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The Korean War Veterans Memorial is meant to ensure that Americans will never forget the war that has been dubbed, "The Forgotten War." The memorial pays tribute to the American soldiers who fought and lost their lives in the conflict from 1950 to 1953. It is located in the National Mall in Washington, DC.
In 1950, the United States joined with United Nations forces in Korea to help quell what many feared as a threat to democracy. At the time, the free world was under the impression that it had to stop the spread of communism in developing countries, or else it would spread to other nations, threatening the sacred tenants of democracy and freedom. The war was spurred by the creation of the 38th Parallel, upon the conclusion of WWII. This imaginary line created a world ruled by two diametrically opposed hemispheres, the American sphere of democracy, and the Soviet spectrum of communism.
At the end of the war, one and a half million Americas returned home to a country preoccupied with peace and prosperity, not with a war that took place nearly a half a world away. To Americans, the Korean War was the last thing they wanted to memorialize, thus the war became known as "The Forgotten War." But to the men and women serving in Korea, the war could never be forgotten. More than four decades later, the United States took strides to recognize the soldiers who fought in the war with a memorial in National Mall, next to such prestigious monuments as the Vietnam Wall, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument.
The idea to create the memorial originated upon the conclusion of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. The American Battle Monument Commission was authorized by Congress to create a memorial to honor the men and women who served in Korea. President Ronald Reagan then appointed a Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory Board to help move the process along. In September of 1988 the commission met and approved the site for the memorial in the National Mall, which would be just south west of the Lincoln Memorial in Ash Woods.
The commission then held a contest to pick the best design. A representation created by the architectural form of Cooper-Lechy won the contest. In 1993, the groundbreaking for the monument took place. On the 42nd anniversary of the armistice, July 25, 1997, President Bill Clinton and President Kim Young Sam of the Republic of South Korea dedicated the memorial to the veterans of the Korean War.
The memorial itself honors the teamwork of the soldiers who helped save the Republic of Korea. The mural features sandblasted images of soldiers from the war, depicting the cooperative effort between the different branches of the military. The brightly polished granite surface depicts the poncho wearing riflemen as they climbed up a Korean hill. The ponchos are indicative of the miserable weather the soldiers faced. The soldiers fighting in Korea also faced rugged terrain, poor equipment, and 54 divisions of communist Chinese soldiers. The goal of the soldiers was to keep South Korea as an independent nation. The monument also includes all the countries that helped South Korea to retain her independence, in what is referred to as the UN Wall. When viewed on the wall, the names of the nations appear to be allies of American soldiers standing behind them on the front lines. As you approach the monument, the first thing you see are 19 soldiers heading up a hill. The use of juniper bushes represent the rugged terrain the soldiers met on their campaign.
The original design of the memorial was to have 38 statues to represent the 38th Parallel. Later the amount was cut in half. All the soldiers depicted represent different races. At this time, the United States military was just being integrated. The opposite wall is lined with etchings of the faces of the soldiers who fought on the front lines. These images were taken directly from photographs of soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen who fought in the conflict. All of these elements point to the Pool of Remembrance, an area where the sacrifice of 54,269 American lives can be remembered. An inscription is carved above the pool which aptly summarizes the meaning that the monument seeks to convey: "Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met."
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