"From the People of the Netherlands to the People of the United States"
So reads the dedication on the Netherlands Carillon, given to the United States to express gratitude of the Dutch people after World War II. G. L. Verheul, a Dutch government official in The Hague came up with the concept and rose the funds for the carillon
Queen Juliana during a visit April 4, 1952, to President Truman, she present a silver bell as a token of the carillon. During a speech, the queen said:
"To acheive real harmony, justice should be done also to the small and tiny voices, which are not supported by the might of thier weight. Mankind could learn from this. So many voices in our troubled world are still unheard. Let that be an incentive for all of us when we hear the bells ringing."
The fifty bells were installed in its current location near the United States Marine Corps War Memorial in 1960. on the fifteenth anivesary of the liberation of the Netherlands from the Germans, the carillon was officially dedicated on May 5, 1960.
Each bell of the carillon is made up of a bronze alloy with the total weight over thirty tons. The tower that houses the carillon is over 127 feet high and stands on a quartzite plaza 93 feet square. Two bronze lions guard the plaza. The playing cabin is 83 feet above the ground. The carillon is tuned to the chromatic scalle. The carillon is played by an automatic electronic system. The Westminster Chimes are followed by the striking of the hour during daylight hours.
Information for this node was taken from www.nps.gov, www.marinecorps.com, and arlingtoncounty.com.