Korean War Veterans Memorial

Korean War Veterans Memorial
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	SE of Lincoln Memorial, off Independence Ave., Washington DC, District of Columbia
Coordinates:	38°53′16″N 77°2′50″W / 38.88778°N 77.04722°W / 38.88778; -77.04722Coordinates: 38°53′16″N 77°2′50″W / 38.88778°N 77.04722°W / 38.88778; -77.04722
Area:	2.20 acres (0.89 ha)
Visitation:	3,214,467 (2005)
Governing body:	National Park Service
Added to NRHP:	July 27, 1995
NRHP Reference#:	01000273[1]

The Korean War Veterans Memorial is located in Washington, D.C.'s West Potomac Park, southeast of the Lincoln Memorial and just south of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall.

Design and construction

The Memorial, showing the Pool of Remembrance.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial was authorized by the U.S. Congress (Public Law 99-572) on October 28, 1986,^[2] with design and construction managed by the Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory Board and the American Battle Monuments Commission. President George H. W. Bush conducted the groundbreaking for the Memorial on June 14, 1992, Flag Day. It was dedicated on July 27, 1995, the 42nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the war, by President Bill Clinton and Kim Young Sam, President of the Republic of Korea, to the men and women who served during the conflict. Management of the memorial was turned over to the National Park Service, under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. As with all National Park Service historic areas, the memorial was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on the day of its dedication.

Memorial

Korean War Memorial in Washington DC

The memorial is in the form of a triangle intersecting a circle. Walls: 164 feet long, 8 inches thick; more than 100 tons of highly polished "Academy Black" granite from California: more than 2,500 photographic, archival images representing the land, sea and air troops who supported those who fought in the war are sandblasted onto the wall. Within the walled triangle are 19 stainless steel statues designed by Frank Gaylord,^[3] each larger than life-size, between 7 feet 3 inches and 7 feet 6 inches tall; each weighs nearly 1,000 pounds. The figures represent a squad on patrol, drawn from each branch of the armed forces; fourteen of the figures are from the U.S. Army, three are from the Marine Corps, one is a Navy Corpsman, and one is an Air Force Forward Air Observer. They are dressed in full combat gear, dispersed among strips of granite and juniper bushes which represent the rugged terrain of Korea. When reflected in the pool, there appears to be 38 soldiers, representing the 38th parallel. To the north of the statues is a path, forming one side of the triangle. Behind, to the south, is a 164-foot-long black granite wall, created by Louis Nelson, with photographic images sandblasted into it depicting soldiers, equipment and people involved in the war. This forms the second side of the triangle. The third side of the triangle, facing towards the Lincoln Memorial, is open.

One of the memorial's 19 statues.

To the north of the statues and path is the United Nations Wall, a low wall listing the 22 members of the United Nations that contributed troops or medical support to the Korean war effort.

The circle contains the Pool of Remembrance, a shallow 30-foot-diameter pool lined with black granite and surrounded by a grove of trees with benches. Inscriptions list the numbers killed, wounded, missing in action, and held as prisoners of war, and a nearby plaque in inscribed: "Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met." Additionally, right next to the numbers of American soldiers are those of the United Nations troops in the same categories. In the south side of the memorial, there are three bushes of the Rose of Sharon hibiscus plant, South Korea's national flower.

A further granite wall bears the simple message, inlaid in silver: "Freedom Is Not Free".

Troop statistics

Engraved on granite blocks near the water pool at the east end of the monument are the casualty statistics for the soldiers who fought in the war.

• Dead — United States: 54,246,^[4] United Nations: 628,833
• Wounded — United States: 103,284, United Nations: 1,064,453.
• Captured — United States: 7,140, United Nations: 92,970.
• Missing — United States: 8,177,^[5] United Nations: 470,267.

Gallery

Statues at the memorial.		The Memorial from a different angle, with the photographic wall in the background.
	Freedom is not free	An engraving showing the number killed in the war.	An engraving showing the number captured in the war.
An engraving showing the number of missing in the war.		A view of the memorial looking WNW during a snow storm.
Showing effect of wall in doubling the number of statues.

References

Bibliography

• Korean War Vererans Memorial, National Park Service leaflet, GPO:2204—304-337/00178
• The National Parks: Index 2001–2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Korean War Veterans Memorial

• Official NPS website: Korean War Veterans Memorial
• 15 photos at "Sites of Memory"
• Evocative photo of the Memorial in weather worthy of waterproof clothing
• Statuary at South Korean War Memorial depicts both soldiers and refugees

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