The Korean War Veterans Memorial is one of the most striking – and least known – memorials in the Washington DC area. Bill and I are always amazed at how many people living in the DC area aren’t familiar with this memorial.
Located on the National Mall, the Korean War Veterans Memorial honors all those who fought during the Korean War in the early 1950s. The central part of the memorial is 19 sculptures of service men representing a squad on patrol, with members from each of the US military’s armed services. The metal sculptures were Frank Gaylord.
Korean War Veterans Memorial (c) 2005 Patty Hankins
The memorial also contains granite walls with photographic images sandblasted into them – and a wall with the words Freedom is Not Free.
Freedom is Not Free (c) 2005 William Lawrence
The final parts of the memorial include a Pool of Remembrance and a United Nations wall.
The Korean War Veterans Memorial was authorized by Congress in 1986 and dedicated on July 27, 1995 (the 42nd anniversary of the armistice ending the war).
The Memorial is located on the National Mall – between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, on the other side of the Reflecting Pool from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It is administered by the National Park Service as part of the National Mall and Monuments Park. The best way to see the Memorial is to take the Metro to the Smithsonian Station on the Orange and Blue Lines – and walk over to the Memorial from there. The only parking available near the Memorial is reserved for people with handicapped decals. Everyone else has to hunt for parking on the streets of DC. The Korean War Veterans Memorial is open 24 hours a day. There is no fee charged to visit the Memorial.
The last time we tried to photograph the Korean War Veterans Memorial, we were told we could not use a tripod. This was at 5:30 in the morning – and the only people in site were Bill and I, and the security officer telling us we couldn’t use the tripods.