America's "Greatest Generation" enshrined in WWII Memorial

World War II was the most destructive war in human history.  The United States played an integral role in defeating the Axis powers during the war.

Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., The World War II Memorial pays tribute to the 16 million Americans who served in the United States military during the Second World War.  Of those 16 million who served, 400,000 died.  The Memorial is also dedicated to the supporters of the American soldiers who fought in the war.

The war was fought across six continents and all of the world’s oceans.  “It killed 50 million human beings, left hundreds of millions of others wounded in mind and body…,” British historian John Keegan wrote concerning WWII.  

In 1987, the concept of the memorial was first introduced by Ohio congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.  However, construction for the memorial did not begin until 2001 and the dedication was on May 29, 2004.  Friedrich St. Florian designed the memorial. 

The WWII Memorial is nestled in between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.  The 7.4 acre memorial has several features.  Over two-thirds of the memorial is composed of plantings or water.  There are 24 bas-relief sculptures by Raymond Kaskey, (12 on each side) lining the memorial’s entrance depicting scenes of America during the war.

In the center of the memorial there is a Rainbow Pool.  Surrounding the pool are twin Atlantic and Pacific pavilions, 56 pillars, and The Freedom Wall.  The twin Atlantic and Pacific pavilions, located on adjacent sides of the memorial, represent a war fought across two oceans.  At the base of the pavilions there are inscriptions of important battles that were fought in the respective theaters of war.  The 56 pillars represent the forty-eight states, seven territories, and the District of Columbia that sent soldiers and resources to the war effort.  Each pillar is inscribed with a separate name of either a state, territory, or the district.

The Freedom Wall is a curved wall that contains 4,000 gold stars.  Each star represents 1,000 American lives lost in the war.

At the entrance of the memorial there is a tablet called the Announcement Stone which reads: “Here in the presence of Washington and Lincoln, one the eighteenth century father and the other the nineteenth century preserver of our nation, we honor those twentieth century Americans who took up the struggle during the Second World War and made the sacrifices to perpetuate the gift our forefathers entrusted to us: a nation conceived in liberty and justice.”

The courageous Americans who served in WWII are often referred to as “the greatest generation.”  They served a purpose greater than themselves by defending the world against tyranny and oppression.  The Allied forces victory in the war changed the course of the 20^th century.  The United States and the Soviet Union became the leading superpowers of the world and after the war the United Nations was established. 

For more information about the World War II Memorial the book Monuments: America’s History in Art and Memory by Judith Dupré and www.wwiimemorial.com are terrific resources.