What is the purpose of the Bas Relief Panals on the world War 2 memorial?

Answer 1

Anyone who served in the military, worked in a war plant, or read the newspaper during World War 2 remembers the events depicted in the bas-reliefs.

I grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts during the war. On 7 December, 1941, (I was 9) I was playing outside with a friend. His dad called us in and we joined his family and sat around a radio listening to the news reports about the attack on Pearl Harbor. The bas-relief, "Pearl Harbor" captures that day perfectly.

My father was in the invasions of Sicily, Anzio and Normandy. My brother was a Seabee in the Pacific. Every uncle or cousin who was old enough, enlisted in the military. A female cousin ferried bombers around the country. "Enlistments" tells that story.

One older cousin ran away in 1939 and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. When we came into the war, he transferred to the Army Air Corps and flew bombing missions in Africa, Germany and Italy.

My mother worked in a war plant during the war. An aunt manned a watch tower every night looking for German aircraft. Relative that were too old for the military became Air Raid Wardens and walked the streets at night looking for lights coming from homes to maintain blackout conditions.

Branches of the service, milestone events, epic battles during the war are all covered by the bas-reliefs. They are, in fact, a short history of the war. The long story is that over 400,000 of our men died saving the world from the German, Italian and Japanese aggression.

I'm now 75, had a Korean War Tour, two tours in Vietnam, and retired after 22 years. I recently visited the WW 2 memorial. My father, brother and mother are in the registry book there. The heroes of my youth are honored by the building of that monument.

I commend the artist who did those sculptures. Everyone of them brought back memories of WW 2.

If you are young enough not to understand the bas-relief sculpture story, you need to Google, go to the library or watch the Military Channel to find out what the Greatest Generation did for you. We all owe them.