Vietnam vets sue, say ‘Arc de Trump’ would dishonor their service

Three Vietnam War veterans are suing the Trump administration in an effort to scrap President Donald Trump’s plans to build a 250-foot triumphal arch in Washington, D.C., for the nation’s milestone birthday.

The veterans, along with an architectural historian, argued that the arch would disrupt the historically significant sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and the Arlington National Cemetery. The administration, they said, can’t move forward with plans to build the arch by July 4 without securing approval from Congress. 

The federal lawsuit, filed this week on behalf of the plaintiffs by the government watchdog organization Public Citizen, seeks to stop the project until the administration secures approval from Congress and a slate of federal review panels. 

Trump touted plans for the arch, widely referred to as the “Arc de Trump,” as a means of commemorating the United States’ 250th independence day. At 250 feet tall and 165 feet wide, with a massive gold Lady Liberty statue on top, the arch would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial and stand half as tall as the Washington Monument. 

“The Arch is planned to be erected directly on the axis between Arlington House and the Lincoln Memorial,” veterans Michael Lemmon, Shaun Byrnes and Jon Gundersen said in the lawsuit. “It will block historically significant reciprocal views between those two memorials that were consciously designed and that have existed for nearly a century.” 

The plaintiffs “believe that the planned Arch, by obstructing the symbolic and inspiring view from Arlington National Cemetery to the Lincoln Memorial, would dishonor their military and foreign service and the legacy of their comrades and other veterans buried at Arlington National Cemetery,” the lawsuit said.

The suit also raised concern over air travel, alleging the arch could pose a hazard to air traffic into and out of Ronald Reagan National Airport. The administration would need to submit a notice of the project to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Obstruction Evaluation and Airport Airspace Analysis site, the suit said. 

The administration has plans for a number of pricey projects surrounding America’s 250th birthday in July. They include a Grand Prix race on the National Mall, a week-long celebration with parades and competitions and the sweeping review of exhibits across Smithsonian Institution museums to “ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism.” 

The White House did not respond to a request Friday for comment on the lawsuit.