Grinder
1 August 2003, 18:23
By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is asking DoD
personnel to "step up" financially for a worthy cause.
Rumsfeld is trying to help raise money to a build memorial honoring the 184
military and civilian personnel that died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attack on the Pentagon.
In a taped message the secretary said, "while this is not an official DoD
solicitation - it is totally voluntary - I do want to say that this effort has
my enthusiastic personal support."
The Pentagon Memorial
Campaign [https://private.ref.whs.mil/pentagonmemorial/] is hoping to raise $20 million for the project, which will span
the next two years. Between $10 to 12 million will go toward construction and
the rest will be used for maintenance, DoD officials have said. They plan to
have the memorial [http://memorial.pentagon.mil/] completed by the
spring of 2005.
The memorial will be built on nearly two acres of land on the west side of the
building along the path that American Airlines Flight 77 took just before it
hit the Pentagon.
The winning design for the memorial is by Keith Kaseman and Julie Beckman of
Kaseman Beckman Amsterdam Studio. The design was chosen from more than 1,000
entries that poured in from around the world. The design features 184 benches
with the engraved name of each victim, "ranging from age 3 to age 71," Rumsfeld
said in his message.
"In the years ahead, millions of Americans will see this moving memorial and
think back to what happened on Sept. 11," he stated. "And they will remember
our brave men and women in uniform who rose to the challenge in the months that
followed. They will be reminded that our country cannot be free unless we are
strong."
Rumsfeld observed that Jim Laychak whose brother died in the attack, said it
well at the campaign's kick-off. He quoted Laychak as saying, "We have one
chance to do this right - a chance to build a great memorial, a place of
remembrance for those who died, a place of comfort for those of us left
behind."
The Pentagon Memorial will be constructed entirely from private contributions.
Rumsfeld said no tax dollars will be involved in the building of this memorial,
"so we need volunteers to step up."
"Let us never forget those who gave their lives for the cause of liberty," he
concluded.
The DoD Personnel Pentagon Memorial Organization has been set up to run the
campaign, which is slated to end Aug. 8. The organization is a voluntary
association of civilian and military personnel and their dependents.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is asking DoD
personnel to "step up" financially for a worthy cause.
Rumsfeld is trying to help raise money to a build memorial honoring the 184
military and civilian personnel that died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attack on the Pentagon.
In a taped message the secretary said, "while this is not an official DoD
solicitation - it is totally voluntary - I do want to say that this effort has
my enthusiastic personal support."
The Pentagon Memorial
Campaign [https://private.ref.whs.mil/pentagonmemorial/] is hoping to raise $20 million for the project, which will span
the next two years. Between $10 to 12 million will go toward construction and
the rest will be used for maintenance, DoD officials have said. They plan to
have the memorial [http://memorial.pentagon.mil/] completed by the
spring of 2005.
The memorial will be built on nearly two acres of land on the west side of the
building along the path that American Airlines Flight 77 took just before it
hit the Pentagon.
The winning design for the memorial is by Keith Kaseman and Julie Beckman of
Kaseman Beckman Amsterdam Studio. The design was chosen from more than 1,000
entries that poured in from around the world. The design features 184 benches
with the engraved name of each victim, "ranging from age 3 to age 71," Rumsfeld
said in his message.
"In the years ahead, millions of Americans will see this moving memorial and
think back to what happened on Sept. 11," he stated. "And they will remember
our brave men and women in uniform who rose to the challenge in the months that
followed. They will be reminded that our country cannot be free unless we are
strong."
Rumsfeld observed that Jim Laychak whose brother died in the attack, said it
well at the campaign's kick-off. He quoted Laychak as saying, "We have one
chance to do this right - a chance to build a great memorial, a place of
remembrance for those who died, a place of comfort for those of us left
behind."
The Pentagon Memorial will be constructed entirely from private contributions.
Rumsfeld said no tax dollars will be involved in the building of this memorial,
"so we need volunteers to step up."
"Let us never forget those who gave their lives for the cause of liberty," he
concluded.
The DoD Personnel Pentagon Memorial Organization has been set up to run the
campaign, which is slated to end Aug. 8. The organization is a voluntary
association of civilian and military personnel and their dependents.