Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference.
The Marines don't have that problem. In 1993, Congress approved a request from the Air Force to build a monument, with private funds, on an unspecified site. The Air Force Memorial Foundation began a fundraising drive led by Joe Coors Jr. and boosted by defense contractors. After reviewing proposed locations around Washington, the foundation settled on a lovely spot, a quiet 25-acre hillside near Arlington Cemetery in Virginia that enjoys a commanding view of the capital's monuments across the Potomac River. Since 1954, this same hillside, known as Arlington Ridge, has also been home to the Iwo Jima Memorial.