A Texas congressman has revived his effort to build a National World War I Memorial on the National Mall, an effort that did not come to fruition last year amid concerns about new construction on the heavily trafficked strip of federal land.
Rep. Ted Poe, a Republican, re-filed the “Frank Buckles World War I Memorial Act” in the new Congress. The bill calls for a memorial no larger than a half-acre that may cost up to $10 million in privately raised funds.
The legislation asked for an exemption to a 2003 law that prohibits new commemorative works on the Mall. Proponents of his efforts say those who fought and died in the Great War of 1914-1918 deserve to be honored alongside those who went overseas to serve in the other major conflicts of the 20th century.
Mr. Poe’s bill to set up a memorial passed the House last year, but it was amended in the Senate to include only a commission responsible for marking the centennial of World War I.
