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“Party Like it’s V-J Day” Aims to Raise Funds to Complete Pittsburgh WWII Memorial

Visitors to Market Square on Thursday may feel as though they’ve entered a time warp. In an effort to raise public awareness of a planned World War II memorial on the North Shore, River City Swing will be performing songs of the era, while dancers from Arthur Murray Downtown Pittsburgh trip the light fantastic.

“It was a unique time in our history that we want to memorialize for future generations so they remember the sacrifices that were made that provides them with the lifestyles we all enjoy today, with the freedoms we enjoy today,” said Lynn Griffin, secretary of the Southwester Pennsylvania WWII Memorial Fund.

Party Like it’s V-J Day will also feature a living statue and more information on the proposed memorial. V-J, or Victory over Japan Day, is the day Japan officially surrendered, and WWII ended. Its anniversary is marked on August 15 –the day fighting with Japan ended, and September 2 – the day Japan officially surrendered. The memorial will be built on the banks of the North Shore Riverfront Park.

“The location is critical because we have the Vietnam Veterans Memorial over there, we have the Korean War Memorial on the North Shore, we have the Police Memorial on the North Shore, we have the Children’s Tribute on the North Shore, but what is lacking is the World War II Memorial,” said Griffin.

The memorial will cost a total of $4.5 million dollars, $600,000 of which will go into an endowment for its upkeep. All plans are in place, and the memorial is ready to be built, but the fund is still $350,000 short. So far funding has come mostly from corporations, foundations, and the city, county and federal governments.

“There hasn’t been a whole lot of support from the public,” said Griffin, “I’m a daughter of a World War II veteran and the sad truth is a lot of our World War II veterans are passing away and so it’s left up to the next generation to memorialize their parents and their loved ones.”

Construction on the memorial is expected to begin sometime this fall, with completion slated for next spring. The memorial will celebrate the contributions of southwestern Pennsylvanians to the war effort and serve as an outdoor museum to teach visitors about local stories from that time.