United States Air Force Memorial
Encyclopedia
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
and Arlington National Cemetery
, at the intersection of Columbia Pike and South Joyce Street. It was the 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.
signed authorizing the Air Force Memorial. In 1994, the National Capital Memorial Advisory 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 United States Marine Corps Memorial
, which is just north of the Carillon, various Marine groups were briefed on the plans without voicing objections. However, on July 30, 1997, Congressman Gerald B.H. Solomon
(R-NY), a Marine veteran, introduced a bill to prohibit the construction of any monument, memorial or other structure "within view" of the Iwo Jima Memorial. The Air Force Association
organized support for the memorial on behalf of its membership and Air Force veterans, and the issue became a polarizing one between the services.
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 and the opposition of prominent Marine veterans in Congress, the Foundation agreed to move the Memorial to its present site, at the east end of Columbia Pike, on the grounds of Fort Myer
just south of Arlington National Cemetery
.
Here, it has a view of the Pentagon and across the river to prominent structures of Washington, D.C.
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 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) of the Naval Annex property for use as the location for the 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 in the National Guard. The first official ceremony at the memorial was held the next day when Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne
laid beneath the spires a memorial wreath for fallen airmen. The first non-military group to perform at the memorial was the Timpview High School Marching Band in April 2008. During the summer, The United States Air Force Band presents free concerts on Wednesday and Friday evenings.
The Air Force Memorial Foundation, the organization created to plan for and build the Memorial, continues today as an affiliate of the Air Force Association.
The three memorial spires range from 201 feet (61.3 m) to 270 feet (82.3 m) high and appear to be soaring; its array of stainless steel arcs against the sky evoke the image of "contrail
s of the Air Force Thunderbirds as they peel back in a precision 'bomb burst' maneuver." Only three of the four contrails are depicted, at 120 degrees from each other, as the absent fourth suggests the missing man formation
traditionally used at Air Force funeral fly-overs.
The spire structure consists of stainless steel
plates with high-strength concrete filling the lower 2/3 of each spire. The upper third is hollow stainless steel. At the transition between concrete and hollow steel portions, dampers provide aerodynamic stability and dissipate wind sway energy. Each damper consists of a lead ball weighing about a ton that is allowed to roll inside a steel box. The structural design of the spires was completed by the Arup
engineering consultancy.
The pedestrian approach to the spires is from the west. South of the approach, before the inscription wall, stand four 8 feet (2.4 m) bronze statues of the Memorial's Honor Guard, sculpted by Zenos Frudakis
. To the north, this is linked by a stone plaza to the glass contemplation wall, a free-standing glass panel with the images of four F-16s flying in a Missing man formation
engraved on both sides of the 5-ply panel. Except for the information kiosks outside the administration building, it is the only part of the memorial that depicts aircraft. The north inscription wall is visible through it.
The two inscription walls are located at each end of the central lawn. The walls are 56 feet (17.1 m) in length, 10 feet (3 m) 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 value
s, particularly the Air Force's three core values: "integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do".
Although the memorial access road is somewhat overshadowed by the Navy Annex, that facility is slated for demolition by 2013, with the site to be used for the southward expansion of Arlington National Cemetery
.
Fort Myer
Fort Myer is a U.S. Army post adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. It is a small post by U.S...
near The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
and Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
, at the intersection of Columbia Pike and South Joyce Street. It was the last project of American architect James Ingo Freed
James Ingo Freed
James Ingo Freed was an American architect born in Essen, Germany during the Weimar Republic.His Jewish family fled to the United States when he was 9 to escape the regime of Nazi Germany....
(known for the design of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
) with the firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners is an architectural firm that was founded in 1955 by I. M. Pei as I. M. Pei & Associates, in 1966 called I. M. Pei & Partners, and received its current name and organization in 1989. The founders were I. M. Pei, Henry N. Cobb, and Eason H. Leonard. Pei and Leonard retired...
for the United States Air Force Memorial Foundation.
History
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 ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
signed authorizing the Air Force Memorial. In 1994, the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission
National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission
The National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission is the organ of the United States government responsible for approving memorials within Washington, DC and nearby neighboring areas. It was established by Public Law 99-652, Sec. 4 on November 14, 1986...
approved a site adjacent to Marshall Drive and State Route 110, down the hill from the Netherlands Carillon
Netherlands Carillon
The Netherlands Carillon adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery was a gift from the people of the Netherlands to the people of the United States of America in 1954. The gift was made to thank the United States for its aid during and after World War II. First installed at a nearby site in 1954,...
, known as Arlington Ridge. Fund raising and detailed designs began.
Because the site was near the United States Marine Corps Memorial
USMC War Memorial
The Marine Corps War Memorial is a military memorial statue outside the walls of the Arlington National Cemetery and next to the Netherlands Carillon, in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States. The memorial is dedicated to all personnel of the United States Marine Corps who have died in the...
, which is just north of the Carillon, various Marine groups were briefed on the plans without voicing objections. However, on July 30, 1997, Congressman Gerald B.H. Solomon
Gerald B.H. Solomon
Gerald Brooks Hunt Solomon was a New York Republican politician.Born in Okeechobee, Florida, Solomon attended the public schools in Delmar, New York as a child, later attending Siena College from 1949 to 1950 and St. Lawrence University from 1953 to 1954. He served in the United States Marine...
(R-NY), a Marine veteran, introduced a bill to prohibit the construction of any monument, memorial or other structure "within view" of the Iwo Jima Memorial. The Air Force Association
Air Force Association
The Air Force Association is an independent, 501 non-profit, civilian education organization, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia...
organized support for the memorial on behalf of its membership and Air Force veterans, and the issue became a polarizing one between the services.
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 and the opposition of prominent Marine veterans in Congress, the Foundation agreed to move the Memorial to its present site, at the east end of Columbia Pike, on the grounds of Fort Myer
Fort Myer
Fort Myer is a U.S. Army post adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. It is a small post by U.S...
just south of Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
On December 28, 2001, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
signed the Defense Authorization Bill, which included a rider directing the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
to make available to the Air Force Memorial Foundation up to 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) of the Naval Annex property for use as the location for the 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
F-102 Delta Dagger
The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was a US interceptor aircraft built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its main purpose was to intercept invading Soviet bomber fleets...
pilot in the National Guard. The first official ceremony at the memorial was held the next day when Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne
Michael Wynne
Michael W. Wynne is an American business executive and was the 21st United States Secretary of the Air Force. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asked for and received his resignation Michael W. Wynne (born September 4, 1944) is an American business executive and was the 21st United States...
laid beneath the spires a memorial wreath for fallen airmen. The first non-military group to perform at the memorial was the Timpview High School Marching Band in April 2008. During the summer, The United States Air Force Band presents free concerts on Wednesday and Friday evenings.
"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 W. Bush at acceptance ceremony.
The Air Force Memorial Foundation, the organization created to plan for and build the Memorial, continues today as an affiliate of the Air Force Association.
Design
Contrail
Contrails or vapour trails are artificial clouds that are the visible trails of condensed water vapour made by the exhaust of aircraft engines...
s of the Air Force Thunderbirds as they peel back in a precision 'bomb burst' maneuver." Only three of the four contrails are depicted, at 120 degrees from each other, as the absent fourth suggests the missing man formation
Missing man formation
The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flyover of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event, typically in memory of a fallen pilot. The missing man formation is often called "the missing man flyby"...
traditionally used at Air Force funeral fly-overs.
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
plates with high-strength concrete filling the lower 2/3 of each spire. The upper third is hollow stainless steel. At the transition between concrete and hollow steel portions, dampers provide aerodynamic stability and dissipate wind sway energy. Each damper consists of a lead ball weighing about a ton that is allowed to roll inside a steel box. The structural design of the spires was completed by the Arup
Arup
Arup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
engineering consultancy.
The pedestrian approach to the spires is from the west. South of the approach, before the inscription wall, stand four 8 feet (2.4 m) bronze statues of the Memorial's Honor Guard, sculpted by Zenos Frudakis
Zenos Frudakis
Zenos Frudakis is a figurative sculptor whose subjects include portraits of living and historical individuals and poetic/philosophical sculpture with a post-modern sensibility. He lives and works near Philadelphia...
. To the north, this is linked by a stone plaza to the glass contemplation wall, a free-standing glass panel with the images of four F-16s flying in a Missing man formation
Missing man formation
The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flyover of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event, typically in memory of a fallen pilot. The missing man formation is often called "the missing man flyby"...
engraved on both sides of the 5-ply panel. Except for the information kiosks outside the administration building, it is the only part of the memorial that depicts aircraft. The north inscription wall is visible through it.
The two inscription walls are located at each end of the central lawn. The walls are 56 feet (17.1 m) in length, 10 feet (3 m) in height and one foot thick. Both walls are made of polished, highly-reflective monolithic Jet Mist granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
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
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
, and the south wall bears inspirational quotations regarding core value
Value system
A value system is a set of consistent ethic values and measures used for the purpose of ethical or ideological integrity. A well defined value system is a moral code.-Personal and communal:...
s, particularly the Air Force's three core values: "integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do".
Although the memorial access road is somewhat overshadowed by the Navy Annex, that facility is slated for demolition by 2013, with the site to be used for the southward expansion of Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
Events
In addition to hosting over 200,000 visitors throughout the year, the Air Force Memorial is the scene for more than 200 ceremonies, special events, wreath laying, tours, weddings, and United States Air Force Band Concerts throughout the year.External links
- Air Force Memorial Foundation
- United States Air Force Memorial at Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects LLP
- National Air Force Memorial Honor Guard sculpture information from sculptor Zenos Frudakis' website
- President Bush dedicates Air Force Memorial Saturday, 14 October 2006, quoting John Gillespie Magee, Jr.John Gillespie Magee, Jr.John Gillespie Magee, Jr. was an American aviator and poet who died as a result of a mid-air collision over Lincolnshire during World War II. He was serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force, which he joined before the United States officially entered the war. He is most famous for his poem "High...
's poem "High Flight". - Photos:
- Photo Album of Zenos Frudakis on Flikr Photo Service - " National Air Force Memorial Honor Guard sculpture, Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. by Zenos Frudakis"
- Air Force Memorial photos by Amaury Laporte, free to use for non commercial purposes