Arlington, VA, Sept. 16, 1997 -- In one of its first official acts during its 1997 National Convention, the Air Force Association put its full weight behind the establishment of the Air Force Memorial.

In a resolution adopted unanimously by convention delegates, AFA stated:

"On behalf of its 160,000 members, the Air Force Association declares its strong and unqualified support for the establishment of the Air Force Memorial on its approved site on Arlington Ridge in Arlington, VA. The Air Force Memorial will not encroach on the Iwo Jima Memorial, which is located up a hill, beyond a grove of trees, on its own 7-acre site. Since the project began in 1992, the Air Force Memorial Foundation has meticulously followed the stringent rules and the elaborate process embedded in law. The Marine Corps raised no objections to the Air Force Memorial when the plan was presented to the senior leadership in 1994, before approval for the Arlington Ridge site was requested."

The resolution also stated that the Air Force Association "has the deepest respect and admiration for the U.S. Marine Corps and for the Marine Corps War Memorial." The Air Force Memorial, it states, "was designed to complement and not detract from the Iwo Jima Memorial."

AFA strongly endorsed the actions taken to date by the Air Force Memorial Foundation. "The Congress established a set of procedures in 1986 that must be followed by memorial petitioners -- all of which have been followed in this case. It would be wrong for Congress to set a precedent by intervening in that process and essentially reversing the approvals already secured by the Air Force Memorial Foundation."