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Washington vets tour memorial
By Associated Press
Published April 28, 2004
WASHINGTON - Eleven veterans got a sneak peek Tuesday at the grand testament to the millions who served during World War II and proclaimed the memorial tremendous, magnificent and beautiful.
Former Sen. Bob Dole conducted the tour of the National World War II Memorial, for which he helped lead the fundraising effort. The 10 veterans in tow served during World War II.
They now serve in Congress.
"I think it's quietly awesome. There is a serenity about it," Sen. John Warner, R-Va., said above the sound of waterfalls and fountains.
"It's just absolutely well-appointed, tremendously impressive because it's done in a very thoughtful way," said Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, D-S.C.
But Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said he felt something missing: a clearer reference to the enormous human cost.
"When I look at the Vietnam Memorial, it's overpowering. It talks about individuals and sacrifice and bravery," said Lautenberg, who served in the Army in Europe from 1942 to 1946. "This is more abstract."
The World War II Memorial has 4,000 golden stars on a wall to signify the more than 400,000 American lives lost.
Pointing to the ring of 56 granite pillars representing each state and territory and the District of Columbia, Lautenberg suggested engraving the number of dead from each to convey a stronger sense of the "flesh and blood" that Americans spent in the conflict.
A formal dedication with President Bush is scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, but the monument will open to the public as soon as construction is completed, likely Thursday.
The group that toured the memorial Tuesday included Sens. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska; Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye, both D-Hawaii; and Reps. Henry Hyde, R-Ill.; Amo Houghton, R-N.Y.; Ralph Hall, R-Texas; and Cass Ballenger, R-N.C.
Congress' other WWII veterans, Reps. Ralph Regula, R-Ohio, and John Dingell, D-Mich., couldn't make it.
[Last modified April 28, 2004, 01:05:41]
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