Senate Republicans on Monday urged President Donald Trump to redesign the proposed Global War on Terror Memorial, believing that the current proposal falls “far short” of our “obligation” to those who made the “ultimate sacrifice” in service to America.
Sens. Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Jim Banks (R-IN), and Tom Cotton (R-AR) wrote to Trump regarding the proposed design for the Global War on Terror Memorial, which is to be installed in Washington, DC.
They wrote that the proposal “falls far short of our obligation to ensure our Nation’s finest, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice, are respectfully and appropriately honored.”
“The men and women who answered the call after the attacks of the September 11, 2001, and served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and other theaters of operation deserve a memorial that unmistakably recognizes their courage and sacrifice during our Nation’s longest war.”
Global War on Terror Memorial letter by Breitbart News
“We share the concerns of thousands of Gold Star families and veterans who do not believe the abstract concepts of the proposed memorial adequately honor their loss and dedication. We believe that a nation’s strength is measured by how it treats its protectors. This generation deserves a memorial that is uncompromisingly American, immediately recognizable as a tribute to military service, and worthy of the men and women who volunteered to defend our country in the Global War on Terror,” the Senate Republicans wrote.
“The Foundation expects to break ground on the proposed memorial in 2027. As such, we respectfully urge you to support a redesign of the memorial that incorporates the views of Gold Star Families and veterans while more clearly commemorating the valor, service, and sacrifice of the Global War on Terror generation,” they concluded in their letter to the president.
Banks, Cotton, and Sheehy are not the only lawmakers to criticize the proposal.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) wrote that the concept amounts to a “disappointing landscape feature better suited to a hotel courtyard or mini golf course than a monument to the courageous men and women who fought, and the lives lost, to radical Islamic terrorism.”
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), a retired Navy SEAL, said that the proposal was an “abomination” and a “Jazz Hands monument to our fallen brothers and sisters.”