Pools used as playground

Homer Lafin expected to see visitors treat the National World War II Memorial on the Mall as a place of honor and reverence for those fought in the war.

Instead, the World War II veteran from Michigan found children and adults alike wading and splashing in the memorial’s pools and fountains — a sight that some veterans and park officials say has become all too common at the 3-month-old memorial.

“It took nearly 60 years for us to get this, and it’s sad to see some of your buddies gone and not able to enjoy it,” said Mr. Lafin, 81, who waited more than five decades to see a memorial that honors himself and fellow World War II veterans.

“It is somewhat disturbing to see the adults in the pools,” he said. “The kids, not so much, because they don’t understand. But there’s less than 4 million of us left. … [The memorial] is sacred to those of us who fought.”

The $175 million memorial, built on a 7.4-acre site between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, opened to the public in April. Since then, visitors taking liberty with the memorial’s pool has become an issue, park officials say.

“A lot of concerned people have contacted us,” said National Park Service spokesman Bill Line. “We’ve gotten complaints, saying that kind of behavior is dishonoring the sacrifice made by the veterans.”

Veterans and their families say the conduct of some of the older visitors is disrespectful to those who sacrificed their lives in the war.

“It’s tough seeing [adults] in the water like that,” said war veteran Clair Ditto, 92, of Rio Grande Valley, Texas, as a woman walked out to the middle of the memorial’s Rainbow Pool, deep in conversation on a cell phone. “There’s a bit of disrespect there. The children, it’s not too much wrong, as long as they’re not swimming in it. But I’d like to think the older ones would be more respectful.”

Fewer than 4 million of the 16 million Americans who served in uniform during World War II are living. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that more than 1,000 World War II veterans die each day. On May 29, nearly 59 years after the end of World War II, the memorial was dedicated to honor the generation that defeated fascism in the 1940s.

Kathleen McDonald of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., said the conduct of some visitors during a recent trip to the memorial left her and her family “thoroughly disgusted and saddened.”

“The memorial is a sacred place, and we wish visitors would treat it with respect,” Miss McDonald wrote in a letter to the National Park Service. “We went to honor my great-uncle, who was listed as missing in action when his plane went down in the Pacific in 1944. Visitors were wading in the pool as if it was a kiddie park. The disrespect was too much for my family, and we chose to leave.”

The war memorial is not the only site to have been subjected to less-than-stellar public treatment. Bikers and skateboarding teens have used the occasionally drained Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial as a makeshift skate park.

“There are signs up [prohibiting] wading, skateboarding or bicycling,” Mr. Line said. “For us, it’s primarily a safety issue. The Rainbow Pool is not meant to have people walking barefoot in it. The bottom surface is slippery, and with only 2 feet of water, a little kid could seriously [get injured].”

Park rangers are assigned to patrol the memorial. But the large number of visitors, as well as having to man the information desk, has left the rangers overwhelmed and unable to properly enforce the rules, Mr. Line said.

Steve Dee, 53, of Fort Washington, Md., whose father served in the war, said the misconduct is to be expected as long as security is lax. “Without a guard [at memorials], there isn’t much that will be done.”

Greg Lindsay, 38, of Albany, N.Y., was on vacation with his wife, Lori, and their son, Dominic, 9. As Dominic and Mr. Lindsay’s nephew, Michael, 11, thrashed in the water, Mr. Lindsay said he never considered wading in the pool as a sign of disrespect.

“I really didn’t look at it like that. It’s a peaceful place, and with the hot weather, it went hand in hand.

“Jumping in and swimming around, yeah, that would have been a little disrespectful,” Mr. Lindsay said. “But just getting your feet wet? It was a hot day and a relaxed atmosphere, so I said, ’Why not?’”

Mr. Line warned that even limited contact could be harmful and cause damage to the memorial.

“The pool is not treated the way a swimming pool is treated, with chlorine and such to fight waterborne diseases and infections. Not to mention [walking barefoot] can introduce different organisms and substances that will ultimately clog the pool’s mechanisms and water drainage system,” he said.