The man leading efforts to build a memorial honoring Dwight D. Eisenhower says conflicts about the design shouldn't derail the effort.
Retired Brigadier General Carl Reddel spoke yesterday at the Dole Institute in Lawrence, saying "it's about time that we do this." Reddel is the executive director of the memorial commission. He said the proposed $142 million memorial would celebrate Eisenhower's success as a general and a president.
The memorial's design has been also criticized for its "avant-garde" approach to memorial architecture. The proposal included statues of Eisenhower, framed by large, metal tapestries depicting a Kansas landscape. Others have praised it for its innovative elements.
Lawmakers have questioned the project's design and price tag. The 14-year-old project is planned for a site on the National Mall near the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. Planners could lose that space soon without an extension from Congress.
Reddel said he hoped the memorial comes to fruition soon, though he noted that the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial in Washington was in the works for more than 40 years.
