Ripon Forum


Vol. 40, No. 4

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A Note from the Chairman Emeritus

Amidst all the despair and uncertainty that gripped the nation following September 11, 2001, there remained a feeling of resolve: resolve to fight terrorism; resolve to defend freedom; resolve to put the tragedy behind us and continue down the more than 200-year old path of democracy.

A Vigilant Nation

Five years after the attacks that changed our Nation, America remains on alert.

A Patient Enemy

On 9/11, American entered a war that the terrorists had already begun.

The Battle Abroad

Today, the greatest threat to our military does not come from armed forces, but, rather, from moral ones.

A Key to Our Security

America’s ability to field and deploy new technology is critical to the Long War.

A Challenge that Remains

Our Nation’s first responders still have trouble communicating among themselves.

Q&A with Clay Sell

The Deputy Secretary of Energy discusses the Bush Administration’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership and how it will keep the Nation – and the world – more secure.

Stuck on September 10th

While the Congress acted promptly on Commission recommendations to restructure the Executive Branch, and while we have so far succeeded in preventing any further terrorist attacks in the United States, Congress has done little to reform itself.

The Super Solution to Government Dysfunction

Federal workers in particular need this kind of help, as well. Unfortunately, this is a fact too often ignored by Federal managers, who are restrained by a structure and system that was designed to meet the needs of the past century, not the current one.

Never Forget

The Pentagon Memorial broke ground on June 15th. This was a significant day — a day that marked the beginning of construction of the memorial and gave us a view of the finish line, which will be a ceremony to dedicate the completed memorial in the fall of 2008.

Reforming FEMA

It should be an independent agency with a direct line to the President.

Reforming FEMA

We should focus more on what it does than where it goes.

Ripon Profile of Bill Frist

“I am conservative. I believe the free enterprise system can do a better job at most things than the government can. People should learn to be self-reliant; when they are self reliant, they will have self-respect.”

The Backpage

Like Lincoln, President Bush leads a political party in which many candidates are trying to distance themselves from him as the fall elections draw near.

Never Forget

Pentagon Memorial will be a fitting remembrance for the victims of 9/11

Distance runners talk about the “bell lap.” Horse trainers talk about the “home stretch.” At most football games, you see players hold up four fingers signifying the start of the fourth quarter. 

What do all those expressions have in common? They all recognize that to finish a race or game, special effort is needed. A special effort is required to reach the goals that those individuals or teams are trying to achieve. Nobody ever won a game or a race by coasting through the final moments of the contest.  

Nighttime depiction of the Pentagon Memorial. The Memorial will feature 184 cantilevered benches, each to be lit at night, and each inscribed with the name of a victim who lost his or her life on September 11, 2001.

Nighttime depiction of the Pentagon Memorial. The Memorial will feature 184 cantilevered benches, each to be lit at night, and each inscribed with the name of a victim who lost his or her life on September 11, 2001.

The Pentagon Memorial broke ground on June 15th. This was a significant day — a day that marked the beginning of construction of the memorial and gave us a view of the finish line, which will be a ceremony to dedicate the completed memorial in the fall of 2008. That will no doubt be a day to cherish. It will be a day in which everyone who remembers the horror and tragedy of September 11th will be able to see a memorial that not only pays tribute to the lives lost on 9/11, but also offers returning servicemen and women a place to visit and know why they were called to duty in the Long War. 

The Pentagon Memorial will be on a 1.9 acre park that sits adjacent to the west wall of the Pentagon, within sight of the impact zone. The park will be filled with 184 cantilevered benches that rest over reflecting pools of water, one for each of the fallen. The benches will be aligned in order of age from youngest to oldest. They will be angled toward the air for those who lost their lives on Flight 77, and toward the Pentagon for those whose lives were claimed in the building. Each bench will be unique in its position within the park, reminding us that every life lost was special and unique. The Pentagon Memorial will truly be a place of remembrance, reflection and renewal. 

Yet amid these lofty thoughts, today, tomorrow, and next month there remains work to be done.  

Indeed, as the President of the Pentagon Memorial Fund, part of my job is to create a level of excitement and anticipation for the memorial — to let people know what it will look like when complete and how it will impact visitors who look at the names on the benches and remember 9/11. But in the afterglow of the groundbreaking and recent excitement, I find myself repeating one message to everyone I come into contact with, whether they are a family member, a donor or an interested party. The message is simple — it is time to finish the job we started. The finish line is not that far away, and now is when we need everyone’s support the most. 

The Pentagon Memorial Fund has reached the halfway point in our campaign to raise the funds needed to construct the Pentagon Memorial, having raised over $11 million of the $22 million that is needed. We cannot coast or rely on our past accomplishments in this regard. We still need to work very hard to raise the remaining funds, to raise awareness and to make sure this great memorial is built.  

For those who have yet to contribute I invite you to visit our web site at www.pentagonmemorial.org and view the design of what will be a very thought-provoking memorial in a city of very special memorials. If you are in the area, I invite you to drive by the Pentagon and remember the tragedy of the 9/11 attacks and know that you can be a part of turning that tragedy into a powerful reminder for all Americans – a reminder that calls on everyone to never forget what happened on that terrible day in September five years ago. 

James J. Laychak is the President of the Pentagon Memorial Fund. He lost a brother in the attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.