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Show "We wot blessed to have Tom Hanks step forward and volunteer his time and talent," Conley says. "He brought great visibility to the effort. When Sen. Dole signed on as national chairman in March of '97, 1 think we had received, counting count-ing the government money up front, about $10 million total. Now we're up to almost S 170 million four years later." The WW II Memorial project has been somewhat of a bureaucratic quagmire quag-mire at times but, nonetheless, an example of the democratic process in action. Three designs for the memorial were submitted before the Commission on Fine Arts, the National Capitol Planning Commission, and the Secretary of the Interior Inte-rior gave final approval. "It has gone through many, many, many changes," says Dr. Helen Fagin, a member of the Site and Design committee. The winning memorial design, submitted by Rhode Island architect Friedrich St. Flo-rian, Flo-rian, was selected over 403 other entries. The memorial's location, fittingly, will be a prominent one on the National Nation-al Mall's main axis: at the east end of the Reflecting Pool, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Fifty-six square pillars, emblematic emblemat-ic of America's 48 states, the District of Columbia, and seven territorial possessions posses-sions at the time of the war, will surround the reconfigured Rainbow Pool. At both ends of the elliptical design will stand a towering baldachin, or canopy one representing the Atlantic theater, the other the Pacific. Central to the memorial is die Freedom Wall, which will display a field of 4,(XX) sculpted gold stars, the symbol of sacrifice during World War II. Among the project's faithful supporters are Sen. Strom Thurmond; former senator, astronaut, and American hero John Glenn; and Ambassador Haydn Williams, who, says Fagin, "has done a yeoman's job." Kaptur also cited literally liter-ally hundreds of members of Congress. Leaving a Legacy It's amazing what a simple one-line inquiry at a fish fry can yield. Fans of future history will no doubt come to think of Durbin 's dream in no less hallowed a context than David's underdog upset of the giant Goliath a victory for the little man. But sadly, "the beacon," as Dole once referred to Durbin, has disappeared in body. The tireless spirit behind the drive to build the national World War II Memorial succumbed to pancreatic cancer in February 2000. Durbin's presence at the official dedication of the memorial, scheduled for kte 2003, will be keenly keen-ly felt "within the hearts of us all," Dole says. In his speeches on behalf of the memorial, Durbin regularly noted how swift the former U.S. armed forces aggregate that served during dur-ing that second global war was vanishing. "World War II veterans are an endangered species soon to be extinct," he would say. His calculations, unfortunately, unfortu-nately, are on target. Of the 16 million Americans who served in world war u, siigntly more tnan .jg 5 million remain alive toda y. At the astonish- inc rarp nf 1 fW) a rlav rhf rank nf rhfw vprer- ans are diminishing. By the memorial's comple-C , p&fiMH tion, only 3.5 million will be alive to jj),; -jvjl celebrate it, estimates predict. li ISjVS' But long will their vital and valiant achievements be remembered remem-bered for future generations, thanks to an average, but dedicated American from the heartland with a grand ideal. Six years ago Roger Durbin stood on the site of the memorial, "watching the activity thereon," which included people engaged in a variety of recreation, from touch football foot-ball and stickball to Frisbee throwing and picnicking. It had the look of a typical sunny day in any ordinary public park. "The next day," Durbin said, "1 stood with President Clinton at the end of the glorious site dedication ceremony and scattered sacred soil gathered from 16 military cemeteries ceme-teries from around the world ... upon the sparse and worn grass. That is when it became the most sacred, revered, beautiful spot in America." Alan Ross is Vest regional editor of American Profile niagaznu. it i i ill ilWi'j ' 4 Hanks' presence powered the Memorial ad campaign. WIN A FAMILY Log onto www.mypigeonforge.comwintrip for details and registration information. (Offer expires June 30, 2001.) -Jrfcjf T f ree note' occommcdations for 3 days, 2 nights V T - i 7 1 iff , rr .4 Free admission to live musical shows and attractions 3 Over $200 in gift certificates to area malls and restaurants i |