Korean War Veterans Memorial

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Korean War Veterans Memorial
Aerial view of Korean War Veterans Memorial.jpg
location Washington, DC , USA
surface 8,900 m²
Geographical location 38 ° 53 '  N , 77 ° 3'  W Coordinates: 38 ° 53 '16 "  N , 77 ° 2' 50"  W
Korean War Veterans Memorial (District of Columbia)
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Setup date July 27, 1995
administration National Park Service
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The Korean War Veterans Memorial is a Washington, DC sculptural group erected in 1995 to honor Korean War veterans . It is located in West Potomac Park, southeast of the Lincoln Memorial and south of the National Mall's Reflection Basin .

Design and construction

The memorial was approved by the United States Congress on October 28, 1986 through Public Law 99-572. The Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory Board and the American Battle Monuments Commission were responsible for the planning and construction . President George HW Bush broke ground for the memorial on June 14, 1992, Flag Day . It was opened by President Bill Clinton and Kim Young-sam , President of South Korea , on July 27, 1995, the 42nd anniversary of the armistice, and is dedicated to the men and women who served during the war. Management of the memorial has been delegated to the National Mall and Memorial Parks division of the National Park Service . The memorial was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on the day of its inauguration .

memorial

One of the 19 statues
One of the 19 statues.
Korean War Veterans Memorial

The war memorial is in the shape of a triangle with a circle on its top. In the triangle are 19 oversized stainless steel statues by Frank Gaylord. The figures represent a squad on patrol represents, is represented in each class of the United States Armed Forces: 15 soldiers of the US Army , 2 Marines of the Marine Corps , a Corpsman of the Navy and a forward air control of the Air Force . They wear full riot gear and stand scattered between strips of granite and juniper bushes that represent the rough terrain of Korea. To the north of the statues is a path that forms one side of the triangle. Behind the southern path is a 50 meter long black granite wall designed by Louis Nelson Associates. On the wall there are sandblasted photographic representations of soldiers, equipment and people who were involved in the war. This wall and the path mark the second side of the triangle. The third side of the triangle, facing the Lincoln Memorial, is open.

North of the statues and the path is the United Nations Wall, a long wall that honors 22 members of the United Nations who provided troop support and medical assistance during the Korean War .

The circle contains the Pool of Remembrance, a shallow basin about nine meters in diameter lined with black granite and surrounded by a grove of trees with benches. Inscriptions on the wall indicate the number of fallen, wounded, missing and prisoners of war. In addition to the numbers of American soldiers, the corresponding values ​​of the troops of the United Nations are listed. A plaque nearby reads: "Our nation honors its sons and daughters who responded to the call to defend a land they did not know and to people they had never met."

South of the monument are three Straucheibisch -Büsche, the national flower of South Korea.

Another granite wall with inlaid silver announces the simple message: “Freedom Is Not Free”.

Troop Statistics

In granite blocks near the water basin at the eastern end of the memorial, the following statistical values ​​of the soldiers of the war are engraved:

  • Death - United States: 54,246, United Nations: 628,833
  • Wounded - United States: 103,284, United Nations: 1,644,453.
  • Captured - United States: 7,140, ​​United Nations: 92,970.
  • Missing - United States: 8,177, United Nations: 470,267.

bibliography

  • Korean War Veterans Memorial , National Park Service leaflet, GPO: 2204-304-337 / 00178
  • The National Parks: Index 2001-2003 . Washington: US Department of the Interior .

Web links

Commons : Korean War Veterans Memorial  - Collection of Pictures, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b US Army Corps of Engineers: Korean War Veterans Memorial
  2. ↑ The ABMC (American Battlefield Monuments Commission) reports US military deaths World Wide during the Korean War from the period June 27, 1950 to July 27, 1954 as 54,246 dead which includes 8,196 MIA . The more commonly used number — 36,516 — only includes the deaths that occurred as a direct result of the Korean War.
  3. ↑ 664 is the current number defined as of the end of the war.