Air Force Is Due, Answer Man Declares

By John Kelly
Sunday, September 10, 2006

I 'm a Takoma Parkian who has friends in Virginia. Recently when daring to cross the river, I noticed three very tall arching columns rising alongside I-395 south, sort of behind the Pentagon. It seems memorial-like in nature. Can you enlighten?

-- Abigail Grotke, Takoma Park

As the son of a U.S. Air Force pilot, Answer Man is pleased to see that branch of the military finally get its due -- its "props," if you will. For that is what reaches ever higher near Interstate 395: the new Air Force Memorial, due to be dedicated the weekend of Oct. 14.

The challenge for designer James Ingo Freed was to evoke the invisible medium in which the Air Force toils: air. He chose a trio of curved, pointed, stainless-steel columns that appear to be bursting from the earth like the twisted barbecue fork of a subterranean giant. The highest tip is 270 feet off the ground. Together they mimic the "bomb burst" maneuver performed by the Air Force's demonstration team, the Thunderbirds.

The Air Force is, of course, the Pentagon's most junior branch. The Marines have their famous monument in Arlington, based on the Iwo Jima flag-raising. The Army doesn't have a single memorial honoring it in Washington but rather several different ones that honor various divisions. As for the Navy, read on . . .

For some weeks now the fountains and water in the Navy Memorial across from the National Archives have been an unnatural blue that looks like toilet bowl cleaner. Why can't they leave the water clear and colorless?

-- Catherine Donnelly, University Park

Why is the water in the Navy Memorial blue? I first saw this as I walked by one summer night after work, perhaps two months ago. I don't walk past the memorial every day, but it has been blue every time I have walked by since. What gives?

-- Kelzie Beebe,

Columbia Heights

What gives is algae. You may think of it as a tiny, photosynthesizing organism that's vital to the food chain. But to people responsible for fountains, it's nothing more than, well, scum.

"They clog the fountain drains, and they make the plaza quite fragrant over time," U.S. Navy Memorial spokesman Taylor Kiland said of the evil algae. To deal with the ongoing algae problem, memorial officials consulted the National Park Service, which is responsible for monument maintenance. Because algae grows poorly in dark water, a nontoxic commercial dye was added to the fountains. They've been adding about a pound of liquid dye per week. It's likely the chemical will be used through October, when the fountains are turned off for the winter.

So, no more algae. But the dye has left the water an unnatural turquoise. That's prompted a joke around the Navy Memorial office. Every April the memorial's waters are "charged" during the annual "blessing of the fleets," when water from the seven seas is poured into the fountain.

"Jokingly we have said that the blue water is a result of having too much Caribbean water in the fountains," Taylor said.

Julia Feldmeier researched this column. Send your questions about the Washington area toanswerman@washpost.com, or write John Kelly, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.