May 5th - Korean and Vietnam War Veterans Memorials by Day

Korean War Veterans Memorial

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." The law established an advisory board of 12 veterans appointed by the president to coordinate all aspects of the memorial’s construction. The site is located adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial directly across the reflecting pool from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
There are 19 statues sculpted by Frank Gaylord of Barre, Vt., and cast by Tallix Foundries of Beacon, N.Y. They are approximately 7’3" tall, heroic scale and consist of 14 Army, 3 Marines, 1 Navy, 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 juniper bushes are meant to be symbolic of the rough terrain encountered in Korea, and the granite stripes of the obstacles overcome in war. The Marines in column have the helmet chin straps fastened and helmet covers. Three of the Army statues are wearing paratrooper boots and all equipment is authentic from the Korean War era (when the war started most of the equipment was WWII issue).
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 statues are made of stainless steel, a reflective material that when seen in bright sunlight causes the figures to come to life. 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.
The Mural Wall was designed by Louis Nelson of New York, N.Y., and fabricated by Cold Spring Granite Company, Cold Spring, Min. The wall consists of 41 panels extending 164 feet. Over 15,000 photographs of the Korean War were obtained from the National Archives to create the mural. The photographs were enhanced by computer to develop a uniform lighting effect and size, and to create a mural with over 2,400 images. The mural depicts Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard personnel and their equipment. The etchings are arranged to give a wavy appearance in harmony with the layout of the statues. The reflective quality of the Academy Black Granite creates the image of a total 38 statues, symbolic of the 38th Parallel and the 38 months of the war. When viewed from afar, it also creates the appearance of the mountain ranges of Korea.

We found the memorial to be almost as eerie in the daytime as it was at night!

Vietnam War Veteran's Memorial

The Three Soldiers (also known as The Three Servicemen) is a bronze statue which was designed as a more traditional addition to Maya Lin's Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall. The grouping consists of three young men, armed and dressed appropriately for the Vietnam War era, purposely identifiable as Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic. The statue, unveiled on Veteran's Day, 1984, was designed by Frederick Hart, who placed third in the original design competition
The Wall. Deliberately setting aside the controversies of the war, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial honors the men and women who served when their Nation called upon them. The designer, Maya Lin, felt that “the politics had eclipsed the veterans, their service and their lives.” She kept the design elegantly simple to “allow everyone to respond and remember.”
Dedicated on November 11, 1993, as part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Women's Memorial honors the women of the U.S. Armed Forces who took part in the war. The statue was sculpted by Glenna Goodacre and depicts three women coming to the aid of a fallen soldier. It recalls the courage and sacrifice of all women who served. Planted around the memorial are eight yellowwood trees--a living tribute to the eight service-women killed in action while in Vietnam.
The two statuaries were added due to controversy over "The Wall" as the only memorial to the fallen soldiers. They may have been added because of dissention, but both really do complete the Memorial. It's all very moving.