Welcome back to our blog! To coincide with the anniversary of D-Day, we will be covering our first National Park Service
unit in the District of Columbia, the World War Two Memorial.
BACKGROUND:
After
the construction of the Vietnam, and Korean War Veterans Memorials, a push
began to commemorate the veterans of the United States military that had fought
in the world’s greatest and most destructive conflict, World War Two. A campaign began in Congress to authorize the
memorial, which was ultimately successful in 1993. It would be over another ten years of
planning, design, and construction before the memorial would be complete. The memorial opened with great fanfare in
2004.
THE MEMORIAL:
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| The memorial's plaza and fountain |
The
World War Two Memorial is located on the National Mall at the east end of the
reflecting pool opposite the Lincoln Memorial and in the shadow of the
Washington Monument to emphasize the great importance of the war on the
nation’s character. The memorial takes
the shape of an oval plaza and fountain bordered on its north and south sides
by two triumphal arches and fifty-six columns.
The two triumphal arches are labeled Atlantic to the north, and Pacific
to the south respectively. Two more
fountains are situated on the plaza below the arches, with major campaigns and
battles from the respective theaters etched into the stonework. Two ramps lead down from the eastern side to
the plaza. On the walls of the ramps are
bas reliefs of scenes of from the war. Ramps
on either side lead from the plaza to the triumphal arches.
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| Bas relief on the entrance ramp of 8th Air Force bombers and crewmen |
Surrounding the plaza on either
side adjacent to the ramps are fifty-six pillars adorned with bronze
wreaths. Each pillar is labeled with the
name of the then forty eights states and seven territories, and the District of
Columbia. The Philippines is included on
the memorial as it was a U.S. Territory during the war, while the Northern
Marianas is not because it was a Japanese possession.
On the western side of the
plaza, beyond a small pool of water is the Freedom wall, covered with over four
thousand gold stars. Each star
represents one hundred Americans who were killed during the war, as well as the
practice of hanging a banner with a gold star in a house window if a family
member had been killed in action.
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| The Freedom Wall on the far side of the fountain with the Lincoln Memorial in the background |
TRAVEL TIPS:
The
World War Two Memorial is located at the center of the National Mall and is
easily accessible. Due to its location,
the best way to reach the memorial is to take the D.C. metro into downtown
Washington and walk to the mall. Parking
is sparse in the center of Washington and if you are traveling by car your best
way to find a parking space is along Ohio Drive Southwest next to West Potomac
Park. The distance from the memorial to
either parking or a metro stop is considerable so a great deal of walking will
be required. The memorial is also
handicap accessible.
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| The memorial at night |
It is also recommended to visit
the memorial at night. Crowds at night
will be much smaller and you will be able to avoid the blazing daytime summer
heat. In addition, the lighting of the
monuments on the National Mall at night adds a certain extra ambiance. To acquire the passport stamp for the World War Two Memorial, you will find it in the small visitor center where tickets are purchased to visit the top of the Washington Monument, along with the other stamps for the memorials and monuments on the National Mall.
We hope you enjoyed our summary
of the World War Two Memorial. In our
next post, we will be traveling to Buffalo, New York to the Theodore Roosevelt
Inaugural National Historic Site. Until
then, safe travels!
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
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| Pacific fountain |
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| The memorial fountain at night with the Washington Monument beyond |
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| Memorial plaza facing the Atlantic arch |
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| Bas relief illustrating the interior of a U.S. submarine |
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| View of the plaza facing the Pacific arch |
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| The Ohio pillar at night |
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