As a result of the sacrifices of Americans in the two World Wars,
Eisenhower thought deeply about the reasons for America’s
wartime losses. Following World War I he carefully studied the battlefields
under General Pershing’s guidance, and as Chief of Staff of
the U.S. Army following World War II he wrote in knowledgeable detail
about the appropriate memorialization of the Americans who lost
their lives. Later as President, he passionately argued for the
building of a memorial to the freedoms for which Americans had died
in the 20th century. No other American president was as knowledgeable
about and committed to memorialization as it related to American
values and sacrifices.
Eisenhower believed very strongly in the value of programs that
could serve as living legacies, and he also supported the development
of physical memorials whenever he perceived that their creation
would inspire the American people and enhance their memory of what
had been done to protect the nation and to promote its democratic
ideals. An important example of a living legacy was his leadership
at Columbia University in sponsoring programs to study the democratic
process, to develop public leadership, to stimulate civic participation,
and to enhance citizenship as he came to understand it during a
life of public service. Among these programs were the American Assembly,
the Institute of War and Peace, the Nutrition Center, and a center
for the Conservation of Human Resources. He once observed that “every
man and woman who enters this university must leave it a better
American, or we have failed in our main purpose.”
Eisenhower’s views on physical memorialization were also
definite. As Chief of Staff of the United States Army, he wrote
in a long letter in 1947 about the location, number and significance
of future memorials to World War II, noting the importance of continuing
public access to a memorial “to give it some value for succeeding
generations.” As president, he sought to build an architectural
monument to the American freedoms. In a message to Congress he stated
in 1960 that “the story of the noble ideas which shaped our
country’s beginning, its course, its great moments, and the
men who made it possible, can be furthered in a variety of ways,
but the simplest and most effective of all methods in my judgment
is to present it impressively in visual form . . . .”
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Commission has determined that both of
these concepts, a programmatic or “living” memorial
and a physical or architectural memorial — concepts that were
advocated by Eisenhower during his lifetime — should be incorporated
in the permanent Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial.
The legacy of Dwight D. Eisenhower is of fundamental importance
in the planning and designing of this memorial. A significant challenge
for the Memorial Commission will be to determine the appropriate
means by which the salient findings of this report can be put to
best use in memorializing this multifaceted public servant —
a man whose life of service affirmed America’s democratic
values.
Due to the competition for prime locations in the central core
of Washington, D.C., the National Capital Planning Commission, the
Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Park Service prepared
The Memorials and Museums Master Plan in 2001. This manual not only
identifies a variety of sites but also provides planning guidance
for establishing a physical memorial in Washington. A final timetable
to complete the Eisenhower memorial has not yet been projected.
The Commission is currently working to develop a schedule.
