On July 3, Trump signed an executive order to establish a task force with the purpose of researching plans and locations for a "National Garden of American Heroes." The National Garden would be a home for monuments of American heroes. The executive order gives the new task force 60 days to propose a location for the site.
According to the order, the site must be located in a place of natural beauty that "enables visitors to enjoy nature, walk among the statues, and be inspired to learn about great figures of America’s history." The executive order also states that once established, the site must include statues of John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Daniel Boone, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Henry Clay, Davy Crockett, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Benjamin Franklin, Billy Graham, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Douglas MacArthur, Dolley Madison, James Madison, Christa McAuliffe, Audie Murphy, George S. Patton, Jr., Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, Betsy Ross, Antonin Scalia, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, George Washington, and Orville and Wilbur Wright.
In a recent letter to Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt, Calloway County Judge Executive Kenneth Imes suggests that Land Between the Lakes be the location for the National Garden.
In the letter, Imes presents 15 reasons why he believes LBL would fit the bill, including that it averages 1.7 million visitors annually, it is federally owned property, it includes 170,000 acres of land, and more.
He said, "I have worked to find an answer to what was needed in that area to bring more visitors and economic development to a vast land totally under-utilized for many years. President Trump's idea seems to be a perfect fit."
Additionally, Imes recommends that a statue of Alben Barkley be commissioned for the garden. Barkley was a lawyer and politician from Kentucky who served in both houses of Congress, as Majority in the Senate, and served as 35th Vice President of the United States from 1949 through 1953 under President Harry Truman.
Imes said, "He was one of the chief architects of the New Deal in the 1930's and the most famous American hero from our region."
You can see the full text of Imes' letter and Trump's executive order at the links below.
On the Net:
National Garden of American Heroes Executive OrderKenny Imes' Letter
