National World War II Memorial is opened to the public

(Click here to view a series of photos of the memorial.)

WASHINGTON — Former Marine Master Sgt. William Abernathy, who spent 22 years in the military and fought the Japanese in the Pacific, savored the sight of the majestic new World War II memorial that opened to the public Thursday, taking its place between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

"I'm glad it happened before I passed on," said Abernathy, 91. "I think the memorial's wonderful. I like everything about it."

There were no speeches, brass bands, ribbon-cutting or ceremony to mark Thursday's event. Those are reserved for the controversial monument's official dedication on Memorial Day weekend, when expected guests include President Bush, three of his predecessors, Washington and Pentagon officials and more than 100,000 World War II veterans and their families.

On Thursday, the gates in the construction fence at the $160 million granite-and-bronze memorial were opened without fanfare to admit ordinary people. The project's overseers had given Washington VIPs and journalists private tours of the 7.4-acre site and decided the public deserved an early look as well, especially those who served in uniform.

Comparatively few were on hand for the 9:30 a.m. opening, but crowds increased until the circular memorial was full of people. Many were tourists or schoolchildren. But others, conspicuous with their grizzled faces and caps bearing military patches, were veterans who served six decades ago in the war.

They were greeted by a central fountain and a surrounding sunken plaza ringed by 56 granite pillars, representing the unity of U.S. states and territories during the war. Each pillar bears a sculpted wreath and is 17 feet high.

A curved "Freedom Wall" with 4,000 sculpted gold stars commemorates the more than 400,000 Americans killed. The gold star was the symbol of the death of a family member in the war.

At the northern and southern ends of the circle loom two 43-foot towers, each with four enormous American bald eagles and a wreath. The towers, which also serve as entrance archways, symbolize the Pacific and European theaters of the war.

"It's beautiful," said retired Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. George Lynch, 81, who served in Europe. "We have been waiting for this a long time — ever since Bob Dole asked everyone to send in 20 bucks so we could have a memorial."

Former Sen. Dole, R-Kan., a much-decorated and severely wounded World War II veteran, served as national chairman of the project's fund-raising campaign and was a driving force in the 11-year effort to build the memorial after Congress approved it in 1993. In enlisting support for the memorial, Dole noted that World War II veterans have been dying at the rate of 1,100 a day. According to the Veterans Affairs Department, fewer than 5 million of the 16 million men and women who served in World War II are still alive.

"If we wait three years, four years, five years, there will not be anyone left," Dole said in 2000.

Retired Army Master Sgt. Ed Stites, 73, who fought in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, called the World War II monument "one of the most inspiring memorials I have ever seen."

"It honors those who gave their lives and those who served and are still living," Stites said. "It testifies to the victories of World War II. I think people from many nations that were involved in the war will want to see it."

The new memorial comes years after the Korean War and Vietnam Memorials were placed on the Mall. The three monuments are strikingly different in style.

The Korean War monument, located just southeast of the Lincoln Memorial, includes life-size statues of a squad of soldiers in rain ponchos moving out across a rice paddy.

The Vietnam installation, just northeast of the Lincoln Memorial, is famous for its black marble wall inscribed with the names of the war dead.

The World War II memorial sits at the east end of the National Mall's Reflecting Pool, directly between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.

It originally was to have been located in a grove of trees called Constitution Gardens, 150 yards to the south. When an official complained that this would destroy the character of the gardens, the late J. Carter Brown, chairman of the federal Fine Arts Commission, proposed the present location.

That prompted years of controversy. Led by the National Coalition to Save Our Mall, foes of the project objected that it marred the open sweep of the Mall and intruded on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial.

They also complained that the National Park Service violated federal laws and regulations by pushing through the project without undertaking the proper environmental impact studies.

Others complained that architect Friedrich St. Florian's original design was too massive and resembled the neoclassical Fascist style used by German architect Albert Speer for Nazi monuments and buildings.

Numerous lawsuits were filed to block the World War II project, but none succeeded. Some 22 public hearings were held, many marked by angry debate.

Finally, in 2001, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, a World War II veteran, introduced legislation that virtually exempted the memorial project from any law, federal regulation or judicial review. It was approved overwhelmingly.

"We want to be there when this memorial is opened," Stevens said.

Still, at Brown's urging, St. Florian dramatically simplified and reduced the scale of his design, producing a much less intrusive memorial. Some opponents complain that it now looks too funereal with its wreaths and coffinlike pillars, but most other observers seem to disagree.

After the site was opened Thursday, a group of schoolgirls sang patriotic songs in the south tower, children played around the fountain and adults took photos and videos seemingly everywhere.

"I hope guys like us get a chance to come here and see this," said Marine Corps veteran Lynch. "I think it fairly represents what was accomplished and achieved in that war. Now it won't be forgotten."