thing: It’s not a national monument. It’s a local one. It was paid for by private DC donors, and though it’s been maintained (to sadly varying degrees) by the Park Service, this is a memorial that is of, by, and for the District, not the country.
Of course, given the District’s bastard red-headed stepchild status in the Congress, it’s not surprising that not only is there no one from the District that’s part of the proposed commission, it’s highly unlikely that, given the current composition of Congress, any say our delegate would have would matter.
The bill has only just been referred to subcommittee, so it’s possible that Congress wont get to this any time soon, but it’s something to keep your eye on.
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
I’ve been worried something like this was going to happen. Senator Webb also sponsored a bill (repeatedly) to redesignate the DC WWI Memorial as a national memorial (http://webb.senate.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/02-03-2011-02.cfm). I find this more appalling, because Webb should know better as a local.
Here’s the email I sent to Rep. Poe if anyone is interested in sending something similar. You can email the Representative here: https://poe.house.gov/Contact/ContactForm.htm
Hon. Ted Poe,
I am writing in regards to the bill you introduced on March 8, H.R. 938: Frank Buckles World War I Memorial Act. Specifically, Sec. 10(b) indicates your intent to rename a privately-funded Memorial dedicated to DC veterans by DC residents as a National World War I Memorial. This is similar, in my opinion, to Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton introducing a bill to rename the National World War II Memorial the National and District of Columbia World War II Memorial. The only difference is that Representative Holmes Norton does not have the ability that you do to reach into and meddle with the affairs of an area in which she has no constituents and whose constituents have no recourse against her actions. I respectfully request that you refrain from this action and any other that exclusively impacts DC residents. Many in your State take a certain pride in their unique and independent nature; I think you would find many District residents feel the same way. Please, sir, don’t mess with DC.
Respectfully,
I used to live in Poe’s district and often came into contact with him through work. I didn’t think much of him then, and I think even less of him now.
The bill also makes the liberty memorial in kansas city the national world war 1 memorial. That seems like a much better idea since it is already(I think) dedicated to the nations dead rather than one locality.
It also already has the national world war 1 museum.