Of late, I’m feeling like the unelected “Mayor” of the WWII Memorial and tend to stroll up to folks and ask “what’s up?”  Well today, Fred Smith, Veteran, decorated Marine and Founder and Chairman of Fedex was up. He had brought three Okinawa veterans and was doing a mini honor flight. And then along comes Senator Dole. So here’s the whole story: Fred Smith (left), his three veterans and Senator Dole.  This picture does speak a thousand words.

The tales and rumors about how he and Bob Dole raised the money for the WWII Memorial are legendary. I can’t tell you what I’ve heard but I can tell you they did it quickly and brought in people like Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, politicians, and corporations to provide the seed money and raise public awareness.  If you think about it, who’s going to turn down a phone call from Senator Dole and Fred Smith?

The bulk of the money raised however (and Senator Dole will tell you this over and over and over…) was through private contributions. As I made this photograph, I was thinking how proud they must be to have had a hand in getting this beautiful memorial built.

Honor Flight is featured in Jewel of the Mall: World War II Memorial book.