Today in World War II History—Apr. 13, 1943

WAVES personnel at the Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C., 1943-1945 (US National Archives)

75 Years Ago—Apr. 13, 1943: President Franklin Roosevelt dedicates the Jefferson Memorial on the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson’s birth—the original statue is made of plaster and painted bronze due to wartime restrictions on metal. Roosevelt proclaims, “Today in the midst of a great war for freedom, we dedicate a shrine to freedom.”