Department of Justice 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

At the recent public meeting of the Commission of Fine Arts on 21 July 2005, the Commission members discussed the design for the Department of Justice 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor which was submitted to the Commission for their review as required under the medal's authorizing legislation. The medal was submitted by the Department of the Army Institute of Heraldry and we responded on 8 July 2005 to the Institute's Director, Mr. Fritz Kirklighter, that due to the brief period allowed for the review, the Commission would not be able to review the medal as required.

The Commission members requested during the public meeting that we communicate to you their disappointment in the quality of the design for the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor, which they feel is not commensurate with the medal's importance. They regret the unfortunate timing of the medal's submission to the Commission of Fine Arts, resulting in a missed opportunity to improve what should be the highest-quality artistic display of our nation's commemorative expression.

We look forward to closer coordination in the future with your agency when the review of design for medals and other commemorative items is required.

Sincerely,

/s/Thomas Luebke, AIA
Secretary

The Honorable Alberto Gonzales, The Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

cc: Fritz Kirklighter, Acting Director, U. S. Department of the Army Institute of Heraldry