Dole says war memorial is a tribute to peace
Washington ? He’s become a symbol of “the greatest generation,” those fighting men who saved the world from the German and Japanese war machines nearly 60 years ago. So when it came time to build a memorial to the 16 million Americans who fought in World War II, Bob Dole, now 80, was the natural choice to lead the effort.
On Saturday, when the 7.4-acre memorial was finally dedicated before a Washington crowd, Dole — wounded WWII vet, former U.S. senator from Kansas and 1996 Republican presidential nominee — joined President Bush and others on stage to honor his surviving comrades and their families.
The Charlotte Observer spoke to Dole on Tuesday about the struggle to build the memorial, the art critics who’ve given thumbs-down to its design, the MTV generation fighting in Iraq, and his own story about recovering from a war that left him disabled and, for a time, bitter. Here’s an edited transcript:
Q. The memorial is the culmination of a newborn appreciation of the World War II generation. In recent years, we’ve had Tom Brokaw’s book, “The Greatest Generation,” the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” and “Band of Brothers” on HBO. Why is this all happening now — almost 60 years after the war was won?
A. We’re disappearing. People recognize that we’re down to 4 million out of 16 million. And they can’t seem to do enough for us. Everywhere you go, it’s “Oh, thank you for your service, thank you, thank you.” I went down (to the memorial) on Saturday, all by myself, just to get a feel for what people thought of it. And I saw a lot of teary old guys, just thinking about when they were young. Then I saw their daughters and granddaughters — all very happy and very teary.
Q. Some World War II vets are sad that so many of their former comrades in battle aren’t alive to see the memorial. Why did it take so long? Korea and Vietnam happened later, but those veterans have Washington markers.
A. Everybody got out of World War II, went back to work or to school. There were a lot of state World War II memorials. And there’d been some talk over the years about, ‘Why don’t we build a World War II memorial?” (But) nobody ever got very excited about it. Finally, some (WWII vet) out in (Ohio) named (Roger) Durbin got in touch with (his congresswoman, Rep.) Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, and she put in a bill (in 1987), which went through like greased butter — no opposition. Then we had to go through this long battle with this group called Save the Mall (which thought it would crowd the area between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial). We had to raise $197 million. But it’s finished, and we’ll have enough (money) left to take care of it for the next 10, 15, 20 years. We’ve got $20 million left the last time I looked.
Q. How did you get involved? You raised a lot of the money and chaired the committee.
A. The day, in ’97, that (President) Clinton gave me the Medal of Freedom, there were a lot of veterans in the crowd. In the White House, they had sort of a mock-up of the World War II memorial. We walked over to look at it and one of these guys said, “What we really need, Bob, is to get you to head this thing. Otherwise, we can’t get it off the ground.” They only had about $300,000 from the private sector. They were going nowhere fast.
President Bush speaks during the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington. Former Sen. Bob Dole, bottom right, sat with World War II Medal of Honor recipients Saturday.
Q. Some art and architecture critics have blasted the memorial’s design, saying it left them cold. Any response?
A. I didn’t pick the site, I didn’t pick the design. I was anointed to pick pockets.
Q. But how do you feel when you see it?
A. I think it’s just sort of awesome. You know, we’re never going to please everybody. I look back to the Vietnam memorial and how people fussed and fumed, “My God, all you got is this wall coming out of the ground. Nobody’s ever going to go.” And it’s become the most popular monument. So we’ll let history judge that. Right now, we’re happy it’s finished. The veterans are happy, their families are happy. If we’ve got a few disgruntled architects, so what?
Q. Sixty years after World War II, U.S. soldiers are again fighting and dying in a faraway place. Do you see any connections between Iraq and your war?
A day to remember
6News video: Douglas County veterans will be honored with memorial (5-28-04)A. It’s this lifeline, ever since the Revolution, where we’ve had men and women willing to sacrifice to preserve freedom. This is an extension of it. People said, “All these young men and women in this MTV generation can’t do it.” Well, they’ve already demonstrated that they can do a better job than we did. They’re more knowledgeable, they’re tougher, they’ve got a global sense. I go out to visit a lot of them at Walter Reed (Army Medical Center) from time to time. The caliber of these men and women — they’re now the greatest generation.”
Q. World War II is often called The Good War, the just war against totalitarianism. There’s almost a romantic view of it. But a lot of people died or — like you — were permanently wounded. How do you see it?
A. That’s one thing this memorial is not — it’s not to glorify war. You won’t see any battle scenes out there. It’s about peace and strength, not about war and conflict. (Sherman) said, “War is hell.” It can take your life, or it can change your life forever. In fact, I’m going to write a book on that part of my life. (It’ll) come out next April 14, which is 60 years after the day I was wounded (in Italy). It’s going to be about my being wounded and the recovery period, which lasted four or five years. For a while I was bitter. But I’ve grown up; I’ve gotten over that.