Military veterans of the war on terrorism deserve a memorial. Let’s hope they don’t have to wait as long for it as World War II veterans did theirs. Pittsburgher Andrew Brennan, an Army veteran who flew helicopters in Afghanistan, has been promoting the idea of a national memorial in Washington, D.C., for about three years. Significant obstacles remain. Funding is one of them, but that’s a worry for another day. First, Congress would have to waive a law that permits memorials to be built only 10 years or more after a war is concluded. The war on terror, however, is more nebulous than most. It’s a fight against a concept, a tactic used by non-state actors, not a foreign power. It’s waged on many fronts, not two or three. Unlike other wars, such as World War II, it might never end. But that’s no reason to hold off giving veterans their due.
