Four Medal of Honor recipients have sent a letter in support of the Hershel “Woody” Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act to leadership on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
In the letter, the recipients urged Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) to advance the bill in the Senate and complete the “final, long-overdue step” of authorizing the monument’s placement along the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
In their letter, Medal of Honor Recipients retired Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady, retired Army Col. Jack Jacobs, retired Navy Master Chief Britt Slabinski and retired Army Lt. Col. Will Swenson emphasized the monument’s national significance, highlighting its timeliness and unifying aspect. They also underscored the urgency of quickly building the monument. There are currently only 61 living recipients and many are in the twilight of their lives.
“In 2021, Congress took the important step by unanimously approving the establishment of the Monument in the National Capital Region. Yet despite broad consensus and strong public support, previous Committee leadership allowed the prior version of this legislation to stall, and as a result, one of our own – the last living Medal of Honor Recipient from the Korean War – passed away without seeing the project reach its rightful place in our nation’s capital. We cannot let that happen again,” the letter reads.
The letter noted that the Monument Location Act had been promised a hearing in March, with no action, and asked that the committee “move quickly to advance this bill before time runs out once again.” Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the bill.
The project, which is fully funded by private donations, is ready to proceed the moment the Senate bill is enacted.
“The Monument is nonpartisan, unifying, and long overdue,” the letter reads. “The Medal has been awarded to Americans from all walks of life, every racial and ethnic background, and every state, across every conflict in our nation’s history since its inception. There is no better project to represent the spirit of national unity and selfless service that our country so desperately needs.”
Once complete, the National Medal of Honor Monument will complement the National Medal of Honor Museum, which opened its doors to the public in March in Arlington, TX. No federal funds will be used to build the monument, and the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation is responsible for raising funds to cover expenses associated with the project.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.