U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C.
The
World War II Memorial
is a
national memorial in the United States
[1]
[2]
dedicated to
Americans who served
in the
armed forces
and as civilians during
World War II
. It is located on the
National Mall
in
Washington, D.C.
The memorial consists of 56 granite pillars, decorated with bronze
laurel wreaths
, representing
U.S. states
and
territories
, and a pair of small
triumphal arches
for the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, surrounding an oval plaza and fountain. On its short axis is a memorial wall of
gold stars
representing the fallen, and opposite, a sloped and stepped entrance plaza leading up to the oval from 17th Street. Its initial design was submitted by Austrian-American architect
Friedrich St. Florian
.
Opened on April 29, 2004, it replaced the
Rainbow Pool
at the eastern end of the
Reflecting Pool
, between the
Lincoln Memorial
and the
Washington Monument
. Dedicated by
President
George W. Bush
on May 29, 2004,
[3]
the memorial is administered by the
National Park Service
under its
National Mall and Memorial Parks
group.
[4]
More than 4.6 million people visited the memorial in 2018.
[5]
Overview
[
edit
]
The memorial consists of 56
granite
pillars
, each 17 feet (5.2 m) tall, arranged in a
semicircle
around a
plaza
with two 43-foot (13 m)
triumphal arches
on opposite sides. Two-thirds of the 7.4-acre (3.0 ha) site is landscaping and water. Each pillar is inscribed with the name of one of the 48
U.S. states
of 1945, as well as the
District of Columbia
, the
Alaska Territory
and
Territory of Hawaii
, the
Commonwealth of the Philippines
,
Puerto Rico
,
Guam
,
American Samoa
, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands
. The northern arch is inscribed with "
Atlantic
"; the southern one, "
Pacific
." The plaza is 337 ft 10 in (102.97 m) long and 240 ft 2 in (73.20 m) wide, is sunk 6 feet (1.8 m) below
grade
, and contains a pool that is 246 feet 9 inches by 147 feet 8 inches (75.2 m × 45.0 m).
[6]
The memorial includes two
[7]
inconspicuously located "
Kilroy was here
" engravings. Their inclusion in the memorial acknowledges the significance of the symbol to American soldiers during World War II and how it represented their presence and protection wherever it was inscribed.
[8]
On approaching the semicircle from the east, a visitor walks along one of two walls (right side wall and left side wall) picturing scenes of the war experience in bas relief. As one approaches on the left (toward the Pacific arch), the scenes begin with soon-to-be servicemen getting physical exams, taking the oath, and being issued military gear. The reliefs progress through several iconic scenes, including combat and burying the dead, ending in a homecoming scene. On the right-side wall (toward the Atlantic arch) there is a similar progression, but with scenes generally more typical of the European theatre. Some scenes take place in England, depicting the preparations for air and sea assaults. The last scene is of
a handshake between the American and Russian armies
when the western and eastern fronts met in Germany.
Wall of stars
[
edit
]
The Freedom Wall is on the west side of the plaza, with a view of the
Reflecting Pool
and Lincoln Memorial behind it. The wall has 4,048 gold stars, each representing 100 Americans who died in the war. In front of the wall lies the message "Here we mark the price of freedom".
[9]
[a]
History
[
edit
]
In 1987, World War II veteran Roger Durbin approached Representative
Marcy Kaptur
, a
Democrat
from
Ohio
, to ask if a World War II memorial could be constructed. Kaptur introduced the World War II Memorial Act to the
House of Representatives
as HR 3742 on December 10. The resolution authorized the
American Battle Monuments Commission
(ABMC) to establish a World War II memorial in "Washington, D.C., or its environs", but the bill was not voted on before the end of the session. In 1989 and 1991, Rep. Kaptur introduced similar legislation, but these bills suffered the same fate as the first and did not become law.
Kaptur reintroduced legislation in the House a fourth time as HR 682 on January 27, 1993, one day after Senator
Strom Thurmond
(a
Republican
from
South Carolina
) introduced companion Senate legislation. On March 17, 1993, the Senate approved the act, and the House approved an amended version of the bill on May 4. On May 12, the Senate also approved the amended bill, and the World War II Memorial Act was signed into law by President
Bill Clinton
on May 25 of that year, becoming
Pub. L.
Tooltip Public Law (United States)
103?32
.
Fundraising
[
edit
]
On September 30, 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed a 12-member Memorial Advisory Board (MAB) to advise the ABMC in picking the site, designing the memorial, and raising money to build it.
[10]
A
direct mail
fundraising effort brought in millions of dollars from individual Americans. Additional large donations were made by veterans' groups, including the
American Legion
, the
Veterans of Foreign Wars
, and Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge. The majority of the corporate fundraising effort was led by co-chairmen Senator
Bob Dole
, a decorated World War II veteran and 1996 Republican nominee for president, and
Frederick W. Smith
, the
president
and
chief executive officer
of
FedEx Corporation
and a former
U.S. Marine Corps
officer. The
U.S. federal government
provided about $16 million; a total of $197 million was raised. Following his death in December 2021, Dole himself would have a memorial service held at the World War II Memorial.
[11]
[12]
Picking the site
[
edit
]
On January 20, 1995, Colonel Kevin C. Kelley, project manager for the ABMC, organized the first meeting of the ABMC and the MAB, at which the project was discussed and initial plans made. The meeting was chaired by Commissioner F. Haydn Williams, chairman of ABMC's World War II Memorial Site and Design Committee, who would go on to guide the project through the site selection and approval process and the selection and approval of the Memorial's design. Representatives from the
United States Commission of Fine Arts
, the
National Capital Planning Commission
, the
National Capital Memorial Commission
, the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, and the National Park Service attended the meeting. The selection of an appropriate site was taken on as the first action.
Over the next months, several sites were considered.Soon, 3 quickly gained favor:
[13]
[14]
Other sites considered but quickly rejected were:
The selection of the Rainbow Pool site was announced on October 5, 1995. The design would incorporate the Rainbow Pool fountain, located across 17th Street from the Washington Monument and near the Constitution Gardens site.
[15]
The location, between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, is the most prominent spot for a monument on the National Mall since the Lincoln Memorial opened in 1922. It is the first addition in more than 70 years to the grand corridor of open space that stretches from the Capitol 2.1 miles (3.4 km) west to the Potomac River.
[16]
Designing the memorial
[
edit
]
A nationwide design competition drew 400 submissions from architects from around the country.
Friedrich St. Florian
's initial design was selected in 1997. St. Florian's design evokes a classical monument. Under each of the two memorial arches, the Pacific and Atlantic baldachinos, four eagles carry an oak laurel wreath. Each of the 56 pillars bear wreaths of oak symbolizing military and industrial strength, and of wheat, symbolizing agricultural production.
Over the next four years, St. Florian's design was altered during the review and approval process required of proposed memorials in Washington, D.C. Ambassador Haydn Williams guided the design development for ABMC.
Construction
[
edit
]
Ground was broken in November 2000. The construction was managed by
General Services Administration
.
New England Stone Industries of Rhode Island was hired by the general contractor to fabricate the stone; it worked closely with St. Florian and the ABMC throughout the process.
[
citation needed
]
The triumphal arches were sub-contracted to and crafted by
Rock of Ages Corporation
. Sculptor
Raymond Kaskey
created the bronze eagles and two wreaths that were installed under the arches, as well as 24 bronze
bas-relief
panels that depict wartime scenes of combat and the home front.
[17]
The bronzes were cast over the course of two and a half years at
Laran Bronze
in
Chester, Pennsylvania
.
[18]
The stainless-steel armature that holds up the eagles and wreaths was designed at Laran, in part by sculptor
James Peniston
,
[19]
and fabricated by Apex Piping of
Newport, Delaware
.
[20]
The twin bronze wreaths decorating the 56 granite pillars around the perimeter of the memorial ? as well as the 4,048 gold-plated silver stars representing American military deaths in the war ? were cast at Valley Bronze in
Joseph, Oregon
.
[21]
[22]
"I'd see buckets full of the stars going through the foundry, and think that each stood for 100 men. The magnitude was overwhelming," Dave Jackman, former president of Valley Bronze, recalled in 2004.
[23]
The John Stevens Shop
designed the lettering for the memorial and most of the inscriptions were hand-carved
in situ
.
The memorial opened to the public on April 29, 2004, and was dedicated in a May 29 ceremony attended by thousands of people. The memorial became a unit of the national park system on November 1, when authority over it was transferred to the National Park Service.
- The memorial under construction
-
August 2002
-
August 2002
-
April 2003
-
January 2004
Controversy
[
edit
]
Criticism of the location
[
edit
]
Critics such as the National Coalition to Save Our Mall opposed the location of the memorial. A major criticism of the location was that it would interrupt what had been an unbroken view between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The memorial was also criticized for taking up open space that had been historically used for major
demonstrations
and
protests
.
[24]
[25]
[26]
Critics were particularly bothered by the expedited approval process, which is considerably lengthy most of the time.
[27]
The United States Congress, worried that World War II veterans were dying before an appropriate memorial could be built, passed legislation exempting the World War II Memorial from further site and design review. Congress also dismissed pending legal challenges to the memorial.
[28]
Criticism of the design and style
[
edit
]
There were also aesthetic objections to the design. A critic from the
Boston Herald
described the monument as "vainglorious, demanding of attention and full of trite imagery."
[29]
The Philadelphia Inquirer
argued that "this pompous style was also favored by
Hitler
and
Mussolini
"
[30]
The Washington Post
described it as "overbearing", "bombastic", and a "hodgepodge of cliche and Soviet-style pomposity" with "the emotional impact of a slab of granite".
[31]
The monument was dismissed by one prominent architecture critic as "knee-jerk
historicism
".
[32]
The design unveiled by President Bill Clinton included 50 columns honoring the 48 states of the Union during World War II and two of the eight non-state jurisdictions at the time of the war: the territories of Alaska and Hawaii that subsequently were admitted into the Union. On June 2, 1997, the
Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly
approved a
Concurrent Resolution
[33]
requesting the addition of a column honoring the territory of Puerto Rico's participation in the war effort. Its author, Sen.
Kenneth McClintock
, began a lobbying campaign. Eventually, the number of columns was raised to 56, honoring the 48 states, the District of Columbia, and the seven U.S. territories at the time: Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Philippines,
[34]
and the United States Virgin Islands.
[35]
FDR's D-Day prayer
[
edit
]
On May 23, 2013, Senator
Rob Portman
introduced the World War II Memorial Prayer Act of 2013 (
Pub. L.
Tooltip Public Law (United States)
113?123 (text)
(PDF)
), which would direct the
Secretary of the Interior
to install at the World War II memorial a suitable plaque or an inscription with the words that President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
prayed with the United States on June 6, 1944, the morning of
D-Day
.
[36]
The bill was opposed by the
American Civil Liberties Union
, the
American Jewish Committee
,
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
, the
Hindu American Foundation
, and the
Interfaith Alliance
.
[37]
Together the organizations argued that the bill "endorses the false notion that all veterans will be honored by a war memorial that includes a prayer proponents characterize as reflecting our country's 'Christian heritage and values.'"
[37]
The organizations argued that "the memorial, as it currently stands, appropriately honors those who served and encompasses the entirety of the war" and was carefully created, so no additional elements, such as FDR's prayer, need to be added.
[37]
But, they said, "the effect of this bill, however, is to co-opt religion for political purposes, which harms the beliefs of everyone."
[37]
The bill was signed into law on June 30, 2014,
[38]
and the Commission of Fine Arts preferred a design at the Circle of Remembrance to the northwest of the memorial.
[39]
With funding secured, it was initially intended to be dedicated on June 6, 2022,
[40]
but was instead opened a year later on June 6, 2023 on the 79th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
[41]
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
The southern end of the memorial, dedicated to the
Pacific theater
-
The northern end of the memorial, dedicated to the
Atlantic theater
-
"The Price of Freedom"
-
Engraving of
Kilroy
on the memorial
-
Close up of the engraving at the memorial
-
The Pacific Arch
-
The Atlantic side of the memorial at dusk.
-
A seal on the floor of the memorial using the
World War II Victory Medal
design
-
Each of the 4,048 gold stars represents 100 Americans who died during the war
-
The Pacific Arch (Atlantic Arch in the background)
-
World War II Memorial Pacific-Bas Reliefs Navy In Action
-
The Atlantic Arch
-
View of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. from the "Atlantic" arch of the memorial.
-
World War II Memorial (2013)
-
Panoramic view at night,
Washington Monument
in the background
With the Washington Monument in background
[
edit
]
Of the Central Fountain
[
edit
]
-
Central Fountain with the Atlantic Arch in background
-
World War II Memorial Fountain in Washington D.C.
-
World War II Memorial, Fountain in the evening.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Public Law 103-32"
(PDF)
.
uscode.house.gov
. May 25, 1993.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on October 10, 2022
. Retrieved
August 15,
2015
.
- ^
"16 U.S. Code Subchapter LXI ? National and International Monuments and Memorials"
.
LII / Legal Information Institute
.
Archived
from the original on May 19, 2023
. Retrieved
August 15,
2015
.
- ^
"WWII Memorial"
.
www.wwiimemorial.com
.
Archived
from the original on May 19, 2023
. Retrieved
June 12,
2008
.
- ^
"World War II Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)"
.
www.nps.gov
.
Archived
from the original on November 5, 2010
. Retrieved
April 11,
2005
.
- ^
"Stats Report Viewer: World War II Memorial"
.
irma.nps.gov
.
Archived
from the original on June 24, 2022
. Retrieved
April 22,
2019
.
- ^
"Memorial Design"
. National WWII Memorial. Archived from
the original
on May 31, 2008
. Retrieved
July 16,
2008
.
- ^
"Kilroy Was Here, World War II Memorial, Washington, D.C. ? Kilroy Was Here on Waymarking.com"
.
www.waymarking.com
.
Archived
from the original on January 27, 2021
. Retrieved
August 28,
2011
.
- ^
"Kilroy Is Here ? Can You Find Him?"
.
The Washington Post
.
Archived
from the original on December 7, 2022
. Retrieved
August 28,
2011
.
- ^
Knight, Christopher (May 23, 2004).
"A memorial to forget"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Archived from
the original
on December 26, 2005.
- ^
"Timeline - WWII Memorial Registry"
.
Archived
from the original on September 28, 2023
. Retrieved
September 27,
2023
.
- ^
King, Ledyard; Morin, Rebecca; Lee, Ella (December 10, 2021).
"Bob Dole hailed as war hero and 'Kansas' favorite son' at Washington funeral service"
. USA Today.
Archived
from the original on May 16, 2023
. Retrieved
December 10,
2021
.
- ^
NBC News (December 10, 2021).
"Bob Dole Honored At World War II Memorial"
. YouTube.
Archived
from the original on December 10, 2021
. Retrieved
December 10,
2021
.
- ^
Forgey, Benjamin (July 1, 1995). "Site-seeking at the Mall: Placing World War II memorial in the grand scheme of things".
The Washington Post
. p. C1.
- ^
Forgey, Benjamin (July 28, 1995). "No Accord on WWII Memorial; Two Agencies Send Mixed Signals About Location".
The Washington Post
. p. B3.
- ^
Forgey, Benjamin (October 6, 1995). "WWII Memorial Gets Choice Mall Site; 2nd Panel Approves Location, Clearing Way for Design Phase".
The Washington Post
. p. B1.
- ^
Krueger, Colleen (November 9, 1995).
"World War II memorial moves toward reality : Officials have agreed on a prominent site on the National Mall. Fund raising is the next task for sponsors"
.
Archived
from the original on September 23, 2016
. Retrieved
September 23,
2016
– via LA Times.
- ^
WWII Memorial: The “High Point” of Raymond Kaskey’s Career ? Carnegie Mellon Today
Archived
April 7, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"WWII Memorial"
. Retrieved
September 9,
2009
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"James Peniston Sculpture: Bio"
.
Archived
from the original on July 25, 2008
. Retrieved
September 9,
2008
.
- ^
"Building the Memorial"
.
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
. Smithsonian Institution.
Archived
from the original on June 24, 2016
. Retrieved
June 22,
2016
.
- ^
"Projects"
.
Valley Bronze of Oregon
.
Archived
from the original on September 23, 2018
. Retrieved
September 22,
2018
.
- ^
Leonard, Larry.
"Oregon Magazine"
.
www.oregonmag.net
.
Archived
from the original on September 23, 2018
. Retrieved
September 22,
2018
.
- ^
"Bronze from Joseph part of WWII monument"
.
Wallowa County Chieftain
.
Archived
from the original on September 23, 2018
. Retrieved
September 22,
2018
.
- ^
Wheeler, Linda; Hsu, Spencer S. (May 17, 2001).
"Bush Backs War Memorial"
.
The Washington Post
.
Archived
from the original on November 5, 2019
. Retrieved
November 5,
2019
– via nationalmallcoalition.org.
- ^
Fisher, Marc (May 4, 2004).
"A Memorial That Doesn't Measure Up"
.
The Washington Post
.
Archived
from the original on September 28, 2011
. Retrieved
November 5,
2011
.
- ^
"The World War II Memorial Defaces a National Treasure"
. National Coalition to Save Our Mall. January 2001. Archived from
the original
on May 4, 2007
. Retrieved
June 2,
2007
.
- ^
Van Oss, Alex (February 25, 2001).
"World War II Memorial"
(
RealAudio
)
.
Weekend Edition Sunday
.
National Public Radio
.
Archived
from the original on March 8, 2007
. Retrieved
June 2,
2007
.
- ^
Killian, Michael (May 22, 2001).
"Senate OKs WWII Memorial"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Archived from
the original
on September 28, 2007.
- ^
Keane, Thomas M. Jr. (June 25, 2004).
"WWII Memorial fails both past, present"
.
Boston Herald
. p. 27.
- ^
Saffron, Inga
(May 28, 2004). "Monument to Democracy, The National World War II Memorial deserves its prominent location in Washington, as a tribute to heroes and a great cause".
The Philadelphia Inquirer
. p. E01.
- ^
Fisher, Marc (May 4, 2004). "A Memorial That Doesn't Measure Up".
The Washington Post
. p. B01.
- ^
Ouroussoff, Nicolai
(April 11, 2008).
"Get Me Rewrite: A New Monument to Press Freedom"
.
The New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on September 11, 2018
. Retrieved
February 8,
2024
.
- ^
"Sistema de Informacion de Tramite Legislativo"
.
www.oslpr.org
.
Archived
from the original on April 27, 2019
. Retrieved
April 28,
2019
.
- ^
The Philippines are no longer a territory after they were granted independence from the United States in 1946.
Schirmer, Daniel B.; Shalom, Stephen Rosskamm (1987).
The Philippines Reader: A History of Colonialism, Neocolonialism, Dictatorship, and Resistance
. South End Press.
ISBN
978-0-89608-275-5
.
- ^
The
Northern Mariana Islands
were not designated as a territory until three decades later in 1975.
"Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands"
.
www.doi.gov
. June 11, 2015.
Archived
from the original on August 2, 2023
. Retrieved
August 15,
2022
.
- ^
"S. 1044 ? Summary"
. United States Congress.
Archived
from the original on July 16, 2014
. Retrieved
June 23,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Letter to Chairman Udall and Ranking Member Portman"
(PDF)
. American Civil Liberties Union. July 29, 2013.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on August 13, 2013
. Retrieved
June 23,
2014
.
- ^
"S. 1044 ? All Actions"
. United States Congress.
Archived
from the original on July 14, 2014
. Retrieved
June 23,
2014
.
- ^
"Project Synopsis July 2017"
(PDF)
. National Capital Planning Commission. July 13, 2017.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on December 5, 2017
. Retrieved
November 21,
2017
.
- ^
Ruane, Michael E.
"FDR's moving fireside D-Day prayer to be added to World War II Memorial"
.
Washington Post
.
ISSN
0190-8286
.
Archived
from the original on November 28, 2020
. Retrieved
March 13,
2021
.
- ^
Gromelski, Joe (June 6, 2023).
"FDR's D-Day prayer is now a part of the National World War II Memorial"
.
Stars and Stripes
.
Archived
from the original on June 8, 2023
. Retrieved
June 7,
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Memorials
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|
Parks
and plazas
| |
---|
Boundaries
| |
---|
Nearby
landmarks
| |
---|
Planned
| |
---|
Canceled
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|
|
|
---|
|
|
Other works
|
---|
Architectural
sculpture
| |
---|
Fountains
| |
---|
|
|
|
|
|