Nearly 58 years ago, our grandfathers fought a battle of insurmountable odds so we could live in an era free of terror and oppression.

More than 50 years after the end of World War II, interest in building a memorial dedicated to honoring those Americans is about to happen … almost.

Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan” led several motion pictures about World War II. Tom Hanks put a face on a participant in just another page in our history books. Or did he?

A national campaign is underway, led by former Senator Bob Dole and Frederick W. Smith, CEO of the FDX Corp., to fund the nation’s first national memorial dedicated to those who served in the armed forces and sacrificed during World War II.

A symbol of the defining event in our nation’s history, the memorial will be a monument to the spirits of those who surrendered themselves in order to preserve our nation and prevent the spread of tyranny.

All should appreciate what the World War II generation accomplished. Labeled by Tom Brokaw as the “Greatest Generation,” we have forgotten the sacrifices thousands made during World War II.

At Iowa State, 376 students died heroically during World War II. Their names are etched in stone walls on the north entrance of the Memorial Union. We walk by them daily without paying a second of attention.

It would be intriguing to see how many of us had a family member involved in the war, whether it was serving on the front lines or leading a recycling drive here at home.

We walk by the elderly every day, and it probably doesn’t occur to us that the person we just walked by lost someone in the war. This monument is a tribute to their selflessness, and they deserve a bit of gratitude.

The project has almost entirely been funded by private organizations. One of the leading local contributors to the funding drive is Wal-Mart.

In an age when kids are killing each other daily and world strife is abundant everywhere, it would be nice to pick up the newspaper or turn on the television and not be swamped by “bad” news.

That’s all there seems to be today, just bad news. There was an airplane crash somewhere, terrorists slaughtered some villagers, a family lost its home to a fire—what happened to old fashion virtues of charity and civility? Quite frankly, they’ve gone the way of the typewriter.

The memorial, designed by architect Friedrich St. Florian, will be located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., at the Rainbow Pool site on the east end of the Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

President Clinton dedicated the memorial site on Veterans Day in 1995, and the groundbreaking ceremony is supposed to be this year on Veterans Day.

So far, $80 million have been raised. The projected amount necessary to build, maintain and fund the project is estimated at $100 million. It seems like an unreachable goal, but if corporate America can donate $80 million, surely America can find $20 million.

It wouldn’t be that hard at all if the next time each of us stopped at a local store to buy something, we donated a dollar or whatever pocket change we had.

I can remember the stories my grandfather has of the war, and I’m not the only American with family who had something to do with the war. How many of your grandfathers were in the war?

All military vets, citizens on the home front and the nation at large were involved in some form. The memorial stands as a symbol of national unity, an ageless reminder of the moral strength and outstanding power that can flow from a people bonded together by brotherhood as Americans.

This monument is an example of the moral strength Americans were driven by during the middle of the last century.

Let us remember that the sacrifices made yesterday let us lead our lives today. It would be a tragedy if America cannot raise the last $20 million.

Without our generations understanding the importance of this monument, the “greatest generation” may simply become the forgotten generation. Who can forget the breathtaking scene when the Americans stormed the beaches of Normandy in “Saving Private Ryan;” or when Captain John Miller told Private Ryan, “Earn this.” By the sacrifices made by every American in World War II, they have earned it.

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Andy Gonzales is a junior in political science from El Paso, Texas.