Disabled veterans memorial rapidly becoming reality.

The effort to build the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial is rapidly gaining momentum. From the beginning in 1998, one milestone after another has been reached along the road to completion of this important memorial. And our DAV Chapters, Departments and individual members have been leading the way. In addition, support has recently gotten a boost from corporations and other organizations, as well.

The memorial received its first major gift from a corporate foundation--a $500,000 matching grant from the Fifth Third Foundation. Established in 1948, the Fifth Third Foundation was one of the country's first corporate foundations.

In addition, the Veterans of Foreign Wars has donated $100,000 toward the memorial, and this donation was immediately matched by the Lois Pope LIFE Foundation. Finally, actor Gary Sinise has agreed to join the effort as the national spokesman for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. Sinise, who played disabled Vietnam veteran Lt. Dan Taylor in the movie Forrest Gump, also stars in the popular television drama "CSI: New York."

More than 240,000 individuals and families have become memorial sponsors--a significant growth over 2004. To help put this into perspective, the National World War II Memorial had slightly more than 600,000 sponsors--total.

These are exciting times for those of us who work every day to make the dream of all of our nation's disabled veterans a reality. The memorial will honor all veterans throughout our nation's history who became disabled while in the service of our country.

It will command an impressive two-acre site located within full view of the U.S. Capitol, located adjacent to the National Mall and across Independence Avenue from the U.S. Botanic Garden.

The meditative design concept for the memorial includes a star-shaped pool of water that will reflect the Capitol dome. An eternal flame will rise from the center of the pool, symbolizing the home hearth as well as the fire of war. A grove of trees will stand sentry beside the pool, signifying the persistence of hope. Combined with its water and fire, the memorial will utilize stone and glass to convey the interplay of strength and vulnerability, loss and renewal. Three dimensional art is planned to symbolize the trauma of war wounds.

Those who visit this sacred spot will learn the value of courage, sacrifice, honor and service by witnessing the experiences of our nation's disabled veterans.

The memorial will remain constantly in the sight of America's lawmakers, serving as a constant reminder of the human cost of war and the sacrifices of our disabled veterans.

Tremendous progress has been made since Congress authorized the memorial in 2000, but there is still much work to be done towards generating more support for its construction and perpetual maintenance. Currently the Foundation hopes the memorial will be built and dedicated in 2010. Clearly a memorial to disabled veterans is needed and, just as clearly, the citizens of our nation want it. It remains a dream, but is moving toward reality at a time when our ranks of disabled veterans are growing.

Their service and sacrifice will be recognized, along with the disabled from all of our wars. From the birth of our nation to present day, our young men and women have given their futures so that we can have our todays. Let us promise them that we who enjoy this day will remember them through all of their tomorrows.