Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
October 24, 2007
Pg. 8
By Gregg Zoroya, USA Today
WASHINGTON — Congressional support is building for a monument near the National Mall honoring military families, the brainchild of two close friends — one a widow of a sailor killed in Iraq, the other a military wife.
Karie Darga, 33, the widow, and Nicole Alcorn, 34, met Tuesday with the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission, among the first in a line of panels that must weigh in on their idea.
"Many monuments honor those who serve. But this picture is incomplete without recognizing those who are the heart and passion that sustains our military," Darga of Norfolk, Va., told the commission.
There are 99 co-sponsors for a bill that would authorize a monument financed entirely by private contributions. The bill, by Rep. Thelma Drake, R-Va., was introduced in the House of Representatives in July.
Alcorn says she first thought of the memorial — "a crazy idea" — while she and Darga were leaving a memorial service for Darga's husband, Navy Chief Petty Officer Paul Darga. He was a bomb disposal expert killed by a roadside explosion in Iraq last year.
Proposed memorials go through about two dozen steps before five different groups, says John Parsons, chairman of the National Capital Memorial Commission. The process can take eight to 10 years, Parsons says.
Darga and Alcorn created a non-profit organization and a website: www.militaryspousemonument.org. They estimate they will need to raise $30 million to $50 million. Their first major contribution was $10,000 from Patriot Guard motorcycle riders who help families during military funerals, Alcorn says.
October 24, 2007
Pg. 8
By Gregg Zoroya, USA Today
WASHINGTON — Congressional support is building for a monument near the National Mall honoring military families, the brainchild of two close friends — one a widow of a sailor killed in Iraq, the other a military wife.
Karie Darga, 33, the widow, and Nicole Alcorn, 34, met Tuesday with the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission, among the first in a line of panels that must weigh in on their idea.
"Many monuments honor those who serve. But this picture is incomplete without recognizing those who are the heart and passion that sustains our military," Darga of Norfolk, Va., told the commission.
There are 99 co-sponsors for a bill that would authorize a monument financed entirely by private contributions. The bill, by Rep. Thelma Drake, R-Va., was introduced in the House of Representatives in July.
Alcorn says she first thought of the memorial — "a crazy idea" — while she and Darga were leaving a memorial service for Darga's husband, Navy Chief Petty Officer Paul Darga. He was a bomb disposal expert killed by a roadside explosion in Iraq last year.
Proposed memorials go through about two dozen steps before five different groups, says John Parsons, chairman of the National Capital Memorial Commission. The process can take eight to 10 years, Parsons says.
Darga and Alcorn created a non-profit organization and a website: www.militaryspousemonument.org. They estimate they will need to raise $30 million to $50 million. Their first major contribution was $10,000 from Patriot Guard motorcycle riders who help families during military funerals, Alcorn says.