Congress Approves Global War On Terror Memorial

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It would take its place on the national mall alongside the World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War Memorials.

Friday, in an emotion-choked session, the House of Representatives took a giant step towards making the Global War on Terror Memorial a reality.

"When I cast this vote today, I will think about my close friends ... who died 12 years ago today in Iraq," Rep. Ruben Gallego said.

For more than three years now, it's been the passion of Andrew Brennan, a Central Catholic High School graduate who served as a captain and helicopter pilot in Afghanistan and now serves as the executive director of the memorial organization.

"Everyone's recognizing that this is a multi-generational conflict at this point," Brennan said, "and with that shifting paradigm of war, the law's governing military commentate works needs to bend a little."

The House struck down a requirement that a conflict must be over for ten years before a memorial can be built, but since the War on Terror is ongoing, they voted to begin the process now so that today's veterans will live to see it.

Congressman Keith Rothfus said given the divided state of the nation, the timing could not be better.

"We need this memorial now more than ever," Rothfus said. "Yes, to remember our fallen, but also to bind us together as we reflect upon the sacrifice and the transcendent ideals upon which this country was founded."

Now, that the bill has cleared the house, it makes its way to the senate where it already has 21 co-sponsors. If all goes well, it should reach the president's desk for his signature in the next few months.

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