National World War II Memorial

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National World War II Memorial
The memorial from a bird's eye view

The World War II Memorial is a memorial in Washington, DC , which to the Second World War fallen soldiers US recalls.

history

The project of this monument was started back in the 1980s and inaugurated on May 29, 2004 in the presence of many war veterans. The architect was the US-American Friedrich St. Florian from Austria .

The monument is located between the Washington Monument and the Reflecting Pool on the Mall and consists of 56 columns in 2 rows, arranged in a semicircle, which frame a large fountain, the Rainbow Pool. Each column is decorated with a metallic wreath (oak and wheat), which represents a state or an area of ​​the country. Among the areas include: Commonwealth of the Philippines , Puerto Rico , American Samoa , District of Columbia , Hawaii Territory , Territory of Alaska and the US Virgin Islands . Each row represents the Atlantic and the Pacific war zones . Two triumphal arches with the inscriptions Atlantic and Pacific remind of the two theaters of war. Kilroy was here was engraved in two places .

A staircase leads from 17th Street West to the fountain. Chiseled panels depict various war scenes. These were realized by Ray Kaskey. A wall, the "Freedom Wall", with 4048 stars honors the soldiers killed. Each star represents 100 Americans killed in the war. In front of the wall is: “Here we mark the price of freedom” (“Here we show the price of freedom”).

Web links

Commons : National World War II Memorial  - collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Coordinates: 38 ° 53 '21.7 "  N , 77 ° 2' 26"  W.