Asian Pacific WWII Atrocity Museum (#206, Topic J)

Anonymous's thoughtful comment to an earlier post on this topic (#204) allows me to add some valuable information. The project to build an Asian Pacific WWII Atrocity Museum was first conceived in 2003, around the time Iris Chang, the well-known author of the best-selling book, The Rape of Nanking, took her own life, forced upon her by people who wanted to revenge for her gallant effort in uncovering this atrocity. Initially, the museum was to focus on Japan's atrocity against the Chinese (along with a different name for the museum). Due to difficulty in soliciting funds from the Chinese community alone (originally estimated at $70+ million, more likely $100+ million), the scope of the proposed museum was enlarged to include, and seek support from, other countries with similar bitter experience -- Korea and ASEAN countries. While the Federal government offered five sites for the proposed museum (it is projected to be built in DC), the inability to raise sufficient funds as seed money caused the project to lose a most desirable one (next to the Vietnam Memorial) to the proposed U.S. Slave museum. That board members working toward seeing the project to fruition are in their 50s, if not 60s or 70s, is another reason to reduce the scale -- from a museum to a park, from a $70+ million budget to $10 million, and from 30 years to 10 years. The reduced scope also allows the board to approach the DC government (easier to implement, as legislative approval is not needed). Sites under consideration are (1) the tip of SW DC (the likelihood of approval is high, but the drawback is that it is too remote), (2) DuPont circle (attractive, but the likelihood of approval is low), (3) the lower end of the Vietnam Memorial (attractive, but parking is impossible), (4) the Lafayette Square opposite the White House (?,?), and perhaps others yet to be evaluated. The board has incorporated the project as a 501(c) entity, meaning that contributions to it are tax-deductible. General membership is merely $20 per year; supporting membership, $200 per year; life membership, $1,000. The project's annual operating budget is only $20,000 -- a mere 100 supporting members would cover this --board members invariably work pro bono, and pay their own expenses as well. Application forms and donations may be sent to CHMUS, Inc., at 10240 Lakewood Drive, Rockville MD 20850. In addition, the project solicits pledges, to be activated when sufficient funds are in the treasury -- at $5,000 (mainly aimed at individuals), $100,000 (business or non-profit entities), and $1,000,000 (business, NPs, and estates). Volunteers are also needed. The application form is simplicity itself -- only name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address are needed. Indeed, it is conceivable that one might merely include a copy of this post -- along with the minimal information and a check -- in lieu of an application form.