Women In Military Service For America Memorial
June 12, 2013 – July 6, 2014

In real estate, it’s “location, location, location….”. I am delighted that my images are in this absolutely amazing location at the Women In Military Service For America Memorial located at Arlington Cemetery.  I was down at the WWII Memorial yesterday morning to visit a couple of Honor Flights. I then headed over to the Women’s Memorial to greet a couple of hubs and have a look at the show to see how it’s holding up.  Traffic seems good and I had the opportunity to make a few pictures on the roof of the Memorial and to sign some books.  My DC PHOTO BOOK: An Insider’s View has two pages on the Women’s Memorial so it seems thirty-seven years of researching DC is beginning to pay of!.  Fortunately or unfortunately, the number of people who recognize the building but don’t know it’s a Memorial is astonishing.  I hope all of you will spread the word.

These pictures are taken from the roof of the Memorial which can be accessed by an elevator inside the Museum, through the ceremonial stairways or through the little used stairs on the North and South of the Building.  The light should be fantastic in the early evening and I intend to document this thoroughly.

Two months ago, the opportunity to fill these walls came knocking and so we began printing and assembling  ninety-two large format prints from my WWII Memorial project for a show at the Women In Military Service For America Memorial.  Jane Howitt designed the exhibit on the computer first and so with Donna Houle and Marillla Cushman of the Women’s Memorial made the photo selection to reflect the spirit of both Memorials.

The opening was grand with an estimated 125 people:  generals and admirals, enlisted personnel, male and female veterans, our BWI Brownies (motorcycle escort) , our WWII re-enactors and of course the original Trust for the National Mall volunteers:  George Kerestes and Al Doehring,   I think they must qualify for the Guiness Book of Records as to hours and days at the WWII Memorial.  Dave Nichols, a board member of Honor Flight  and many of the Honor Flight Volunteers turned out.  All of these people spend thousands of hours making sure our veterans are greeted and safely transported to and from the Memorial.

Friends of the National WWII Memorial  sponsored the exhibit.  Executive Director Holly Rotondi and board member Jan Evans Hauser were on hand to celebrate.  “Friends” mission is to educate and preserve the Memorial and they have been interviewing veterans at the Memorial every Saturday. To date, almost five hundred veteran interviews are finished and will be loaded on their site.  Jim Percoco, their educational director, is currently writing syllabi on the Memorial and World War II.  Brigadier General Evelyn Patricia “Pat” Foote was influential in bringing my book and show  to Friends and the Women’s Memorial.

I think we succeeded in creating an exhibit that both captures the WWII Memorial while living up to the Women’s Memorials elegance of design. It is one of Washington’s architectural wonders.  It is so artfully designed into the landscape that even most long-term DC residents don’t know it’s there. We are pushing Washington’s Destination DC to shine some light on this lovely and sometimes lonely location.

In all, the show and the books have been an amazing experience and an opportunity to share my work with all of the very positive people who cherish the Mall.