Peace Corps Commemorative facts for kids
The Peace Corps Commemorative is a special memorial planned for Washington, D.C.. It will honor the start of the Peace Corps and the important American ideas that inspired it. The Peace Corps is a program where people from the United States volunteer to help others around the world. The U.S. government runs it. Congress officially approved this memorial in January 2014.
What is the Peace Corps Commemorative?
The Peace Corps program began on March 1, 1961. President John F. Kennedy created it with an official order. Later, on September 21, 1961, Congress passed a law called the Peace Corps Act. This law officially made the program permanent.
Between 1961 and 2013, more than 215,000 Americans joined the Peace Corps. Many of these former volunteers formed a group called the National Peace Corps Association. This group is non-profit. They created the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation. Their goal was to build a memorial. This memorial would honor the Peace Corps' mission and its founding values.
How the Commemorative Became Law
Building new memorials in Washington, D.C., is not easy. A law from 1986, called the Commemorative Works Act, set strict rules. New monuments on federal land in the D.C. area need Congress's approval. They also go through a long process for site, design, and building.
In early 2013, Ohio Governor Bob Taft asked Senator Rob Portman to help. Both were former Peace Corps volunteers. Senator Portman introduced a bill, S.230, in the Senate on February 7, 2013. Senator Mark Udall also supported it. The Senate approved this bill on June 19, 2013.
A similar bill, H.R.915, was introduced in the House of Representatives. This happened on February 28, 2013. Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III sponsored it. He was also a former Peace Corps volunteer. This was his first bill in Congress. Other former Peace Corps volunteers, like Representatives Sam Farr, Tom Petri, Mike Honda, and John Garamendi, supported it.
To make sure the memorial was approved quickly, the House voted on the Senate's bill (S.230). They approved it 387-to-7 on January 13, 2014. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law on January 24, 2014. This law is known as Public Law 113-78.
The law is officially called "Memorial to Commemorate America's Commitment to International Service and Global Prosperity." It allows the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation to manage the memorial's design and construction. The memorial can be built on federal land in District of Columbia. No government money can be used to build it. The Foundation must raise all the funds from donations.
Finding a Spot and Designing the Memorial
The Commemorative Works Act has rules for choosing a site. The National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission (NCMAC) must approve the location. On May 6, 2014, the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation (PCCF) suggested some possible sites.
The PCCF believed the memorial should be near the "monumental core" of Washington, D.C. This is where many famous monuments are located. They looked at 16 empty sites. They narrowed it down to four top choices:
- A site in Georgetown, near Rock Creek Park and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
- Two sites near H Street NW, 18th Street NW, and 19th Street NW. One of these is currently Edward R. Murrow Park.
- A site near Louisiana Avenue NW, 1st Street NW, and C Street NW. This spot is close to Upper Senate Park. It is also near the Memorial to Japanese-American Patriotism in World War II. This site is currently Vincent R. Sombrotto Memorial Park.
The PCCF asked the NCMAC to approve the Louisiana Avenue site.
In November 2014, the National Park Service suggested the Louisiana Avenue site. Even though it was the smallest site, it scored highest in their ranking. Some local groups were against it because it would mean losing green space.
Since 2015, the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation has received many design ideas. Architects, landscape architects, and artists have submitted proposals. A final design concept was developed by the PCCF design team in 2019-2020. On September 17, 2020, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts officially approved this design.
Pub.L. 113-78
