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The United States Air Force Memorial honors the service of the personnel of the United States Air Force and its predecessors. The Memorial is located in Arlington, Virginia, on the grounds of Fort Myer near The Pentagon, at the intersection of Columbia Pike and South Joyce Street. It was last project of American architect James Ingo Freed (known for the design of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) with the firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners for the United States Air Force Memorial Foundation.

In January 1992, the Air Force Memorial Foundation was incorporated to pursue the development of a Memorial that would honor the people in the United States Air Force. In December 1993, President William Clinton signed P. L. 103-163 authorizing the Air Force Memorial. In 1994, the National Capital Memorial Commission approved a site adjacent to Marshall Drive and State Route 110, down the hill from the Netherlands Carillon, known as Arlington Ridge. Fund raising and detailed designs began. Because the site was near the Iwo Jima Marine Corps Memorial, various Marine groups were briefed on the plans without voicing objections.

On July 30, 1997, Congressman Gerald B.H. Solomon (R-NY) introduced bill to prohibit the construction of any monument, memorial or other structure within view of the Iwo Jima Memorial. On September 16, 1997, the Friends of Iwo Jima and Solomon filed for a Temporary Restraining Order against the construction of the Air Force Memorial, which was dismissed on June 15, 1998. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit then dismissed the appeal of that decision on May 7, 1999. Faced with the cost of litigation, the extensive time required for construction on Arlington Ridge, and apprehension that a five-year extension of the project caused by expiration of previous approval would kill the project, the Foundation agreed to move the Memorial to its present site on the grounds of Fort Myer just south of Arlington National Cemetery.

On December 28, 2001, President George W. Bush signed the Defense Authorization Bill, which included a rider directing the Department of Defense to make available to the Air Force Memorial Foundation up to three acres of the Naval Annex property for use as the location for the Air Force Memorial. Formal groundbreaking of the site was held in September 2004. Construction of the spires began in February 2006 and was completed in seven months. The Memorial was dedicated on October 14, 2006, with approximately 30,000 persons attending. The keynote address was delivered by President Bush, a former F-102 Delta Dagger pilot. The first official ceremony at the Memorial was held the next day when Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne laid a memorial wreath for fallen airmen beneath the spires.

To all who have climbed sunward and chased the shouting wind, America stops to say: your service and your sacrifice will be remembered forever, and honored in this place by the citizens of a free and grateful nation. —President George Bush at acceptance ceremony

The Memorial itself is 270 feet high and appears to be soaring; its array of stainless steel arcs against the sky evokes the image of "contrails of the Air Force Thunderbirds as they peel back in a precision 'bomb burst' maneuver."

The spire structure consists of stainless steel plates with high-strength concrete filling the lower 2/3rds of each spire. The upper third is hollow stainless steel. At the transition between concrete and hollow steel portions, dampers are provided to dissipate wind sway energy and eliminate the risk of aerodynamic instability. Each damper consists of a lead ball weighing about a ton each, allowed to roll inside a steel box. The structural design of the memorial was completed by engineering consultancy Arup.

At the entrance from the west stands four eight-foot tall bronze statutes of the Memorial’s Honor Guard, sculpted by Zenos Frudakis. This is linked by a bluestone path to the Glass Contemplation Wall, a glazed independent panel with the images of four F-16's flying in a Missing man formation engraved on both sides of the 5-ply panel, situated on the north side of the Memorial so that the north inscription wall is visible through it, and is the only part of the memorial that depicts aircraft.

The base of the Memorial is framed by two inscription walls located at each end of the central lawn. The walls are 56 feet in length, 10 feet in height and one foot thick. Both walls are made of polished, highly-reflective monolithic Jet Mist granite and both include a two and a half inch outer inscription panel made from Absolute Black granite. The north wall bears the names of Air Force recipients of the Medal of Honor, and the south wall bears inspirational quotations regarding core values, particularly the Air Force's three core values: "integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all that is done".

Although the current design is somewhat overshadowed by the Navy Annex at Fort Myer, that facility is slated for demolition by 2010 with the site to be used for the southward expansion of Arlington National Cemetery.

 

Heroes Of The Air Force Memorial
The Memorial Controversy	About The Air Force Memorial
A Tribute to Flight and Engineering	The Wild Blue Wonder
The Memorial Dedication	The Air Force Memorial Design

 

 

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