Senators Seek Study of New Monument at Iwo Jima Site

In an effort to keep the Iwo Jima Memorial from having to share its site, eight senators sought an environmental inquiry into the “aesthetic, historic and cultural impacts” of an Air Force Memorial scheduled to be built nearby.

Their request would raise a new hurdle to the construction of the Air Force Memorial, which has drawn opposition from former Marines who fear the proposed aluminum star rising 50 feet into the air would overshadow the famous flag-raising monument.

The Air Force Monument, to be erected 600 feet away from the Iwo Jima Memorial, has already won approval from the Fine Arts Commission and the National Capital Planning Commission.

But an organization called Friends of Iwo Jima has collected thousands of signatures on petitions opposing constructing the Air Force monument at the approved site. Many members are ex-Marines or live near the Iwo Jima monument.

In a letter Friday to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbit, the senators said they interpret regulations as requiring an environmental impact statement “for every major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment” and not merely the impact on air, water and land.

Anything less, they said, “will do nothing to contribute support for the project nor alleviate the controversy.”

The letter was signed by Republicans Craig Thomas of Wyoming, Pat Roberts of Kansas, John Warner of Virginia, Conrad Burns of Montana and John Chafee of Rhode Island and Democrats Charles Robb of Virginia, John Glenn of Ohio and Dale Bumpers of Arkansas.