Air Force dedicates its memorial 13 years later Go to

Air Force dedicates its memorial 13 years later Go to

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{EXCERPT} Release No. 09-12-04 Sept. 17, 2004

Air Force dedicates its memorial 13 years later, by Tech. Sgt. David
A. Jablonski Air Force Print News

WASHINGTON -- Soaring 270 feet into the sky over America's capital,
three stainless-steel spires forming an equilateral triangle will
memorialize the U.S. Air Force.

The groundbreaking ceremony and site dedication for the Air Force
Memorial was Sept. 15, in Arlington, Va. The ceremony included
speeches by Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Gerald R. Murray, Air
Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper, Secretary of the Air Force
Dr. James G. Roche, Chairman of the Air Force Memorial Foundation Ross
Perot Jr., Virginia Congressmen James P. Moran and Senator Ted Stevens
from Alaska.

Dozens of air power legends attended the ceremony, some who served
shoulder-to-shoulder with the founding fathers of the Army Air Corps.

The ceremony ended three days of events surrounding the Air Force
Association's 2004 Air and Space Conference and Technology Exposition.

General Jumper explained the significance of the memorial's site.

"That first (test) flight demonstrated (to the Army) by the Wright
Brothers took off right over there on the ridge at Fort Myer, and they
flew around a pylon... and returned," General Jumper said, gesturing
to the Army installation a few hundred feet to his right.

"It was a demonstration of the most meager capability, but it turned
into what we have today that we're most proud of, as we went higher,
faster and farther through the decades that have intervened," he said.

Senator Stevens wrote the legislation that began the Air Force
Memorial process 13 years ago. The Air Force is the only service
without a memorial in the capital.

"At the request of the Air Force Association, I authored the original
legislation to begin this memorial," the senator said. "But I'm sure
they had no idea that we'd be standing here some 13 years later. It's
been a long process, but we never doubted we'd achieve this goal."

The memorial site lies in a parking lot of the current Navy Annex
Federal Office Building south of the Pentagon and next to Arlington
National Cemetery. From this point, people can look over the top of
the Pentagon and across the Potomac River to see the national capital.

The Air Force Memorial design will capitalize on this vantage point.

The array of arcs against the sky will evoke a modern image of flight
by jet and space vehicles. At the same time, it will enshrine the past
in permanent remembrance of the pioneers of flight who came before and
pay homage to those of the future. The three spires will represent the
core values: integrity first, service before self and excellence in
all we do. The spires will be asymmetrical and of uneven height so
that the view of the memorial changes from every angle. Each spire
will be illuminated.

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---------------------------
Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com
(310) 532-0634