A Great Proposal

James Robbins of the National Review has the best proposal I've seen yet for memorializing the victims of September 11:

I have always admired the fact the Victoria Cross was originally manufactured from metal taken from Russian artillery pieces captured during the Crimean War, from which the decoration originated. In that spirit I would like to propose something similar - that all campaign medallions awarded for service during the War on Terror be cast from metal from the World Trade Center towers. Currently the salvaged beams are being cut up and sold for scrap in Asia. One long beam would supply enough metal for thousands of medals. And I think it would make the decorations that much more meaningful to the men and women who earn them, as well as let the survivors know that a small piece of the buildings in which their loved ones perished has been put to a noble use.

It is comparable to the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt loosing its first sorties against Afghanistan while flying the flag the three firemen raised in the rubble of the World Trade Towers, or Marines seizing the Kandahar airport and unfurling another Ground Zero flag, covered with the names of the fallen and messages from survivors. ("They took 23 good cops. Pay back time.") These moments merge events with power and elegance. Crafting medals from the debris of the buildings destroyed by our enemies — and let's also include the Pentagon — would ennoble the awards in a manner that reaches beyond the valorous service they recognize. A medal struck from tower beams would be more than an acknowledgment; it would be a tangible connection, an unduplicatable fusion of time, space, and memory.

For what it's worth, I'm foursquare behind this idea.

I'm writing my congresspeople right now. Tell them Senator Inouye of Hawaii - himself a Medal of Honor winner - supports this, and he needs their support too.

Here's the Senate and House websites, with addresses.

If you're from Minnesota, write Senators Barkley (no current email address), Dayton, and Senator-elect Coleman, and our House delegation.

Posted by Mitch at November 21, 2002 01:52 PM