Memorial to Dwight ‘Ike’ Eisenhower, President and Military Commander, Opens

 

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial is now open to the public following a dedication¹ service Thursday in Washington, D.C.

A combination of structures and statues honors America's top World War II general and former president.

The newest memorial in the nation's capital was more than 20 years in creation, from Congressional approval to dedication. The opening ceremony had been planned for May to mark the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Germany in World War II. But the coronavirus health crisis forced organizers to postpone² the event until September 17.

The U.S. Marine³ Band, also known as The President's Own, started the celebration.

Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas heads the commission that led the building project. At the ceremony, he thanked the long list of supporters for the memorial, including the Eisenhower family.

Then he introduced a special guest speaker from very, very far away.

"Good evening, Senator Roberts and honored guests. I'm NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, commander of the International Space Station, orbiting 260 miles above Earth. Along with our NASA administrator⁴, I'm honored to join you in celebrating the memorial dedication of our nation's 34th President - Dwight D. Eisenhower "

Allied⁵ commander, president from Kansas

To most Americans, Eisenhower was known simply by his nickname "Ike."

Eisenhower was born in Texas in 1890 but he grew up in Abilene, Kansas. After high school, he attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and became an officer in the U.S. Army.

In World War II, Eisenhower received increasingly important positions. He led the Allied invasions of North Africa, then Italy, then finally Normandy, France as a five star general and Supreme⁶ Allied Commander.

After the war, Eisenhower showed interest in running for president. He chose Richard Nixon as his running mate and the two were elected in 1952.

Gaining the presidency⁷ was among the pivotal moments recognized by the memorial's commission as central to Eisenhower's life and legacy⁸. He took office while the country was involved in a war on the Korean Peninsula. In addition, the United States increasingly faced competition from the former Soviet⁹ Union, which sought to expand its economic and military influence in Europe and Asia.

The general-then-president would face an unusually wide set of issues at home and abroad during his two terms, which continue to define and trouble America.

Making peace

One of Eisenhower's first tasks was to end the conflict in Korea. In that war, North Korea, with ally China and support from the Soviet Union, fought against South Korea and United Nations troops from several countries led by the United States.

On July 27, the United States signed the Korean Armistice¹⁰ Agreement, bringing fighting to an end. The peace deal marked the end of a "hot" war in what would change into a "cold war" with the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). The Cold War was a period of intense competition between the Communist U.S.S.R. and its allies and the democratic capitalist West, led by the U.S.

Troops sent to Arkansas

Another issue important to Eisenhower's presidency was civil rights. He appointed Earl Warren, who was the Supreme Court chief justice who gave the Brown v. Board of Education ruling that desegregated public schools.

Eisenhower ordered federal troops to enforce U.S. law to integrate the Central High School of Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. During Eisenhower's term, activist¹¹ Rosa Parks pushed for integration¹² of busing in Alabama. And Martin Luther King, Jr. began to lead peaceful protests in the American South.

Eisenhower's efforts to push space exploration form a third part of his legacy. The Soviet Union was first to launch a satellite into orbit in 1957. However, Eisenhower created the U.S. space agency NASA and supported science education as an answer to "the space race." By 1959, NASA had introduced seven astronauts and the American space program was fully¹³ established.

And during his time in office, "Ike" was and largely remains¹⁴ one of America's most popular and well-liked presidents.

Dispute over the design

The long road to completion of the memorial was partly caused by disagreements between Eisenhower's family and memorial designer Frank Gehry. The family did not accept Gehry's first design, which had at its center a statue of Eisenhower as a shoeless boy.

The disagreement over the design grew severe, involved Congress and legal action, and delayed progress on the project for many years. The cost of the project rose to about $150 million.

The final design places importance on Eisenhower's two main roles in history: his leadership of the D-Day invasion of Normandy and his time as president. A statue of a young "Ike" remains. Behind is a wide metal structure, which memorializes the beaches of Normandy – where D-Day took place.

At the ceremony, Gehry spoke¹⁵ in video message. He praised the debate over the memorial design.

"There were sensitivities, for sure, expressed by many - including the Eisenhower family. We listened to all and the result is better."

Susan Eisenhower is one of the president's granddaughters. She told the New York Times that the whole family was happy with the result after the trials of the earlier disagreement. She said, "For me, personally, this memorial is also going to be a symbol of how open and honest dialogue finally produced a better result."

She also offered an observation. She said the memorial to her grandfather spoke to current events in the country. "What a timely figure right now," she said.

Eisenhower noted¹⁶ that the "calming steadiness that he represented is something that is also worth reflecting on and reminding ourselves of."

"Just because the 1950s look like a quiet time, it just didn't just happen that way. That was his underlying¹⁷ commitment, to keep this country united," she said.

The memorial rests on land next to the Department of Education, across Independence Avenue from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and beside the Voice of America.

Words in This Story

tribute –n. something done to honor or show respect for a person

legacy –n. something that is left behind by someone who dies, something left for people in the future

integrate –v. to bring together races or different people

symbol –n. a sign, action or object that stands for an idea or quality

dialogue –n. a discussion or talks aimed at ending a disagreement

figure –n. a person who is well-known and who is considered to have certain qualities

1 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

2 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

3 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

5 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

8 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

9 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

10 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

12 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

13 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

17 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。