See the back story here:  Medal of Honor monument passes: Boyington to be honored-updated and the history here: http://www.leaningstraightup.com/category/boyington

So the UW Student Senate finally passed the resolution almost a year ago, which resolved to offer a memorial to all former student Medal of Honor winners.  It was widely seen as the most responsible action they could have taken to conclude this whole mess.

And now the memorial is closer then ever to reality:

 Lobbying under way for a UW ‘Medal of Honor’ memorial

There may finally be a place for Pappy on the University of Washington campus.

A campaign is under way to raise $100,000 for a memorial to honor Gregory “Pappy” Boyington and at least six other alumni who also received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award.

Student leaders sent letters last week to about 3,000 people asking for gifts, and the university expects to launch an e-mail campaign today.

The memorial has already received national attention. The UW student government rejected the proposal for a Boyington memorial by one vote last year. Some students questioned whether the university should honor a Marine who killed people.

Talk radio and Internet blogs picked up the snub, and students eventually decided to establish a memorial that would recognize all UW graduates who had received the Medal of Honor.

“It’s really important that we see … this memorial to fruition, that it’s built and erected in order to honor the people who have served,” said UW student body president Cullen White.

The memorial will be on the Seattle campus between Odegaard Undergraduate Library and Kane Hall, near the UW’s memorials to those who fought and died in World War I and World War II.

Its design has not yet been determined and will likely depend on how much money has been raised, said Kurt Kiefer, campus art administrator. At a minimum, a plaque would recognize the Medal of Honor recipients, he said. White suggested that stone columns could represent each of the seven recipients.

Future UW alumni who receive the Medal of Honor could be added to the campus memorial. The UW has already received donations toward the memorial, said Renee Fricke, director of annual giving programs for the UW Foundation, which is helping the students with the fundraising.

KVI morning radio talk-show host Kirby Wilbur — who initially broke the news last February that UW students had rejected a plan for a Boyington memorial — has personally pledged $1,000 to the memorial and offered to promote the fundraising campaign on his show, he said.

“I think it’s a great idea,” he said.

Boyington, who served as a pilot, is perhaps the most famous Medal of Honor recipient from the UW. He began fighting in World War II with the Flying Tigers and later joined the Marine Corps. He was portrayed in the TV series “Baa Baa Black Sheep.”

A memorial of University of Washington alumni who had received the Medal of Honor would recognize:

Col. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, Marine Corps, (Class of 1934)

1st Lt. Deming Bronson, Army (1915)

Brig. Gen. Robert E. Galer, Marine Corps, (1935)

Sgt. John D. “Bud” Hawk, Army, (1952)

2nd Lt. Robert Leisy, Army, (1968)

Pfc. William K. Nakamura, Army, (attended in the 1940s)

Col. Archie Van Winkle, Marine Corps, (1961)

To learn more about the memorial or to make a donation, visit www.uwfoundation.org/medalofhonor

I urge everyone to support this memorial with either publicity or contributions.

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