Families of veterans have said they are “appalled” by plans for a new 250-foot “Triumphal Arch” in Washington, D.C., after a new analysis found the proposed design's shadow could pass over more than 75,000 graves at Arlington National Cemetery over a year. In September, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said that the arch will be “one of the great pieces of American architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful capital in the world.” But some military families with relatives buried at Arlington have opposed the project. Retired Major General Paul Eaton’s father was presumed killed in action over the Ho Chi Minh Trail and was buried at Arlington after his remains were recovered and returned decades later.
Alongside his father, his mother is buried there, as are men and women who he served with during the Iraq War. Design renderings show a granite-clad triumphal Arch topped by gilded statuary and an observation deck, alongside a towering, white arch with details including gold eagles, their wings spread outward. The arch would, upon completion, overlook the Potomac River between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial, but analysis by Democratic-aligned veterans organization VoteVets and The Washington Post has found that on some days of the year the new arch could cast a shadow on veteran graves.
Analysis found most of the shadowing would occur before Arlington opens at 8 a.m., although the shadow would remain on cemetery grounds after opening on 26 days. Eaton is a senior advisor to VoteVets, which created its own modeling of the potential impact of the arch. The Washington Post separately conducted an analysis of where shadows from the proposed structure could fall.
Karen Meredith, a Gold Star mother whose son, First Lt. Ken Ballard, was killed in the Iraq War, also criticized the proposal. This proposal by this administration doesn't bear well with me.
There will be an observation deck. We don't need tourists overlooking funerals. I'm just appalled.” "The notion that someone who avoided service and denigrated it with his 'suckers' and 'losers' comments will now build himself an arch that literally overshadows some of America’s greatest, who put on the uniform and gave their lives to America just sickens me," Eaton said.
Newsweek reached out to the Interior Department via email for comment. At a proposed height of 250 feet, the Triumphal Arch would dwarf some of the world’s most famous arches, including Paris's Arc de Triomphe, London's Wellington Arch, and Rome's Arch of Constantine. The Washington Post created a to-scale 3D model of the arch and found its shadow could pass over more than 75,000 graves at Arlington National Cemetery over the course of a year, touching burial sites on 284 days.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
