Five major new national veterans memorials, all in the Washington area, are in various stages of planning or completion, according to American Legion Magazine. All are privately funded. They are:
– The Korean War Memorial, backed with funds from the sale of nearly 1 million commemorative coins. Backers expect to break ground on Memorial Day, though the monument has been delayed by five design changes.
– The Armed Forces Memorial, an open-walled circle of granite, with text and maps, honoring all U.S. armored ground combat veterans since World War I;
dedicated Nov. 11.
– The World War II Memorial, now working its way through Congress, after which a memorial committee will oversee funding and design.
– The Vietnam Women`s Memorial, now in the design stage, backed by profits from the book ”Visions of War; Dreams of Peace,” by female Vietnam veterans, coordinated by former Army nurses Joan Furney and Lynda Van Devanter, whose book ”Home Before Morning” inspired TV`s ”China Beach.”
– Women in Military Service Memorial, a tribute to all women who have served in the armed forces since the Revolutionary War; it aims to install a computer register, with a brief description of every service woman`s history, in a memorial center at Arlington National Cemetery.
