National World War II Memorial Honors 16 Million Americans

This rendering by Joowan Lee demonstrates the evocative design of the Memorial’s arches, pillars, and waterscapes.

Local 1 stonemasons Nino Cruz, left, and Virgilio Capela position a column section at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

After more than half a century, World War II veterans, families of the service men and women who did not return home, and a nation and world indebted to them will soon have a permanent place to reflect and pay homage to the sacrifices made between 1941 and 1945 both at home and abroad.

Located between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, the National World War II Memorial is the newest addition to the Washington, D.C. National Mall. Designed by Architect Friedrich St. Florian, the Mall’s green spaces will flow through the 7.2-acre Memorial site through the use of lawn panels and the preservation of existing elms and flowering trees.

Local 1 finisher Omar Garcia signals his crane operator after rigging a stone at the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The stone work was awarded to BAC signatory stone contractor Pagliaro Brothers of Upper Marlboro, MD by the American Battle Monuments Commission. The demanding project includes the Memorial’s massive granite pillars, arches, and ramparts, requiring the expert skills of Local 1 MD/VA/DC. members. Two 43-foot granite arches serve as entryways at the east and west terminals of the Memorial’s plaza, commemorating victories won in the War’s Atlantic and Pacific theatres, while 56 laurel-adorned granite pillars will represent the unity between each American state, territory, and holding of the era. The Memorial’s vertical elements, set with 3/8” open joints, are built of Kershaw Granite, quarried in Kershaw, South Carolina, while the main plaza’s granite pavers, quarried in Green County, Georgia, provide subtle contrast between elevations and grounds. Accent paving is provided by two varieties of green Brazilian stone— Rio Verde and Moss Green granite.

From left, Local 1 stonemasons Manuel Carrico, Lupario Garcia, and Primitivo Martinez work on the WWII Memorial’s rampart walls.

Local 1 stonemason Walter Vasquez guides a stone to its place on one of the Memorial’s 56 granite pillars.

Erected on the previous site of the National Mall’s Rainbow Pool, Local 1 members will reconstruct the pool, restore the original Mount Airy coping stone, and add a new pool apron with Academy Black Granite quarried in California. The pool area will be surrounded in cobblestone and become an integral part of the Memorial. Overall, the project will make use of more than 17,000 pieces of granite.

As the Journal goes to press, Local 1 stonemasons and finishers were rigging and setting the pillars, archways, and ramparts of the Memorial. The Memorial’s dedication is slated for May 2004, with special ceremonies paying tribute to the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the United States during World War II, the more than 40,000 who lost their lives, and the millions who supported the war on the home front. For further information on the project and details on dedication events, log on to www.wwiimemorial.com.