Although Washington, D.C., is a city full of statues and memorials to commemorate the nation's wars and battles, survivors of World War II lament that there is no memorial to honor their patriotism and the sacrifice of the almost half million American soldiers and sailors who died while serving their country between 1941 and 1945.

Congress passed a law in 1993 with a seven-year deadline authorizing the American Battle Monument Commission to raise from private contributions the $100 million needed to construct a lasting memorial on the mall. A site was selected between the Washington and Lincoln Monuments.

Since $60 million has been raised, another $40 million must be collected to begin construction by the target date of Veteran's Day (Nov. 11) 2000.

Officials point out that 16 million Americans served in the armed forces during World War II and millions of other citizens at home worked in defense plants to sustain the war effort.

With even the youngest of the military veterans now in their 70s, fewer than half of the veterans are alive today and they are dying off fast. So, the commission is eager to get started on the monument to honor their service and that of the civilians who helped at home.