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5/28

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Lois I. Barber of Sandy Hook is a field representative for the campaign to

build a $100 million national memorial in Washington, D.C., to honor veterans

of World War II. She is holding a photograph of her father, Louis Imbriano,

who served in the Eighth Air Force in England.

- Photo, Jim Barber

The planned National World War II Memorial is located on a 7.4-acre site on

the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Designed by architect Fredrich St

Florian to surround the Rainbow Pool, it preserves an unobstructed view from

the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. The artist rendering is by

Michael McCann.

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

When Lois I. Barber was a child, she was enthralled by the stories her father

told of his military service in England during World War II. A member of the

Eighth Air Force, Louis Imbriano fused and loaded bombs, handed out flak

jackets, and was the pitcher on a team that played against Joe DiMaggio when

the great baseball player visited the troops.

"As the story goes, my dad threw his best fast ball, Joe DiMaggio hit it and

the ball never stopped rising," Mrs Barber said.

But it wasn't until she found a book about the Buttan death march in the

library when she was about 13 that she really began to learn about the war.

"I couldn't believe it. I thought it must be fiction," Mrs Barber said. "My

parents had sheltered me. And I began to wonder why they don't teach us about

this in school? World War II was a big important part of history that is not

really taught in the public school system."

She vowed to use every opportunity to expose her children to the contribution

made by so many to preserve freedom in history's most devastating war.

Two years ago Mrs Barber, her husband, Jim, and their children, Luke, now 13,

Tommy, 9, and Lisa, 6, moved from Long Island to Zoar Road in Sandy Hook. Not

long afterwards, Luke became one of The Bee's Mini Page "Cool Correspondents,"

and interviewed World War II veterans aboard the Intrepid.

"When The Bee published his interview, I sent a copy to Senator Bob Dole who

is a national co-chairman for the campaign to build a World War II memorial in

Washington, D.C.," she said. "Not long afterwards, his office called me."

Mrs Barber sent the memorial campaign staff an article she had written after

she interviewed the pilot and co-pilot of the Memphis Belle , one of the first

B-17's to complete 25 bombing missions over Europe. The interview was

published in the Spring 1999 issue of the World War II Memorial Newsletter.

Mrs Barber was asked to serve as a registered field respresentative for the

National World War II Memorial Campaign. A field representative is authorized

to distribute information about the planned memorial and to encourage direct

donations to the memorial fund.

"More than 16 million Americans served in uniform during the war; more than

400,000 gave their lives and millions more supported the war effort from the

home front," Mrs Barber said. "Unfortunately, the World War II generation is

too quickly passing into the history they helped us to write. Of the 16

million in uniform, fewer than 7 million are alive today, and we lose another

1,000 each day. It is time to say thank you!"

Lois Imbriano was a hospital lab technician when she met Jim Barber, an

advertising photographer in New York City. After they were married in 1980,

she went back to school and earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts at New

York University where she studied at the film school, specializing in

screenwriting.

"I was almost 30 by the time I finished and I wanted to have a family," she

said. "I thought I could raise children and write but for 10 years I didn't so

much as dot an `i.'"

The Barbers lived in Manhattan, in Greenwich Village, in New Jersey, and on

Long Island before deciding to move to Connecticut two years ago. Not long

after she moved here, Mrs Barber saw a television program about a heat-seeking

camera that helps firefighters locate victims in smoke-filled buildings.

"I wondered if there were any in this town," she said. "Old houses go up like

matchboxes - it happens so fast."

Mrs Barber became the spearhead for what was called the Cairns Iris Fund,

named after the original device on the market. The fund now is called the

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company's Thermal Camera Fund.

When the crew of the Enola Gay came to Greenwich for an autograph signing, Mrs

Barber went.

"I took a look at the five men sitting at a long table and I got very

emotional," she said. "Afterwards I told everyone I went. Most people said

`That's great -- what's the Enola Gay?'"

It troubled Mrs Barber that so many people did not remember the plane that

dropped the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, leading the way to the end

of the war.

"People need to attend services for Memorial Day and Veterans Day," she said.

"They should visit Holocaust and military museums. Those who served in World

War II did such a great job preserving our lifestyles and our freedom."

In 1993 Congress authorized the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to

establish the nation's first memorial to World War II veterans in the

Washington area. A 7.4-acre site on the National Mall was selected and

dedicated in a formal ceremony on Veterans Day 1995.

The design concept of Friedrich St Florian, an achitect based in Providence,

R.I., was selected from more than 400 entries in a nationwide campaign. The

design features two arches that mark the north and south entrances to the

Memorial Plaza. Bronze laurel wreaths representing victory are suspended

within the arches. The vistas from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln

Memorial are preserved, as are the mall's elm trees and its parklike setting.

St Florian's memorial design concept was approved by the Commission on Fine

Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission in the summer of 1998.

The $100 million memorial will be funded almost entirely by private

contributions. About $45 million has been raised so far.

Under the provisions of the Commemorative Works Act of 1986, the ABMC must

obtain a construction permit from the Secretary of the Interior within seven

years - by May 2000. Before a permit will be issued, the final design must be

approved and all construction funds must be on hand. The funds required

include a perpetual maintenance fund (10 percent of the construction cost)

provided to the National Park Service, which will assume title and the

responsibility for controland maintenance of the memorial after it is

completed. ABMC hopes to break ground by Veterans Day 2000.

As a field representative for the memorial campaign, Lois Barber has brochures

that provide information about the memorial and how to enter names into the

World War II Registry of Remembrances. The name of anyone who helped win World

War II, whether in battle or on the homefront, is eligible for entry.

Contributions by check or credit card are tax-deductible. For a contribution

of $20 or more, individuals will become a charter member of the World War II

Memorial Society and will receive a certificate of appreciation, a newsletter

that provides information on the memorial's progress, and a membership card.

Lapel pins, limited edition prints, and other items are available for those

who give larger donations.

For a free brochure, call Mrs Barber at 270-8017.