Tuesday, November 11, 2025
-Bill Crane-
Finalizing this column on Veterans Day, I want to be clear that our nation is forever indebted to the millions of men and women who have served in uniform, as well as those serving today, in every corner of the globe, protecting our nation, our freedoms and our way of life as Americans. A visit to Washington, D.C. and particularly to the National Mall cannot help but make your chest swell with patriotism and pride, walking the several miles between our nation’s Capitol building, the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and across the Potomac River and into Arlington National Cemetery, some of the most hallowed ground in our country. Along that walk, you will encounter, ponder and potentially be visibly stunned by the monuments to veterans of World I., World War II., the Korean and Vietnam Wars and of course the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and hundreds of other monuments and edifices within Arlington National Cemetery.
Travel abroad can also be inspiring and that was certainly the case during his first term when President Donald J. Trump was invited on a state visit to France by President Emmanuel Macron, during a time which included Bastille Day, July 14th. Each year in Paris since 1880, with only wartime exception, the French have celebrated the Bastille Day Military Parade, passing down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees from the Palace of Charles de Gaulle, centered around the Arc de Triomphe and on to the Palace de la Concorde, where the President of France, members of government and the Mayor of Paris, along with foreign ambassadors and visiting dignitaries stand in revue. The President of France arrives via a convoy of the Republican Guard to the Arc de Triomphe, where he is greeted by the parade commander, who informs the President that the troops and armaments are now ready for inspection.
Let’s just say that Trump was impressed. President Trump has since held two grand military review parades in Washington, D.C., the first on a Fourth of July, and the more recent to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army. Though American soldiers can and do march well, the District of Columbia and its roadways were not designed for some of the heavier tanks and military machinery on display. Trump knows that events created by Executive Order often have little lasting impact upon the departure of that particular Commander in Chief.
At a recent donor dinner hosted at the White House on October 15th, the President updated Whitehouse Ballroom donors that read like a Who’s Who of some of the nation’s wealthiest CEOs and individuals. During the gala, the President unveiled his next planned improvement for the District of Columbia, anticipating that the donors in the room might be similarly receptive, to three models of an Arc de Trump, to be built on the D.C. end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, which crosses the Potomac and connects D.C. to Virginia at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery.
A journalist in attendance noted the many monuments already in place to war veterans along the Mall, “Who will this be for?” With little hesitation the President replied, “It’s for me.”
President Trump would like this Arch completed in time for America’s 250th birthday, July 4, 2026.
The Arc in Paris was commissioned in 1806 to honor those who fought and died for France during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the Arc bears the names of French victories and generals engraved on its inner and outer surfaces. Following multiple construction delays, it was completed in 1836 during the reign of Louis Phillipe. That is 9-months from now.
In 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed a 12- member Memorial Advisory Board to support efforts to construct a World War II Memorial on the Mall which had gotten underway in 1987. That monument was dedicated on April 29, 2004 by President George W. Bush.
More than $197-million was privately raised, and the federal government contributed the prominent site and roughly $16-million to the costs of the project. The monument is staffed and maintained by the U.S. Park Service and hosts roughly 5,000,000 visitors per year.
I give the President, or any occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue reasonably broad purview to make additions/renovations or updates to the People’s House. A monument within the District of Columbia, honoring our nation, veterans and at the entrance to one of the nation’s most consecrated grounds should not be rushed, and not just a reflection of a great trip to Paris, no matter how grand. Bon voyage!
