Dwight Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States and leader of American forces during World War II, is to be honored in a park in Washington DC.
Architect Frank Gehry plans to construct the memorial on a four-acre site on Independence Avenue.
The project is the result of talks between James Baker III of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission and Eisenhower’s grandchildren. Congress had denied funding for a previous design because of the grandchildren’s opposition.
The geographical focus will be the Normandy coastline – depicted on a metal plaque – highlighting the general’s world influence.
“General Eisenhower won the peace in World War II, and President Eisenhower secured the peace,” says architect Craig Webb, The Washington Post reported.
Features of the park will include the text of Eisenhower’s famous Homecoming Speech engraved in a wall. A statue of a young Eisenhower will be close by. The memorial’s northern boundary will be marked by two columns. Two bronze statues, commemorating his success in war and as president will be in the center of the park.
Granddaughter Susan Eisenhower lauded the design, saying: “had we failed at Normandy, it would have been a major setback for the war, and for the United States.”