Towards the opening days of the World War II Memorial, much of the stone work was finished and the fountains were being tuned.  The eagles were being welded together and you could sit up amongst them on a scaffold.   I spent almost two weeks photographing the welding which was very carefully done by Apex Piping.   All the welds were examined by a robot whith contained an x-ray machine.  Each of the eagle’s “beaks” is the structural weld point for the “ribbon” (a 2×6 inch cold rolled piece of steel) which holds the laurel wreath in the center.  Each of the eagles weighs 18000 pounds and the laurel wreath weights 12000 pounds.

It was just Spring and we would take breaks to watch the water “tuners” set up the pumps for the waterfalls and fountains. The pumps are tuned to a small weather station on the North side which controls the height of the fountains depending on the wind conditions. And every day, the Memorial became more finished and I was able to take “wider pictures” and begin the “beauty” portion of the project.

Jewel of the Mall: World War II Memorial is a 120 page full color photographic book on the WWII Memorial.