The American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast featured special guest Michael “Rod” Rodriguez, the CEO and president of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation.
The American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast featured special guest Michael “Rod” Rodriguez, the CEO and president of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation. On the podcast, the former Green Beret who retired after 10 deployments and 21 years of service discussed the foundation, his role and plans for the memorial.
Rodriguez, a member of The American Legion, explained the group’s fight to have the memorial constructed in Washington, D.C., a measure supported by American Legion Resolution 16. A law says that a war must be over for 10 years before a national memorial can be built.
“There was no way they could have seen that we would be in this multi-generational conflict with no clearly forecasted end in sight,” he said, noting that the foundation requested and was approved the exemption in 2017.
As the memorial moves forward, a next big step is the design. “The only way we can capture our love — after all, this is a tangible love note to our nation’s warfighters and their families — the only way to capture that is with art. It’s going to be an expression of art.”
Listen to Tango Alpha Lima episode with Michael Rodriguez at www.legion.org/tangoalphalima.
- Dispatch