
DATE: Sunday, November 16, 1997             TAG: 9711160050

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  155 lines

NORFOLK BEGINS CAMPAIGN TO FINISH WAR MEMORIAL

``Dear God, spare our lives, for we are young and love life so much.'' - excerpt from a letter written by Robert A. Baum, killed in combat, April 1943

On a tiny island in the Elizabeth River, visitors will one day be able to read Robert Baum's letter written to his sister, its bronzed edges curled as though riffled by the wind off the water.

Nineteen other letters, written by veterans shortly before they died in conflicts from the American Revolution to the Persian Gulf, will lie scattered around the lawn, an eloquent memorial to the soldiers of war, expressed in their own words.

The memorial was designed by James Cutler of Washington state, the architect who gained worldwide attention for his design of Microsoft founder Bill Gates' techno-whiz $50 million mansion. Norfolk's memorial is on the opposite end of the spectrum, elegant in its simplicity, costing less than $1 million.

But where Gates was able to pay in full for his house, the city of Norfolk is a little short on funds. Monday, the city will kick off a campaign to raise $250,000 to finish paying for the war memorial.

``Mom, All of my dreams are about some time after the war. And I believe that that is a sign that I will survive. I remember another dream I had where I got off the plane . . . and you, B., and D.C. were waiting for me. I ran and hugged y'all. It felt too real not to come true, too real.'' - John Wesley Hutto, died Feb. 27, 1991

The $500,000 that John R. ``Johnny'' Burton Jr. willed the city in 1992 felt too real not to be used. The bequest came from a man famed for the homecoming parties he arranged for Norfolk-based sailors, and his habit of flying out to meet the ships as they returned.

Burton was a lifelong resident of Norfolk, an advertising manager for Smith and Welton department store and a member of the Armed Forces committee of the local Chamber of Commerce. He was an Army captain during World War II, and he fervently wanted a memorial to veterans killed in action.

He established an endowment to honor a sailor of the month and the year. When Burton died, he asked that the city build a memorial to veterans; the city didn't want to put up just another statue.

A committee was appointed to come up with a design. Member Ewin Ottinger, a Norfolk businessman, brought in some books of wartime diaries and letters.

``There are literally thousands of veterans' memorials,'' Ottinger said. ``Everyone on that committee was very interested in that what we did would be something with a powerful message and something that was unique.''

The committee decided to use letters in the design. A nationwide search was launched for an architect who could create such a memorial. Three were selected to submit proposals, and James Cutler Architects of Bainbridge Island, Wash., was chosen.

Cutler and artist Maggie Smith began talking it over.

``Both Maggie and I are children of Vietnam and had no great love of the military,'' Cutler said. ``But the thought of somebody being willing to give up their life for what they believed is to be admired.

``We took this bundle of letters and threw them in the wind to give a sense of the ephemeral quality of our lives and our words. These words, if they were tumbling in the wind, they might have great power,'' he said.

Next came the process of locating letters that would span two centuries of war, and seeking permission from families to replicate them. The committee wanted eloquence and emotion, a beautiful memorial to the horrors of war.

``Dear Mother: Even the trenches can be beautiful when they are trimmed with flowers, and the barbed wire forms a trellis for rambling vines, and shelter for innumerable thrushes. . . . At the base of one of the birches is a flourishing wild rose bush. . . . Here are some of them for you.'' - Quincy Sharpe Mills, died July 26, 1918

Designers selected letters that would cover the emotional gamut - from love to fear to hate to hope. For two days, they photographed sheets of paper blowing in the wind.

``Maggie and I recognized that there's a shape to the wind, that it comes in riffles and gusts and it tends to blow things in rows,'' Cutler said. ``We set about shaping the memorial so it would have a real sense of movement.''

The design is such that more letters could be added in the future, should war arise again, said Mary Miller of the Norfolk Planning Department. ``One or two of the letters are from local families,'' she said. ``We've even talked with Maggie about, when the memorial is dedicated, to have the other letters she collected put in a display.''

The bronze letters will be set around the flagpole at the tip of Town Point Park, and parts of the existing riverfront promenade will be cut away to create an island. Curving bridges will lead to the memorial.

The memorial will become part of the social studies/history curriculum of Norfolk public schools, according to a fund-raising letter written by Thomas G. Johnson Jr., president of the Greater Norfolk Corp., a private-sector sponsor of the project.

``It is one thing to read from a history book,'' he wrote. ``This memorial people and future generations of young people.''

``Dear Bob: It's really hell, man. I saw a medevac operation after a company had been hit by our own artillery . . . it really shakes you up. . . everything is OK.'' - Thomas F. Kingsley, died March 20, 1971

Real estate developer Harvey Lindsay co-chairs the fund-raising effort with Ottinger. Lindsay said that the city hopes to raise the $250,000 by the end of the year, with a wishful eye on dedicating the monument on Memorial Day 1998.

``I think the concept of letters from the battlefield, with the landscaping and the sculpture - it's going to be a beautiful thing,'' Lindsay said. ``It's not large, but it's going to be beautiful.''

``I used to fly out to some of the ships with Johnny Burton,'' Lindsay said. ``I saw how dedicated and loyal and interested he was in helping the soldiers and sailors and marines. He had this tremendous dedication to helping them.''

Cutler and Smith had the letters cast at a foundry in Walla Walla, Wash., and decided to test the design. They mowed a field to the same size and shape as the tip of Town Point Park, and set the bronze letters around it.

``We invited the whole city of Walla Walla to come and look at it,'' Cutler said. ``We got about 2,000 people to come and look at it. Only one in every 10 people came out not crying.''

``My darling Marianna: This whole thing, as are all wars, is complete lunacy. . . . Living from generation to generation of wars seems like mankind admitting it doesn't know how to be civilized.'' - Samuel Lloyd Jones, died Oct. 20, 1951

The fund-raising begins with an 8 a.m. continental breakfast at the MacArthur Memorial, with presentations by city officials and architect Cutler. It is open to the public. A lunch for business, corporate and civic leaders will follow.

A news conference will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the proposed site in Town Point Park.

``I certainly was enthusiastic about where we finally decided to put it,'' Ottinger said. ``That's related to ships going by, coming home and what Mr. Burton did. It's a place where people go. It's a place where people who come here to visit go. It's a prominent place in the city. And the city was willing to have it put to that use.''

Representatives of Burton's estate have been involved in the design process from the beginning, and seem to be happy with the city's selection, Miller said.

The memorial will be a fitting tribute to both Burton and veterans, Lindsay added.

``We think it's going to be a magnificent tribute to these men and women who gave their lives,'' he said.

``My Dear Mother: War looks a great deal better in the newspapers, than anywhere else.'' - Robert Henry Miller, died Aug. 29, 1862 MEMO: News librarian Peggy Earle contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: FILE PHOTO

Residents of Walla Walla, Wash., walk around a test design of the

war memorial created by James Cutler Architects. Norfolk needs

$250,000 to finish paying for the memorial, to be erected at the

tip of Town Point Park.

Graphic

Color photo

JAMES CUTLER ARCHITECTS

ABOUT THE MEMORIAL

What: Twenty letters written by soldiers shortly before they died

in battle. They would be cast in bronze and scattered around the

memorial's lawn.

Where: Town Point Park