The recent Memorial Day observances and the ongoing efforts to help World War II veterans see the inspiring national monument in their honor causes us to recall the foolish furor that preceded the establishment of the tribute.

Veterans such as Lawrence’s Martin Jones, a combat soldier and former prisoner of war, was one who recently took advantage of a trip to see the monument in Washington, D.C. He said he found peace and a quiet sense of dignity as he surveyed the locale. His inspirational experience justified the determined efforts of those who pushed so hard for completion of the memorial by April 2004.

Why the rush? Because some 1,100 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II are dying each day. An estimated 440,000 died in the war, and planners such as former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas wanted as many living veterans as possible to see and experience the atmosphere of the monument.

The serene, tasteful complex is at the east end of the Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Critics such as the National Coalition to Save Our Mall opposed the design and the location. A major complaint was that the structure would interrupt what had been an unbroken view between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. No view is compromised.

The memorial was also criticized for taking up open space that had been used for major demonstrations and protests, as if Washington doesn’t have plenty of room for those.

Critics were irate that approval was gained so quickly, as if anything involving Washington must be dragged out needlessly to allow long, windy speeches and personal attention. Dole and others stressed that the memorial already had been delayed too long and needed to be completed before death claimed too many more of the people the site was designed to honor.

Then there were predictable complaints about the design, which has been widely accepted and has worn well even with some who originally opposed it. The Boston Globe described the monument as “vainglorious, demanding of attention and full of trite imagery.”

What a joke, say the veterans who have seen, admired and appreciated the tribute. The vast majority of them feel honored and dignified, the same as Martin Jones.

The purpose of the memorial is to stand “as an important symbol of American national unity, a timeless reminder of the moral strength and awesome power that can flow when a free people are at once united and bonded together in a common and just cause.”

That is a purpose that needs to be dramatically renewed and pursued in this time of turmoil and turbulence. The World War II Memorial should remind us of a time when we pulled together in the national interest far better and harder than we seem to be doing these days.