In 1993, the U.S. Congress passed legislation authorizing the creation of a National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.  The authorizing legislation was signed into law by the President on May 25, 1993.  The President appointed a 12-member Memorial Advisory Board to advise the ABMC in site selection and design, and to promote donations to support memorial construction.  A site on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial was selected and approved by the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission.  After an open design competition with more than 400 submissions, the noted architect Friedrich St. Florian was unanimously chosen to head the design effort.  The Memorial's basic design concept is approved and the design team is continuing to refine design details for final approval.