by Donna Fredericksen
Here in the presence of Washington and Lincoln, one the eighteenth-century father and the other the nineteenth-century preserver of our Nation, we honor those twentieth century Americans who took up the struggle during the Second World War and made the sacrifices to perpetuate the fight our forefathers entrusted to us, a Nation conceived in liberty and justice.-Words engraved on the entrance to the National WW II Memorial.
The Memorial
Nestled between the Washington Monument (dedicated in 1884) and the Lincoln Memorial (dedicated in 1922), stands the magnificent tribute to the Greatest Generation-the National World War II Memorial.
The granite and bronze monument envelops 7.4 acres (two-thirds of it water and landscaping) and was designed to surround the once dilapidated Rainbow Pool. On the north and south ends of the monument stand the Memorial Arches (Pacific and Atlantic). Each is 43 feet high and contains four bronze eagles holding a laurel wreath commemorating victory. Inlaid below the eagles is the WW II victory medal with the inscription, “Victory on Land, Victory at Sea, Victory in the Air.” Lining each side of the Arches are a total of 56 17-foot-high pillars, each engraved with the name of one of the 50 states, territories, and the District of Columbia. A bronze wreath of either oak leaves or wheat strands adorns each pillar, representing America’s role as both an arsenal of democracy and the breadbasket of the world. A bronze rope passes through the base of each pillar, bonding a nation for a common cause.
Of all the symbolism that the memorial projects, nothing is more poignant than the Freedom Wall centered on the west, nearest to the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The curved wall contains 4,000 gold-plated stars; each star signifies 100 U.S. servicemen and servicewomen who paid the ultimate price (the actual U.S. loss was 405,400). In a stark contrast to the flowing fountains of the Rainbow Pool, the still pool of water directly below the Freedom Wall creates a quiet reflection of the stars, magnifying the impact of this war, which lasted 2,193 days and claimed a total of 27,600 people from all over the world each day-one death every thirty-five seconds.
On Saturday, May 29, 2004, at a 2:00 p.m. ceremony, the National WW II Monument was dedicated. The weather was unexpectedly perfect for the normally hot and humid capital: clear blue skies, gentle breezes and temperatures in the mid-70s. This definitely eased the concerns of event organizers for the health of the tens of thousands of seniors who would have to hike long distances to reach the venue. There was plenty of free bottled water for all and shuttle buses assisted in getting the “honorees” a little closer to their seats after they passed through tight security checkpoints.
The ceremony itself was filled with pomp, circumstance and speeches by former senator Bob Dole (WW II veteran), author and newscaster Tom Brokaw, actor Tom Hanks, and President George W. Bush. It concluded with a spectacular fly over as Denyce Graves sang “God Bless America.” For those who couldn’t be directly in front of the stage area, the ceremony was simulcast on large video screens that dotted the Mall between Constitution and Independence Avenues.
The position of this monument on the Mall is no mistake, as one television commentator remarked upon the single line of vision the three monuments created, “the Washington Monument represented the Revolutionary War that created a Nation, the Lincoln Memorial represented the Civil War that preserved the Nation, and now the World War II Memorial, that represents a war that saved the Nation.”-Steven Gillon, Resident Historian, The History Channel
United Spinal’s Honoree
WW II veteran and United Spinal member Doris Sandowski Merrill was one of the 117,000 people with tickets to the National WW II Monument Dedication Ceremony. There was an estimated 250,000-person waiting list for these tickets, but Doris was presented with the two tickets that United Spinal received as a national veterans service organization.
“I can’t think of a better member of the greatest generation to represent United Spinal at these events,” said Executive Director Gerard M. Kelly. “Her continued dedication to veterans through her volunteering at local VA hospitals, to her active participation in community organizations shows her unfailing commitment to her fellow Americans.”
Doris, a member of the Navy WAVES (Women’s Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency Services), was one out of 265,000 women who served in the armed forces during WW II.
United Spinal’s WW II vets were ably represented by Doris Merrill, seen here at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. “My brother was going in, and they needed help. I thought, if I can help, I’ll do it,” Doris said in response to why she enlisted. On April 6, 1944, the 20-year-old Pennsylvanian started boot camp at Hunter College and went on to Yeoman School in Oklahoma, and finally worked in Naval Intelligence at Cape May, New Jersey. “I was the only woman there, so you can imagine it took some getting used to, but everything worked out- we had a job to do and we did it together!”
She met her husband, Paul, a Marine from Maine, while he was on R & R in Cape May and they married on April 21, 1945. Doris was medically discharged on February 13, 1946, due to a back injury, and the following year brought both joy and pain, as she gave birth to their first son, Paul Jr. (Pepper), and she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The Merrills had a second son, George, but he died shortly after birth. After being married for 37 years, Doris became a widow on April 3, 1982.
At a small reception held in Doris’s honor at a DC restaurant on May 27, Steven Nardizzi, Associate Executive Director of Member Services, toasted Doris, saying, “It is really you who is honoring us. We can’t think of a better person to represent our organization at the ceremonies this weekend.”
Doris, a retired public school teacher, remains active in her community of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, and is a multiple gold medal recipient at numerous National Veterans Wheelchair Games. The octogenarian is rarely sedentary, as she maintains such a full schedule volunteering at many church, civic, educational and veteran events.
While in DC for the dedication ceremony, Doris, her son Paul and dear friends Elizabeth (Bette) Schultz (WW II U.S. Army Nurse), Betty Ruth Truscott (widow of a WW II Army Officer) and Dorothy Wawruck (Bette’s sister and widow of a WW II veteran) visited the many sites and even took a Metro ride to Arlington Cemetery where the Women in Military Service for America Memorial is located. Within the memorial is a wonderful museum and education hall. One particular artifact contained in an exhibit stirred a flood of memories for Doris: an old steno book containing the phonetic alphabet that was used throughout the military for clarification of letters in vocal communication, “A-Alpha, B -Bravo, C-Charlie,” she read from the book. “I can’t believe I remember this!” she exclaimed as she continued to recite the text. “It was critical to spell out the important commands. We knew this verbatim.”
Early Sunday morning, Doris and Paul visited the memorial. Even at this early hour the site was filled with tourists, including many veterans of WW II. Doris was approached by many who shook her hand, hugged her and thanked her for her service; some even asked for her autograph and took photos of her. Veterans whom she had never met greeted her with hugs, smiles and tears. As Doris gingerly guided her scooter through the thick crowds to exit the site, she turned, and taking one last look at the monument, softly said, “I am eternally grateful for the tremendous opportunity to experience this glorious monument-my whole body is hushed by its magnitude-I am so proud to be American.”
The five-day weekend concluded on Memorial Day with what Doris described as the “whipped cream and cherry” of her DC trip, representing the Association at a breakfast honoring WW II veterans at the White House and laying the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery. At the White House, she was the first of the attendees to be escorted into the Oval Office to meet President and Mrs. Bush (this was the second President and Mrs. Bush that Doris had met, as she enjoyed an audience with the first at his inauguration in 1989). At Arlington, while she was the last of the VSOs to lay the wreath, she felt the most privileged by the attention paid to her by the honor guards, who escorted her and the wreath to the tomb.
“What we dedicate today is not a memorial to war rather it is a tribute to the physical and moral courage that makes heroes out of farm and city boys, that inspires Americans in every generation to lay down their lives for people they will never meet, for ideals that make life itself worth living.”-Former senator Robert J. Dole (R-Kan), WW II veteran (2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, 10th Mountain Division)
Donna Fredericksen is Director of Public Affairs.
