WASHINGTON, D.C., September 19, 2016:  Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), Chairman of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, today announced that the Eisenhower family has agreed to support the Gehry design of the Washington, D.C. memorial to their grandfather, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as a result of modifications that all believe make for a worthy tribute to an unparalleled American president and military leader.

Senator Roberts thanked the Eisenhower family and commended the efforts that yielded a compromise on several design elements, saying:

I want to thank the Eisenhower family – Susan, Anne, Mary Jean and David – for working through design issues that have brought us together on a memorial for Dwight D. Eisenhower, which will forever honor his contributions to our country and our world. I believe we have reached an excellent compromise and that the proposed modifications appropriately honor Eisenhower, Kansas’ favorite son, as both General and President. The commission is extremely grateful to Secretary James A. Baker, III, a member of our esteemed Advisory Committee, for his work with the Eisenhower family in creating a compromise that makes all parties pleased with the outcome and proud to move forward together. The timing of this resolution could not have been better – it will help us reach our goal of dedicating the memorial on June 6, 2019, the 75^th anniversary of D-Day.

The commission will work with the memorial’s designer, Frank Gehry, to begin making the agreed upon modifications and move the project forward with dispatch. The new elements will include a representation, in the tapestries, of the site of Eisenhower’s supreme allied command of the D-Day landings in Normandy, as it exists today, a testament to peace. It will also include a renewed focus on Ike’s home state of Kansas, particularly where he grew up in Abilene, Kansas, incorporating the famous quote, “The proudest thing I can claim is that I am from Abilene.”

“We are delighted that the memorial will move forward, thanks to Secretary James A. Baker III, Senators Pat Roberts and Bob Dole and the countless people who have helped to bring us to this point,” said Susan Eisenhower, the president’s granddaughter. “From Eisenhower’s upbringing in Abilene, Kansas, to the pinnacle of power in the 1940s and 50s, Eisenhower’s origins and his leadership in war and in peace is an appropriate way to remember him.”

Senator Bob Dole, Finance Chair of Fundraising for the National Eisenhower Memorial, echoed Senator Roberts’ praise for the Eisenhower family’s support:

My special thanks to my friend James Baker, III for his efforts in creating this compromise. I couldn’t be more delighted by the news that the family is joining the effort to build Ike’s memorial. I have known his grandchildren for many years and I know he would be rightly proud of their many accomplishments and the role they now will play in his memorial. We look forward to working with them as we make the dream of the memorial a reality. Chairman Pat Roberts has worked tirelessly to make today possible and it’s a proud moment for the country, and our home state of Kansas, in particular, that this memorial is moving forward under his leadership.

Attachment:   Susan Eisenhower Letter to James A. Baker, III