Air Force Memorial, Arlington, Va.

January 5, 2007

Dedicated last October, the memorial to the nation’s newest branch of the armed forces didn’t happen overnight, however.
When organizers of the Air Force Memorial Foundation first met to address the absence of a monument in the Washington area, it’s unlikely any of them anticipated 15 years would pass before their vision became a reality.
Gaining Congressional approval and raising the more than $50 million needed to pay for the project represents only a small portion of the effort involved. A change from its initial site location meant the foundation had to go through two processes of selecting an architect and design.
Then, the successful architect who had won both competitions – James Ingo Freed of New York-based Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (PCF) – passed away some 10 months before the job was completed.
However, those involved say the end result was worth the wait. Freed’s design, incorporating three stainless-steel spires that evoke flight and the flying spirit, fits the site and truly represents the Air Force.
While the spires are the main focus of the memorial, those involved say a masterful use of two dark granites for other key elements – such as inscription walls and landscaping – add to the overall impression that the site will long serve as a source of inspiration and reflection.

FORMIDABLE TASK
The dedication in mid-October marked the end of a rocky road that ironically had its beginnings during this country’s participation in the first Persian Gulf War when Iraq invaded Kuwait.
Retired USAF Maj. Gen. Edward Grillo, president of the Air Force Memorial Foundation, explains that the project began with the realization by the Air Force Association that something needed to be done.
Air power played a very prominent role in the first Gulf War, but the service had no place or any memorial to mark the success of that effort. Nor did it have a site in or near the nation’s capital to pay respect to those lost in any action since the creation of the U.S. Air Force in 1947.
“That combination of things led to the determination that it was about time the Air Force had a memorial,” Grillo says.
It’s also a task much easier said than done, even when things go smoothly. Grillo explains that Congressional approval is required even to form an organization to raise funds for such a project.
Early on, the Air Force Sergeants Association joined the Air Force Association in the effort, and Ross Perot Jr., was chosen to become the chairman of the site and design committee. (Perot later became chairman of the foundation.)
Congress authorized the establishment of a United States Air Force Memorial on federal land at the end of 1993. Following that, a site was chosen for the project near the Marine Corps Memorial, and the foundation began the process of hiring an architect by opening a design competition.
Kyle Johnson, a senior associate at Pei Cobb Freed & Partners who worked with James Freed on the project, says the foundation’s charge was pretty basic.
“They wanted a design that said something about the Air Force,” is how he puts it, adding that Freed developed a design with a star-shaped enclosing canopy, open to the sky, which fit the tucked-away site.
However, after Freed’s design was selected by the foundation, conflicts over the site led Congress to direct the Secretary of Defense to relocate the memorial to a promontory of land at the Naval Annex, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery.
Grillo says the foundation was convinced the old design didn’t fit the new site, so it opened a second design competition – which Freed also won.
“Again, they were asked to come up with a design that best represented what the Air Force represents and the media in which the Air Force works, which is air and space,” says the foundation president. “There was very little discussion among the site design committee that he did not clearly win the second competition. We were also pleasantly surprised that he completely tore up the other design and came up with a brand-new design.”

APPROPRIATE SOBRIETY
Serving as the focal point for the memorial are three stainless-steel spires, the tallest of which ascends 270’ above the base of the memorial.
In his architect’s statement, Freed says the spires, designed with the help of the engineering firm Ove Arup & Partners, “…appear to be soaring; its array of arcs against the sky evokes a modern image of flight by jet and space vehicles. At the same time, it enshrines the past in permanent remembrance of the pioneers of flight who came before and pays homage to those of the future.”
In the statement, Freed adds that the number three also represents the core values of the Air Force: integrity, service and excellence.
However, Freed opted to complement his spires with other key elements, including a four-person bronze honor guard statue sculpted by Zenos Frudakis.
Several other key elements are in granite, among them a Runway to Glory from the site entrance to the spires, two inscription walls located at each end of the parade ground and pavers that contain an embedded Air Force “star” beneath the spires.
PCF’s Johnson explains that the choice of the two granites – JetMist® from Esmond, R.I.-based Granites of America and Absolute Black from M+Q Italia S.p.A., of Marina di Massa, Italy – was primarily made by Freed.
“Both stones are stones we’re familiar with here,” Johnson says. “We have quite an extensive library of stone samples, and JetMist is a stone we’ve used with some frequency in the past. The fact that it’s quarried near Rapidan, Va., is coincidental.
“The Absolute Black is also something we’re familiar with, and for inscription panels you want something that has as little interfering grain as possible.”
The black of the Absolute Black and the charcoal gray of the JetMist also lend an appropriate sobriety to the memorial, Johnson adds.
“It’s a memorial, and we wanted to keep that in mind,” he says. “It’s not about bright colors; it’s about being a serious place and we tried to limit the palette. It’s black, gray and silver throughout the site, except for the vegetation, which brings in green. Everything gets together harmoniously and it turned out quite handsome.”
Freed further opted to utilize several different finishes on the two stones to further expand that color palette.
To make Freed’s vision a reality, the Air Force Memorial Foundation chose Centex Construction of Dallas as its general contractor. Gen. Grillo explains that, as with the design itself, the foundation selected its contractor following a competition.
Of the six firms that originally applied, three took themselves out of the picture following the initial review.
“This wasn’t a job for just anyone,” says Grillo of Centex’s selection. “If a company primarily confines itself to known commodities that have been built, it would not be very comfortable working in this arena.”
Bevan Mace, project manager for Centex, says that’s why the firm was interested in doing the work.
“We’re always looking for challenging and unique projects that our people can be passionate about, feel challenged by and that we can connect with,” he says. “The Air Force Memorial was a unique project and one we were happy to be chosen for.”
Although Mace says from his perspective, the construction of the spires was the most-challenging part of the job. Finding a stone contractor capable of meeting the exacting requirements of the job was critical as well.
“We were looking for someone that was capable of handling the size of this job and who could also manage the fine details of it,” he says. “It’s not like the joints in the granite pavers and walls could wind up anywhere. There was a lot of lineup with the joints throughout the entire site that had to occur and orient with elements such as trees and retaining walls. And, we knew we needed someone we could count on to get the job done right at the end of the day.”

THE RIGHT STUFF
Centex found its stone contractor with Springfield, Va.-based Lorton Contracting Company Inc. Owner Manuel Seara says monuments are a company specialty, and the firm has worked on most of the historic monuments in the Washington area.
“We were invited to bid the job and then we negotiated a price with the contractor,” he explains.
Lorton, in turn, chose the stone fabricator, A. Lacroix et Fils Granit Itee, of Saint Sebastien De Frontenac, Que.
Claude Lacroix, president of A. Lacroix, says his company bid the project with three or four different contractors. As with Centex, he says his firm was interested in the challenges fabricating the stone presented.
“It’s a pretty prestigious project,” he says. “It was important for the visibility of our enterprise doing work in Washington. And, Lorton knew we had the ability to produce the project.”
Simply obtaining the stones for the job was a major undertaking. Lacroix estimates it took 100 truckloads of JetMist alone.
“We had a very good connection with Tony Ramos, the owner of Granites of America,” the fabricator says. “He came to the quarry for block selection and we had a great collaboration with the quarry on that stone. Without the right blocks, we couldn’t do a job like this.”
The fabricator had more leeway with the Absolute Black, and ended up using a Belfast Black from M+Q Italia S.p.A., for much the same reason.
“Jim Freed and his team of architects, the general contractor and Lorton all came here about a year-and-a-half ago to make a color selection and a stone selection,” says Lacroix. “We also presented a visual mockup and they gave us stone approval.”
It was during the factory visit to Canada that some changes were also made on the finishes. The biggest one was the decision to go with a thermal and waterjet finish on the Belfast Black that wasn’t in the original specifications.
“It brings out the color much more than the flamed finish,” says Lorton’s Seara.
PCF’s Johnson explains that the different finishes broaden the color palette for the monument.
“The walking surfaces are generally a thermal-finish JetMist, while the vertical JetMist is honed, which is somewhat darker,” Johnson says. “The inscription panels are polished Absolute Black. And, the pathway across the parade ground is a combination thermal and waterjet finish of the Absolute Black, which makes it as black as you can possibly make it. The Absolute Black is used again to make the star shape under the spires stand out from the surrounding pavers.”

FINISHING TOUCHES
Groundbreaking for the memorial took place in September 2004, and construction began the following January. Stone fabrication, however, didn’t begin until fall of 2005.
Lacroix says a lot of preparation, from cutting the blocks into slabs (some 12” thick) to finishing the faces to getting approval of the necessary drawings, had to be completed first.
“We proceeded slowly but surely, following the installer’s requests,” he says. “And, they had to follow the directions the general contractor was giving them for the different setting areas. When we did the work for a specific area, we had to make sure we had the difficult pieces put together with the easier items, such as benches and pavers. If it was in a particular area, we had to enclose the whole thing together.”
He adds that the heaviest piece of JetMist stone the company had onsite weighed 20 tons, and the largest pieces – the JetMist slabs that supports the inscription panels – measured 12’6” X 7’6” when completed.
Lacroix estimates 100 truckloads of finished stone went back to the site. One of the issues the fabricator had to deal with was hiring drivers who could meet the security requirements placed on the site by its location near the Pentagon and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Both Seara and Lacroix say the stone portion of the project wouldn’t have run as smoothly as it did without constant communication between the two companies.
Lorton began installing the stonework at the site this past April, most of the time going with a 10-person crew. As the stone was being installed, another step was being added to the finishing process as stone carver Marcel Machler began adding the inscriptions that grace the memorial.
The Twin Peaks, Calif.-based artist says he had to submit a bid and several samples of his work showing different letter styles and heights before being chosen by the foundation. Although he and Lorton had not worked together previously, Machler has subsequently been hired to do another job for the company in Richmond, Va.
Initially having the panels shipped to Machler’s shop was considered, but then abandoned because of the size and scope of the job.
“The project grew with some additions, and eventually we realized it was best to do it onsite,” Machler says. “I was able to work around Lorton. We were working hand-in-hand with them installing certain sections. In some cases they had to set up the panels on A-frames because they weren’t ready to install them, but we were ready to carve them.”
Machler adds that while he had never worked with the JetMist before, it’s an excellent carving stone with fine crystals that holds edges well.
The stone carver had plenty of work to do on the site, from the 12” letters of, “Air Force Memorial,” to quotations from different presidents and Air Force leaders, a list of theaters where the Air Force has operated, a list of all airmen Medal of Honor recipients, a dedication wall, a separate tribute to architect Freed and a donor wall.
In addition, he created bas-relief images of the Medal of Honor and several Air Force logos.
The carving took three months, and Machler expects to be called back later to add a quote from President George W. Bush, as well as updates to the donor wall.
“It was all hammer-and-chisel work, although with granite I use air hammers and carbide-tip chisels,” he explains. “Anything 2” and above was carved, although there’s a section of letters less than 2” that was sandblasted for cost purposes that I subcontracted out.”
Work on the project was completed in time for the dedication weekend, although Claude Lacroix says his company shipped the final pieces to the site just the week before.
“We were mostly done by August, but there were other trades that were covering some areas where Lorton couldn’t work,” he says. “We had to be very close behind and watch the requests from Lorton every week to make sure each area was finished.”
Lorton’s Seara says that final deadline – and the need to collaborate closely with Lacroix and the other trades at the site – made the job a particular challenge.
“Every job of this size is difficult,” he says. “With this one, it was also a short window of time and a deadline that wasn’t flexible. The dedication was scheduled, the politicians were coming (along with 40,000 others) and it was not something that could be pushed back.”
Still, everyone involved with the project feels honored to have been part of a job meant to last for the ages.
“The most telling thing was being there and being able to see the reaction of not only the direct client but of everybody who’s associated with the Air Force,” says PCF’s Johnson. “Everything seems to have hit the nail on the head expressing to the world what the Air Force is about. They feel it’s about them and tells their story. It strikes a chord with people.
“That’s when we feel we’ve done something right.”
The foundation’s Grillo agrees. He says he’s heard from thousands of people and he can count on one hand the number that doesn’t like something about the finished memorial.
“Certainly, you can see the spires on the horizon driving throughout Washington, but you don’t gain the true appreciation of the entire memorial until you visit the site. It’s remarkably impressive.”