World War II Memorial

Website

www.nps.gov/nama/index.htm

Coordinates

Telephone

The World War II Memorial honors the 16 million servicemembers of the United States Armed Forces that served in the war. Dedicated on May 29th, 2004, the memorial was designed by Friedrich St. Florian and his architect firm of the same name.

Authorized by President Bill Clinton in May 1993, construction did not begin for 8 years, largely due to a controversy over the location of the memorial. Critics believed that the memorial should not block the views from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. For fear that World War II Veterans would pass away before completion, if a decision wasn’t made soon, Congress passed legislation in 2001 dismissing all court cases and exempting the memorial from further review. Construction began in September, 2001.

World War II Memorial, Atlantic Theatre (38.889437, -77.040442)

World War II Memorial, Pacific Theatre (38.889437, -77.040442)

Throughout the memorial are 12 famous quotes from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, George C. Marshall and Douglas MacArthur, Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby, Admiral Chester Nimitz, President Harry S. Truman and Author Walter Lord.

The memorial consists of 56 granite pillars; representing the 48 states, the District of Columbia and the 8 U.S. territories at the time of the war (Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Somoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). They stand in order that each state joined the Union or ratified the Constitution. In addition, there are two bronze wreaths on each post that signify industrial and agricultural strength on the home front. Located below the pillars are 24 bronze reliefs depicting scenes from battles as well as war efforts at home.

World War II Memorial (38.889437, -77.040442)

On the western end of the memorial is a wall with 4,048 gold stars. Each star represents 100 service members who were killed or remain missing from the war. To this day, nearly 72,000 American military remain missing in action.

Etched in front of stars is the inscription “Here we mark the price of freedom”.