Korean War Veterans Memorial History
The memorial is in honor of the 5.8 million-armed forces service members who fought and died during the Korean War. The memorial consists of several distinct parts: The nineteen stainless steel statues, The Mural Wall, The Pool of Remembrance & The Dedication Stone, and the United Nations Plaques.
In 1986, the U.S. Congress passed a bill authorizing the construction of a memorial. President George H.W. Bush conducted the groundbreaking for the memorial on June 14, 1993. The memorial was dedicated on July 27, 1995, the 42nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the war. President Bill Clinton and South Korean President Kim Young Sam dedicated the memorial. The number 38 is very important in understanding this memorial. Due to the reflective quality of the black granite wall, on a sunny day you can see the reflection of the 19 statues on the wall of. If you count the 19 statues and the reflections of them on the wall the total is 38.
The number thirty-eight is symbolic of the 38th parallel that separate North and South Korea, and the 38 months the war lasted. When the wall is viewed from afar, it creates the appearance of the mountain ranges of Korea. The curb running along the northern side of the statues contains an alphabetical listing of the 22 nations that participated in the Korean War and provided combat units and medical support.
The memorial contains 19 stainless steel figures which stand over 7 feet tall and weigh almost one ton. The statues represent the various branches of the armed forces and a cross-section of the various ethnic groups who fought in the 38 month-long war. The stainless-steel statues represent 14 Army, 3 Marines, 1 Navy, and 1 Air Force members of the armed services. The sculptor has given them motion by designing them to appear as if they're walking into the wind. They seem to be talking with one another as they go on patrol. The soldiers wear authentic Korean war-era gear, cold-weather ponchos and combat gear. The statues are placed in a field of juniper bushes and separated by polished granite strips which symbolize the rough terrain that service members had to traversed in Korea.
The Soldiers
The memorial mural wall is 164 feet long and 8 inches thick and made of highly polished black granite. Over 2500 photographic images are sand blasted in the granite depicting soldiers, equipment and people involved in the war. On the wall that extends into the pool area, written in 10-inch silver letters, is the reminder: Freedom is not free. At the point of the triangle leading to the American flag is the dedication stone, which reads: Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met.
The Wall
The Pool of Remembrance is lined with black granite and surrounded by a grove of linden trees with benches. The pool has inscriptions that list the number of soldiers killed, wounded, missing in action and held as prisoners during the Korean War.
The Pool
The Dedication Stone
On the wall that extends into the pool area, written in 10-inch silver letters, is the reminder: Freedom is not free. At the point of the triangle leading to the American flag is the dedication stone, which reads: “Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met”.