We enthusiastically, even reverently, support the construction of a World War II memorial on the National Mall, and we share the outrage of veterans and others that this monument-packed city lacks a site honoring those who served in perhaps the most consequential conflict of the 20th century.
Homage is long overdue.
We confess, our bottom line is we think the planned memorial design is undistinguished, certainly not aesthetically commensurate with the valor of those who won the war. Compared with the Vietnam or Korean War memorials, it's the architectural equivalent of the D.C. Convention Center or the Rayburn Building. We realize that the memorial probably won't be redesigned, but we urgently hope that it can be relocated - turned parallel to the Reflecting Pool so that it does not interrupt the grand vista from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. Others have observed that if it's completed on time in 2004, only 4 million of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II are likely to be alive to appreciate it. We are certainly not advocating delay for delay's sake, but for the sake of improving the memorial and respecting the integrity of the Mall.