IWalked Audio Tours
IWalked Washington D.C.'s National World War II Memorial
The National World War II Memorial honors the men and women who dedicated their lives during Americas nearly four year involvement in the Second World War. Approximately sixteen million Americans served with approximately forty thousand of those soldiers sadly never returning. The memorial is shaped as an oval that is surrounded by fifty-sixty pillars, two arches, and a Freedom Wall. Within the center of the oval is a large fountain that itself is surrounded by smaller spouting water streams. The two forty-three foot arches are segregated at opposite ends to represent the two theaters within the war, the Atlantic and Pacific (inscribed as such atop each arch). Between each arch are granite pillars with two sculpted bronze wreaths attached. Each pillar signifies one of the forty-eight U.S. states as of 1945, the District of Columbia and each of the U.S. territories at the time (including Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, American Samoa and Guam).
Along the west side of the memorial is the Freedom Wall which consists of 4,048 gold stars. Each star is said to represent one hundred Americans who gave their lives for the war. Also atop the wall are the words, “Here We Mark the Price of Freedom.”
Throughout you will find engravings of famous quotes taken from presidents, generals and other people of importance during the period. If you pay particular attention to the quote by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the Pacific side of the memorial you can read an abridged version of his famous words following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The words read, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked.” The final words of this statement, “So help us God” were left off so as to avoid any religious connotation.
Also amongst the engravings there are two inconspicuous references of “Kilroy was here.” This refers to a popular expression that typically accompanies a caricature of a bald headed man peaking over a wall while clutching at its top. During World War II it was not uncommon for serviceman to leave this mark across the war frontier to signify locales where they had fought or were stationed.
The World War II Memorial was approved for development on May 25, 1993 by President Clinton. Four hundred design submissions were received before one by Friedrich St. Florian was selected and approved. Funding of the memorial was largely via private contributions. Private contributions, in fact, summed $197 million versus receipt of only $16 million from the U.S. government. Construction began in September 2001 and the memorial was formally dedicated on May 29, 2004.
For more history regarding this site, including how you can visit this locale via one of our MP3 audio walking tours, check out our site here: iwalkedaudiotours.com/2012/08/iwalked-washington-d-c-%E2%...
IWalked Washington D.C.'s National World War II Memorial
The National World War II Memorial honors the men and women who dedicated their lives during Americas nearly four year involvement in the Second World War. Approximately sixteen million Americans served with approximately forty thousand of those soldiers sadly never returning. The memorial is shaped as an oval that is surrounded by fifty-sixty pillars, two arches, and a Freedom Wall. Within the center of the oval is a large fountain that itself is surrounded by smaller spouting water streams. The two forty-three foot arches are segregated at opposite ends to represent the two theaters within the war, the Atlantic and Pacific (inscribed as such atop each arch). Between each arch are granite pillars with two sculpted bronze wreaths attached. Each pillar signifies one of the forty-eight U.S. states as of 1945, the District of Columbia and each of the U.S. territories at the time (including Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, American Samoa and Guam).
Along the west side of the memorial is the Freedom Wall which consists of 4,048 gold stars. Each star is said to represent one hundred Americans who gave their lives for the war. Also atop the wall are the words, “Here We Mark the Price of Freedom.”
Throughout you will find engravings of famous quotes taken from presidents, generals and other people of importance during the period. If you pay particular attention to the quote by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the Pacific side of the memorial you can read an abridged version of his famous words following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The words read, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked.” The final words of this statement, “So help us God” were left off so as to avoid any religious connotation.
Also amongst the engravings there are two inconspicuous references of “Kilroy was here.” This refers to a popular expression that typically accompanies a caricature of a bald headed man peaking over a wall while clutching at its top. During World War II it was not uncommon for serviceman to leave this mark across the war frontier to signify locales where they had fought or were stationed.
The World War II Memorial was approved for development on May 25, 1993 by President Clinton. Four hundred design submissions were received before one by Friedrich St. Florian was selected and approved. Funding of the memorial was largely via private contributions. Private contributions, in fact, summed $197 million versus receipt of only $16 million from the U.S. government. Construction began in September 2001 and the memorial was formally dedicated on May 29, 2004.
For more history regarding this site, including how you can visit this locale via one of our MP3 audio walking tours, check out our site here: iwalkedaudiotours.com/2012/08/iwalked-washington-d-c-%E2%...