The last two pieces of the Air Force Memorial’s three stainless steel spires will be welded into place over the next week, completing the nearly $50 million, 15-year project.
Resting on a prominent piece of land between Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon near the Potomac River, the nation’s first Air Force Memorial will be dedicated and opened to the public on the weekend of Oct. 14 and 15.
“It is a tremendous honor to see this memorial pay tribute to the valor of various folks who have served in the Air Force,” said retired Maj. Gen. Edward Grillo, a 30-year veteran.
Airmen have served the country for nearly 100 years in various organizations such as the Army Air Corps, Grillo said. This memorial honors the 54,000 fallen airmen and the thousands more that served, he said.
Designed by the late, world-renown architect James Ingo Freed of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the memorial “expresses the idea of flight, of movement through the air, which … distinguishes the Air Force from the other services,” said Kyle Johnson, a senior associate at the architectural firm. “The three spires evoke the bomb burst take off maneuver of the U.S. Thunderbirds.”
The stainless steel spires, which closely resemble an aircraft’s aluminum color, are filled with concrete and enforcements, plus specially weighted balls that will counter any strong winds.
Walls of trees will bring visitors in from Columbia Pike and line the parade grounds. Walls engraved with Air Force values and names of the 61 Medal of Honor recipients, a bronze sculpture of a four-person honor guard and a glass engraving depicting the Missing Wingman Formation will bring the visitor along the granite diagonal path to the spires, Johnson said.
The other designs for the memorial “didn’t evoke any sort of emotion for me. They didn’t say this is what the Air Force is all about … It gives an essence of the spirit of flight and that is a very special thing,” said Capt. David Small, a fifth-generation serviceman — but first-generation airman.
Small said his family dutifully visits the Iwo Jima and the other service memorials when they come to visit him.
“Now I’ll have a place to bring them to show my service,” he said.
Air Force Memorial
» Some 20,000 servicemen, veterans and the public are expected to attend the official dedication on Oct. 14 and 15.
» Three spires represent Air Force core values of integrity first, service before self and excellence in all that is done.
» The tallest spire is 270 feet tall.
» The Air Force star, seen on planes and uniforms, is embedded in the walkway around the spires
» The dedication ceremony will have special Air Force programming.
» A special kick-off to the Air Force’s 60th anniversary is planned for the dedication.
» The U.S. Air Force as we know it began on Sept. 18, 1947.
» For more information, visit www.airforcememorial.org
