Norton to Speak at Rededication of D.C. World War I Memorial and Hold Press Conference with D.C. Veterans on Thursday

Norton to Speak at Rededication of D.C. World War I Memorial and Hold Press Conference with D.C. Veterans on Thursday

November 9, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will speak at the rededication of the District of Columbia War Memorial at 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 10, 2011. After the rededication, Norton and D.C. veterans will hold a press conference to explain the importance of the memorial to city residents, who have fought and died in every war in U.S. history without full congressional representation. Of the more than 26,000D.C. residents who served in World War I, the 499 who died in the war, more than the number that died from three states, have their names engraved on the memorial. D.C. residents paid for the original construction of the memorial.

In addition to underscoring the need to retain the memorial for D.C. veterans and to create a separate one for all Americans who served in World War I, Norton will highlight the continuing service of D.C. residents, who still do not have full voting rights in Congress or the final say over their own local tax funds. At her press conference after the rededication, Norton will be joined by veterans from across the District, including Effie Johnson, a 90-year-old World War II veteran, and Hannah Lewis, the mother of Capt. Darrell Lewis, who lost his life in Afghanistan in 2007.

"We struggled to get the funding to rehabilitate the memorial," Norton said. "I am delighted that the National Park Service has completed its work on this lovely memorial to our World War I veterans. On this Veterans Day, it will also be timely to rededicate ourselves to full equality for our residents, particularly those who serve our country without full equality at home."

Earlier this year, Norton introduced a resolution to ensure that the D.C. War Memorial remains dedicated solely to the D.C. residents who served in World War I, and that a suitable, separate location for a memorial dedicated to all Americans who served in WWI is determined.