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Korean War Veterans Memorial
 
 
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The Korean War Veterans Memorial is located in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
's West Potomac Park
West Potomac Park

The West Potomac Park is a National Park Service in Washington, D.C., adjacent to the National Mall. It includes the parkland that extends south of the Reflecting Pool, from the Lincoln Memorial to the grounds of the Washington Monument....
, southeast of the Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial is a Presidential memorials in the United States built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C....
 and just south of the Reflecting Pool
Reflecting Pool

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is the largest of Washington, D.C.'s reflecting pools. Located directly east of the Lincoln Memorial, it is a long, rectangular pool visible in many photographs of the Washington Monument....
 on the National Mall
National Mall

The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the Capital of the United States. Officially termed by the National Park Service the National Mall & Memorial Parks, the term commonly includes the areas that are officially part of West Potomac Park and Constitution Gardens to the west, and often is taken to...
.

Korean War Veterans Memorial was authorized by the U.S.






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The Korean War Veterans Memorial is located in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
's West Potomac Park
West Potomac Park

The West Potomac Park is a National Park Service in Washington, D.C., adjacent to the National Mall. It includes the parkland that extends south of the Reflecting Pool, from the Lincoln Memorial to the grounds of the Washington Monument....
, southeast of the Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial is a Presidential memorials in the United States built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C....
 and just south of the Reflecting Pool
Reflecting Pool

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is the largest of Washington, D.C.'s reflecting pools. Located directly east of the Lincoln Memorial, it is a long, rectangular pool visible in many photographs of the Washington Monument....
 on the National Mall
National Mall

The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the Capital of the United States. Officially termed by the National Park Service the National Mall & Memorial Parks, the term commonly includes the areas that are officially part of West Potomac Park and Constitution Gardens to the west, and often is taken to...
.

Design and construction

Korean Veterans Memorial Full 20041011 103249 1
The Korean War Veterans Memorial was authorized by the U.S. Congress (Public Law 99-572) on October 28 1986, with design and construction managed by the Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory Board and the American Battle Monuments Commission
American Battle Monuments Commission

The American Battle Monuments Commission is a small Independent agencies of the United States government. Established by United States Congress in 1923, it is responsible for:...
. President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. Bush held a variety of political positions prior to his presidency, including Vice President of the United States in the administration of Ronald Reagan and Director of Central Intelligence under Gerald R....
 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
Armistice

An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace....
 that ended the war, by President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the fifteenth Democrat elected to that office....
 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
National Park Service

The National Park Service is the List of United States federal agencies that manages all List of areas in the United States National Park System, many U.S....
, under its National Mall and Memorial Parks
National Mall and Memorial Parks

National Mall and Memorial Parks is an administrative unit of the National Park Service encompassing many national memorials and other areas in Washington, D.C....
 group. As with all National Park Service historic areas, the memorial was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation....
 on the day of its dedication.

Memorial

The memorial
War memorial

A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war....
 is in the form of a triangle intersecting a circle. Within the triangle are 19 stainless steel
Stainless steel

In metallurgy, stainless steel is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10% chromium content by mass. Stainless steel does not stain, corrode, or rust as easily as ordinary steel , but it is not stain-proof....
 statues designed by Frank Gaylord, each larger than life-size, between 7 feet 3 inches and 7 feet 6 inches. The figures represent a squad
Squad

In military terminology, a squad is a small military unit led by a non-commissioned officer that is subordinate to an infantry platoon. In countries following the British Army tradition this organization is referred to as a section ....
 on patrol, drawn from each branch of the armed forces; fifteen of the figures are from the U.S. Army, two 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
Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of Intrusion , felsic, igneous rock rock . Granite has a medium to coarse texture, occasionally with some individual crystals larger than the groundmass forming a rock known as Porphyry ....
 and juniper
Juniper

Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the mountains of Central America....
 bushes which represent the rugged terrain of Korea. 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
Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of Intrusion , felsic, igneous rock rock . Granite has a medium to coarse texture, occasionally with some individual crystals larger than the groundmass forming a rock known as Porphyry ....
 wall, created by Louis Nelson Associates, with photograph
Photograph

A photograph is an created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a Charge-coupled device or a Complementary metal?oxide?semiconductor chip....
ic 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.

To the north of the statues and path is the United Nations Wall, a low wall listing the 22 members of the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 that contributed troops or medical support to the Korean war
Korean War

The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korea and South Korea regimes, with major hostilities lasting from June 25, 1950 until the armistice signed on July 27, 1953....
 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
Killed in action

Killed in action is a Casualty classification generally used by Military to describe the deaths of their own forces by other hostile forces....
, wounded, missing in action
Missing in action

Missing in action is a status assigned to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed in action or Wounded in action in action, or become a prisoner of war, or may have Desertion....
, and held as prisoners of war
Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war is a combatant who is held in continuing custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict....
, and a nearby plaque
Commemorative plaque

A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event....
 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
Hibiscus syriacus

Hibiscus syriacus , the common garden Hibiscus, is called Rose of Sharon in North America, a name also applied to other plants. It is a flowering shrub in the plant family Malvaceae native to much of Asia....
 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, 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, United Nations: 470,267.


Gallery


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
    United States Department of the Interior

    The United States Department of the Interior , also called the Interior Department, is the United States federal executive departments of the Federal government of the United States responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans in the United States, A...
    .


External links

  • Official NPS website: