WWI memorials crumble as funding dries, memories die

World War I memorials across the United States are crumbling and falling apart in the face of dried-up funding and flagging interest in the conflict.

The Waikiki Natatorium, built in 1927 to honor 10,000 Hawaiians who served during the war, is one such crumbling memorial. The saltwater pool that marks the memorial has been closed for decades, and now Honolulu lawmakers — instead of spending $70 million to fix it — are going to wipe it out and make a beach, The Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, in Greensboro, N.C., a baseball stadium built as a WWI memorial is also crumbing, and city officials aren’t planning a renovation any time soon.

“The war was a long time ago,” said one history professor, fighting to keep the N.C. memorial, AP reported. “I don’t think it’s meaningful for most people.” And a Hawaii lawmaker agrees.

“We’re a nation of short memory,” the Hawaiian legislator said, in the AP report.