The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial is a United States presidential memorial in Washington, D.C. honoring Dwight David Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and the 34th president of the United States.
Located to the south of the National Mall, the national memorial is set in a park-like plaza, with large columns framing a mesh tapestry depicting the site of the Normandy landings, and sculptures and bas-reliefs arrayed in the park. Architect Frank Gehry designed the memorial and Sergey Eylanbekov sculpted the bronze statues of Eisenhower in various settings. The memorial's tapestry artist was Tomas Osinski, and the inscription artist, Nicholas Waite Benson.
On October 25, 1999, the United States Congress created the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, and charged it with creating "...an appropriate permanent memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower...to perpetuate his memory and his contributions to the United States." Originally designed as a "roofless" temple outlined by large columns, and mesh tapestry "walls", the preliminary design proved controversial. After several years of hearings and several design changes by Gehry, including reducing the number of columns and tapestries, final design approvals were given in 2017, and the groundbreaking ceremony was held at the site on November 3 of that year, which was attended by dignitaries. The dedication ceremony was initially scheduled for May 8, 2020, the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, but was postponed to September 17, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Authorizing a memorial and establishing a memorial commission
Three individuals were behind the successful effort to establish a memorial to President Dwight D. Eisenhower: Rocco Siciliano, Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), and Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).
Siciliano, a Roman Catholic, Italian American born in Utah, was called to active duty as a private in 1943 while a ROTC student. Promoted quickly to first lieutenant in the United States Army, he was awarded a Bronze Star for valor for his actions as part of the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment during the Italian Campaign. A graduate of Georgetown Law School, he worked for the National Labor Relations Board from 1948 to 1950, and was appointed by Eisenhower in 1953 to be the Assistant Secretary of Labor for employment and manpower activities. In 1957, Eisenhower made Siciliano his Special Assistant to the President for Personnel Management. In 1958, he engineered a meeting between Eisenhower and African American leaders of the civil rights movement: Lester Granger, Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, and Roy Wilkins.
After decades of public service, Siciliano became head of the Eisenhower Institute in the 1990s. The 50th anniversary of the Normandy landings and the approach of the 50th anniversary of Eisenhower's election as president increased interest in the 34th president. In 1999, his last year as the institute's chairman, Siciliano decided to push for a memorial to Eisenhower.
Siciliano knew Senator Stevens, a highly decorated World War II Army Air Forces pilot who had worked in the Department of the Interior during the Eisenhower administration and who had proved critical in winning statehood for Alaska. The Eisenhower Institute had also honored Stevens with its Eisenhower Leadership Prize in 1999. Siciliano broached the idea of a memorial with Stevens. Stevens suggested a bipartisan effort and brought Senator Inouye into the effort. Inouye had served in Italy with the segregated 442nd Infantry Combat Regiment, losing his right forearm in combat, and later being awarded the Medal of Honor. Siciliano worked with Stevens and Inouye to write the legislation that would authorize a memorial and establish a memorial commission.
Senators Stevens and Inouye were both appointed to the conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act in 1999. The conferees inserted language (Section 8162) to authorize the memorial and establish the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission into the conference report. The House approved the appropriations act 372-to-55 on October 13, and the Senate followed by a vote of 87-to-11 on October 14. President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law (P.L. 106–79) on October 25, 1999.
Bill P.L. 106-79 appropriated $300,000 to fund the commission's initial activities. The law established a 12-member commission: four of whom were to be appointed by the president; four by the Senate (equally split between both political parties); and four by the House (equally split between both political parties). The law provided for a chair and vice chair (they could not be members of the same political party); the appointment of new members in case of vacancy; and a date for the initial meeting (not more than 45 days after all appointments have been made). Members of the commission would receive no compensation. The commission had the power to spend money appropriated or donated to it; to accept donations; to hold hearings; and to enter into contracts. It was required to make annual reports to the president and Congress, and make a report about the memorial plans as soon as possible.
In 2008, Congress enhanced the commission's duties and powers. Section 332 of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (P.L. 110–229; May 8, 2008) more clearly defined the commission's ability to solicit donations and to contract for specialized services, and it permitted it to do so outside of existing federal law. The commission was also empowered to seek the assistance of any federal agency (so long as it paid for that assistance), to enter into cooperative agreements with the same, and to procure administrative and support services from the General Services Administration. A commission staff was also established. An executive director was required to be employed, and the commission was authorized to hire staff (including an architect, and no more than three senior staff) and to accept volunteers. Commissioners (and staff and volunteers) were now reimbursed for their reasonable travel expenses. Most importantly, an unlimited amount of money was authorized (but not actually appropriated) to carry out the commission's duties and to design and construct the memorial.
Living vs. inanimate memorial
The basic theme of the Eisenhower memorial was outlined at the Eisenhower Memorial Commission's first meeting in June 2000. Senator Stevens said he wanted an out-of-the-box design, and Senator Inouye said the design should be so spectacular that the Eisenhower Memorial would surpass the Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial as the most-visited memorial in the nation's capital. According to Washingtonian magazine, chairman Siciliano early on raised architect Frank Gehry as a potential designer. Siciliano was already friends with Gehry: they both lived in Santa Monica, California, and Siciliano's late wife had introduced them. Siciliano also sat on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which in 1991 commissioned Gehry to design its acclaimed Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Several Eisenhower family members, however, expressed their desire for a "living memorial". Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of Dwight Eisenhower and former president and chairman emeritus of the Eisenhower Institute, was a particular advocate of the concept. The living memorial would not be a monument but rather a program or think tank or some other organization which would help to perpetuate the legacy and values of President Eisenhower. The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was raised as a potential model. Siciliano expressed his view that a living memorial would be far too costly to endow and operate, but senators Stevens and Inouye thought the idea had merit. The Eisenhower Memorial Commission gave the Eisenhower Institute either a $200,000 contract or a $400,000 contract (sources differ as to the amount) to study the issue. While the Eisenhower Institute studied the issue, the Commission agreed to also study a physical monument, which meant developing a vision for the memorial and identifying potential sites in Washington, D.C.
The outcome of the living memorial study is not clear. Washingtonian magazine reported that, at a commission meeting in June 2007, Siciliano said the Eisenhower Institute concluded a "living memorial" would duplicate the work of the institute and other "legacy organizations" (private foundations and nonprofits dedicated to perpetuating the legacy and carrying on the work of President Eisenhower). The Eisenhower Memorial Commission's March 2013 budget report to Congress, however, says that the legacy organizations were unable to agree on what form the living memorial would take. Whatever the reasons, the Commission rejected a living memorial. According to the memorial commission, Susan Eisenhower and representatives from other legacy organizations reached a consensus that the existing legacy groups already formed a "living memorial".
Site selection
In order to pursue a physical memorial, the Eisenhower Memorial Commission needed the authority to erect a memorial on public lands. Congress immediately gave it that permission in Section 8120 of the Department of Defense and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery From and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States Act, 2002 (P.L. 107–117; December 20, 2001). The 2001 act gave the commission the right to erect a memorial on public lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior anywhere in the District of Columbia or its environs. The act also placed the memorial under the authority of the Commemorative Works Act. This required the commission to work with the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission in selecting a site, meet certain fundraising requirements, and meet certain deadlines.
Twenty-six sites were reviewed by the Eisenhower Memorial Commission. The criteria for choosing a site included: "Prominence, public access, and availability"; "Thematic appropriateness to Eisenhower's memory"; "Feasibility of use and avoidance of undue controversy".
Three sites were short-listed by the commission. The first was on the ground floor of the United States Institute of Peace building at 2301 Constitution Avenue NW. The structure's vast atrium, which looks out on Constitution Avenue, was discussed as early as June 2004. But according to a commission report, a member of the Eisenhower family opposed co-locating the memorial there. The commission also considered Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue NW and a site on Maryland Avenue SW. An Eisenhower family member requested in September 2004 that the commission also consider the Auditors Building at 14th Street SW and Independence Avenue SW. The commission hired M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates, a design and architectural firm, to assist it in evaluating these three sites. A report was considered by the commission at its March 2005 meeting. Commissioner David Eisenhower successfully moved that the commission limit its focus to Freedom Plaza and the Maryland Avenue site. The Eisenhower Memorial Commission unanimously chose the unnamed plaza bounded by Maryland Avenue SW, 4th Street SW, and 6th Street SW as its preferred site.