Korean War Veterans Memorial

(By: Taylor Schultz)

Address: Between 22nd and 23rd Street NW, in West Potomac Park

Hours: 24 hours a day, 7days a week

Cost: Free

Contact Number: 202-426-6841

Website: www.nps.gov/kwvn

The Korean War lasted for three years from 1950 to 1953. Approximately 54,000 Americans died. This is nearly as many people that died during the eighteen years of the Vietnam war.
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One of the most famous battles of the war was at the Chosin Reservoir. Val Palmer, a U.S. Marine machine gunner, was one of "The Chosen Few" or "The Frozen Chosen" who beat the odds and survived the battle at the Chosin Reservoir. In 1999 my dad began coordinating patriotic programs for our community. He contacted Val Palmer and invited him to attend his first Memorial Day program. Mr. Palmer, along with two other veterans, spoke that night and answered many questions from the audience.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated on July 27, 1995 (I was only 4 months old) by U.S. President Bill Clinton and Kim Young Sam, President of the Republic of Korea. Dedicated to the men and women who served during the Korean War, the memorial is in the form of a trianlge intersecting a circle. Within the trianlged area are 19 stainless steel statues, designed by Frank Gaylord. Each statue is larger than life size (about 7 feet 3 inches tall) and weighs nearly one thousand pounds. The figures represent a squad on patrol through Korea. Fourteen of the figures are from the U.S Army, three are from the Marine Corps, one is a Navy Corpsman, and one is an Air Force Forward Observer. They are dressed in full combat gear. Alongside the statues is a 164 feet long, black, granite wall. Images representing the land, sea, and air troops who supported those who fought in the war are sandblasted onto the wall. When reflected on the wall, there appears to be 38 soldiers, representing the 38th parallel, which divided North and South Korea.

The circle contains the Pool of Remembrance, a shallow pool 30 feet in diameter, surrounded by a grove of trees with benches. Inscriptions list the numbers killed, wounded, missing in action, and held as prisoners of war, and a nearby plaque in inscribed: "Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met."

Another granite wall bears the message "Freedom Is Not Free".