"OUR NATION HONORS HER SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHO ANSWERED THE CALL TO DEFEND A COUNTRY THEY NEVER KNEW AND A PEOPLE THEY NEVER MET"

On June 25, 1950, the North Korean offensive started from four locations across the 38th parallel into South Korea. In 41 days the South Korean and American forces would be driven back into the Pusan perimeter, just a few miles from the southern shore of the tip of South Korea.

During the war several decisions were made that would set the course of World history. Prior to the conflict America was disarming from World War II, ignoring the communist threat. After the North Korean invasion, President Truman set the doctrine that no country would fall to communism. It marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union and established our industrial base for the next 50 years.

President Bill Clinton and South Korean President Kim Young Sam dedicated the memorial on July 27, 1995, to the men and women who served during the conflict.

Since the dedication several modifications have been incorporated: a kiosk to provide shelter for National Park Service personnel and a computer system with data housing the "Honor Role," which was accessible to the public. Correcting accessibility issues and replacement of the lighting in the statuary and along the mural wall with a state-of-the-art fiber optic system were required.

"FREEDOM IS NOT FREE" ...Takes legions of men and women who fight a war against oppression...a memorial of faces, complimenting the memorial of names across the reflecting pool...

The circle contains the Pool of Remembrance, a shallow 30-foot-diameter pool lined with black granite and surrounded by a grove of trees with benches. Inscriptions list the numbers killed, wounded, missing in action, and held as prisoners of war, and a nearby plaque in inscribed: "Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met." Additionally, right next to the numbers of American soldiers are those of the United Nations troops in the same categories. In the south side of the memorial, there are three bushes of the Rose of Sharon hibiscus plant, South Korea's national flower.

The memorial is in the form of a triangle intersecting a circle. Walls: 164 feet long, 8 inches thick; more than 100 tons of highly polished "Academy Black" granite from California: more than 2,500 photographic, archival images representing the land, sea and air troops who supported those who fought in the war are sandblasted onto the wall. Within the walled triangle are 19 stainless steel statues designed by Frank Gaylord, each larger than life-size, between 7 feet 3 inches and 7 feet 6 inches tall; each weighs nearly 1,000 pounds. The figures represent a squad on patrol, drawn from each branch of the armed forces; fifteen of the figures are from the U.S. Army, two are from the Marine Corps, one is a Navy Corpsman, and one is an Air Force Forward Air Observer. They are dressed in full combat gear, dispersed among strips of granite and juniper bushes which represent the rugged terrain of Korea. When reflected in the pool, there appears to be 38 soldiers, representing the 38th parallel. To the north of the statues is a path, forming one side of the triangle.

Behind, to the south, is a 164 foot-long black granite wall, created by Louis Nelson, with photographic images sandblasted into it depicting soldiers, equipment and people involved in the war. This forms the second side of the triangle. The third side of the triangle, facing towards the Lincoln Memorial, is open.

Three of the statues are in the woods, so if you are at the flagpole looking through the troops, you can't tell how many there are, and could be legions emerging from the woods.

The blowing ponchos give motion to the column, so you can feel them walking up the hill with the cold winter wind at their backs, talking to one another. At nighttime the fronts of the statues are illuminated with a special white light; the finer details of the sculpture are clearly seen and the ghosts appear.

Upon close inspection, you will see that all of the images look straight out from the wall over the platoon of statues; the soldiers they were there to support.

They are approximately 7’3" tall, heroic scale and consist of 14 Army, 3 Marines, 1 Navy Corpsman, and 1 Air Force. They represent an ethnic cross section of America with 12 Caucasian, 3 African American, 2 Hispanic, 1 Oriental, 1 Indian (Native American).

The originals molds of these statues are housed at MARS ( Museum and Archaeological Regional Storage ) with more than twenty-five-thousand-square-foot of warehouse space, are rows upon rows of steel cases, white acid-free Hollinger boxes, and rolling carts that hold the Korean War Veterans Memorial Collection.

Former Korean Prisoner of War

Bob “Boots” Berg

The figures represent a squad on patrol, drawn from each branch of the armed forces; fifteen of the figures are from the U.S. Army, two are from the Marine Corps, one is a Navy Corpsman, and one is an Air Force Forward Air Observer. They are dressed in full combat gear, dispersed among strips of granite and juniper bushes which represent the rugged terrain of Korea. When reflected in the pool, there appears to be 38 soldiers, representing the 38th parallel. To the north of the statues is a path, forming one side of the triangle.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial was authorized by Public Law 99-572 on Oct. 28, 1986 "…to honor members of the United States Armed Forces who served in the Korean War, particularly those who were killed in action, are still missing inaction, or were held as prisoners of war."

"FREEDOM IS NOT FREE" ...Takes legions of men and women who fight a war against oppression...a memorial of faces, complimenting the memorial of names across the reflecting pool...

“Freedom Is Not Free.” Here, one finds the expression of American gratitude to those who restored freedom to South Korea.