WASHINGTON – At the groundbreaking ceremony of the National Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Chairman of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, today announced the final Construction Permit had been signed allowing construction to begin immediately, before turning over the first shovel of earth with members of the Eisenhower family and fellow Commissioners. Video and audio will follow.

“We build this memorial today not only to honor a single person, but as a symbol for all generations of the greatness of America and what our values have made possible at home and abroad,” Roberts said. “Lest anyone forget what can be achieved in the land of the free and the home of the brave, let them come here and understand what Eisenhower, and America, have done. And what they, in turn, will do for themselves and for our nation’s future.” (full remarks below)

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on the National Mall on the future site of the memorial at 400 Maryland Avenue SW in Washington, D.C.

The event, emceed by Greta Van Susteren, featured the President’s Own U.S. Marine Band Brass Quintet; a Presentation of Colors by the Color Guard Unit from the USS Eisenhower; an Invocation by Father Leo Blasi, Priest at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Hays, Kansas; and vocals by teenagers Emma and Annie Bathurst of Abilene, Kansas, Eisenhower’s hometown.

Others speaking at today’s ceremony included: Congressman Mike Thompson, Vice Chairman of the Eisenhower Memorial; Susan Eisenhower; and First Captain of the West Point Corps of Cadets, Simone Askew.

Senator Roberts was appointed to the Eisenhower Memorial Commission in 2001. In April of 2015, Roberts was unanimously elected Chairman to see the memorial through the remaining design approvals, to secure federal appropriations, to oversee private fundraising, to begin construction and finally to ensure completion.

Roberts immediately expanded and strengthened the Commission’s Advisory Committee to include all living U.S. Presidents, Vice Presidents, former cabinet secretaries, former members of Congress, leaders in the business community and many, many other prominent Americans, including Tom Brokaw and Tom Hanks.

Recognizing the best advocate for the greatest generation remains Kansas native son, former Senator Bob Dole, Roberts tapped him to serve as Finance Chairman to lead fundraising efforts with co-chair former Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD). Private fundraising is ongoing with the Commission having raised more than half of its $25 million goal.

Dedication of the memorial is envisioned for the 75^th Anniversary of VE Day, May 8, 2020.

Roberts worked hard to ensure Kansas, and more especially Abilene, was a part of the memorial and concluded his remarks today by quoting then General Eisenhower when he famously said, “The proudest thing I can claim is that I am from Abilene” (June 22, 1945, Abilene, Kansas). This quote will be featured in the memorial’s design.

Senator Roberts’ father, Charles Wesley Roberts, was Chairman of the Republican National Committee during the start of the Eisenhower administration. When Roberts was 15 years old, he had the privilege of meeting then-candidate Eisenhower.

The following are Chairman Roberts’ remarks as prepared for delivery:

Thank you, Greta, for that kind introduction. And thank you so much for your longstanding support of this project. You have been a true soldier in the Eisenhower memorial army in helping to get us here today.

First, let us reflect for a moment about a few members of the Greatest Generation who brought us to this place today. Ted Stevens and Dan Inouye-two giants in the Senate, who authored the legislation to create the Eisenhower Memorial. 

When Ted and Danny started us down this path, it was both an honor and privilege for me, a new senator from Kansas, to be asked to help memorialize our most famous Kansan, Dwight David Eisenhower. 

Then there is our Chairman Emeritus, Rocco Siciliano, another WWII veteran.  For over a decade, Rocco led our efforts.  He did so with the qualities that made him successful in government and the private sector: integrity and inclusion. 

When Rocco called me and said it was time to pass the leadership torch—and would I agree to succeed him as Chairman?  I said, it would be an honor, but there was a qualification:

I called another World War II vet, a great American who fought for our country on the battlefield, in the House, in the Senate, and on the campaign trail as our Republican nominee for president, another really great Kansan, Bob Dole, who also played a key role in making the World War II Memorial a reality. 

I said, “Bob, I can’t do this without you.”  And as he has always done when his country called, he said, “Pat, Ike is my hero: I’m in.” 

Ladies and gentlemen, I am not sure we would be standing here today without the support of Bob Dole who stepped in as Finance Chairman of the memorial. He called all the former Presidents and Vice Presidents, and asked them to come on board.  And not one of them said, “No.” 

And I know we would not be standing here today without the support and vision of the Eisenhower family. Their commitment to making sure this memorial appropriately captured their grandfather, as both General and President, has ensured generations of Americans will know his legacy.

Being an Eisenhower fan is something of a tradition in the Roberts family.  In 1952, when I was just fifteen years old, I was with my dad, Wes Roberts, at the Republican National Convention in Chicago. I watched Ike receive the nomination on the first ballot to be our party’s candidate for President of the United States.

Later, during his inauguration, I met President Eisenhower. When he entered the room, whether you immediately saw him or not, everyone knew it -- with that ruddy face and great smile. He had that special charisma.

And when I shook his hand that day, I never dreamed I would be here this day leading the effort for his memorial on the National Mall.

After all these years, Why do we “Still Like Ike?”  If he had done nothing else in life, his service as Supreme Allied Commander, savior of western democracy, should earn him the respect and admiration of every human being whose life, peace and prosperity that victory made possible.

But it isn’t just the magnitude of his service that we revere. It is the manner in which he served. The quiet humility. The strength and resolve. The man was so humble that upon the surrender of the German Army, his message back to Washington simply said, “Mission Accomplished.”

Ike may not have coined the phrase, “speak softly and carry a big stick” but he did embody it. It was not necessary for him to raise his voice or wave his arms to project strength. Those were the tactics of his adversaries.

He spoke quietly. He did not make idle threats. Yet, when he did speak the force of his words was clear.

The story of Dwight David Eisenhower is the story of America. His ascendency parallels America’s. At the end of the 19^th century, Eisenhower was still a young man in Kansas, and America was a young democracy – isolated and protected by two vast oceans.

Over the course of his career, America matured both politically and culturally, like that young man who left Abilene, Kansas, to go to West Point.

By the time Eisenhower retired from public life, the United States was the leader of the free world and at the summit of historic prosperity and peace.

It has taken a long time for the historians to discover and figure out Eisenhower’s greatness. President Eisenhower anticipated problems and averted them before they ever became a crisis. His steady hand, his quiet strategy, didn’t draw attention like the administrations that followed him.

Now, six decades later, for that kind of unique leadership, he is considered one of our greatest presidents, which is why we are here today.

Like Lincoln, he came from very humble origins. He never forgot the hometown that made him, and famously said, “The proudest thing I can claim is that I am from Abilene” (June 22, 1945, Abilene, Kansas).

He saw the promise that America holds for everyone and the reciprocal responsibility to serve the country that offered him so much.

Ike’s values were American values – strength, humility, discipline, integrity.

Now, we live in an era where it can seem those things no longer matter.
But they do. We wouldn’t be where we are today without them.

We are here today to ensure Ike’s place in American and world history, for his achievements both as Supreme Allied Commander Europe and as the 34^th President of the United States.

When asked about his legacy, Eisenhower responded, “The United States never lost a soldier or a foot of ground in my administration. We kept the peace. People asked how it happened – by God, it didn’t just happen, I’ll tell you that.”

We build this memorial today not only to honor a single person, but as a symbol for all generations of the greatness of America and what our values have made possible at home and abroad.

Lest anyone forget what can be achieved in the land of the free and the home of the brave, let them come here and understand what Eisenhower, and America, have done. And what they, in turn, can do for themselves and for our nation’s future.

 

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