version november 2nd story correct amount raise 25 million instead 35 million last paragraph ian simpson washington construction dwight d. eisenhower national memorial kick symbolically thursday years opposition late u.s. president 150 million monument critics balk cost size gild shovel flash lawmakers architect frank gehry eisenhower family members turn trough earth ceremonial groundbreaking four-acre 1.6-hectare memorial 34th president world war two ally commander last last build last say republican u.s. senator pat roberts kansas head memorial commission hold monument build permit let get job do dedication monument national mall near national air space museum anticipate may 2019 75th anniversary surrender nazi germany world war two congress approve memorial 1999 opposition gehry plan stall years criticism focus eight-story-high columns support steel tapestry portray kansas prairies eisenhower grow 2014 house representatives committee report refer memorial five-star folly plague rise cost construction delay design flaw republican president family drop objections last year gehry reduce size change tapestry image kansas farmland normandy beach scene ally 1944 d-day invasion france good reflect eisenhower international stature susan eisenhower president granddaughter thursday downplay hurdle memorial face note one president franklin roosevelt take 43 years conception open 1997 say way ahead timeline say laughter onlookers include handful world war two veterans gehry plan get final approval washington plan arts commission fall site know eisenhower park critics remain national embarrassment build grandiose inscrutable ugly memorial virtually one like justin shubow president national civic art society say email congress long refuse fund project allocate 45 million construction current fiscal year republican president donald trump administration ask another 40 million next year memorial commission also halfway goal raise 25 million private fund long last grind break eisenhower memorial washington