If I'd been in charge the World War II memorial would have been smaller and maybe in a different place. There would have been less sprawling stonework and more quiet places for reflection. When the project was announced I thought it was the wrong memorial in the wrong place.

But now it's completed... scheduled to be dedicated this Memorial Day... and there's no question such a monument needed to be built. But it's everything the designs said it would be: sprawling, a little incongruous, and smack in the middle of the Mall.

Wedged into the edge of the reflecting pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II memorial's fountains and pools are ringed with pillars representing each state and territory. Taller structures marked "Atlantic" and "Pacific" stand on each side and each star on a wall of 4,000 honors 100 soldiers killed.

What the memorial lacks in quiet revery it makes up for in scale and grandeur. And I suppose that's appropriate. An epic memorial to an epic war. I imagine I might have found fault with the idea of a giant Lincoln on a throne or dominating Washington's skyline with an enormous obelisk.

I'm not sure why we're two generations late in building it... or why it took Tom Hanks to get it built. But it's finally finished... and in time for many of the war's survivors to see it. The New York Times probably summarized the feelings of those who, like me, thought the memorial was an imperfect implementation of a perfect idea.

This page found fault with the memorial's size, heavy design and location. But now [that] it is built, aesthetic judgments fade at the sight of younger visitors boldly approaching heartstruck old-timers to offer a simple thanks.

The last couple of days have been hanging out around Washington and meeting with a couple of potential employers. I'm off this morning toward Pittsburgh before continuing west.