Unlike many memorials, this one seeks to establish a deeper connection between visitors and the memorial. Using a pencil, visitors make rubbings of loved ones’ names to leave a permanent mark and honor their memory.
The names of victims are grouped together in meaningful adjacencies, including friends and crew members, as well as first responder organizations and agencies. Dedicated spaces honor the heroic lives of rescue, recovery, and relief workers at all three 9/11 sites.
Pearl Harbor Memorial
The Pearl Harbor Memorial is a place of remembrance and hope. It honors those who gave their lives in defense of the nation and provides an opportunity to reflect on a day that would live in infamy, while also offering hope that from conflict and devastation can come peace and friendship.
The visitor center features galleries on the Pacific theater of World War II and a film about the attack. Visitors can also tour the USS Arizona Memorial on a free narrated boat. The Memorial’s central assembly room has 21 windows on both sides and the ceiling to commemorate the sailors who died.
The park is also home to six chief petty officer bungalows on Ford Island and mooring quays F6, F7, and F8, which formed part of Battleship Row. A short distance away is the Battleship Missouri Memorial, where Admiral Chester W. Nimitz accepted the surrender of Imperial Japan in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, effectively ending World War II.
U.S. Navy Armed Guards Memorial
The Armed Guards Memorial, dedicated in 1991, features bronze sculptures of President Ulysses S. Grant on horseback surrounded by lions guarding him. After military-style training Armed Guards served at one of three Navy Centers: Brooklyn (Atlantic), New Orleans or Treasure Island (Gulf) and from these were assigned to ships. Armed Guards were normally composed of one officer and 24 gunners plus three communications men.
The memorial, designed by sculptor Frances Rich and set in a park-like setting, exemplifies Art Deco classicism. Several local companies donated time, materials and engineering services for the project. Padgett Swann Machinery, Fort Myers Memorial Gardens, Blot Engineering and Houchin Construction were among those contributing to the $13-million monuments. The memorial honors the 6,839 Merchant Marine and 1,810 Naval Armed Guard men whose lives were lost on Liberty ships during World War II.
Kansas Korean War Veterans Memorial
After the three-year conflict ended, millions of American servicemen returned to their families and homes. They returned to a nation that initially had little interest in viewing the war as something worthy of memorializing.
Two rocky formations at the memorial represent rugged Korean terrain where battles were waged. They serve as reminders that what began as a quick and decisive repelling of the enemy became a long, bitter fight and that the war was not over.
Behind the rocky formations are 38 pylons that hold the names of soldiers killed in action. They are flanked by a row of stars representing the medals that were awarded to combat soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen. Above all hangs the impactful message: FREEDOM IS NOT FREE. Privately-subscribed memorial paving stones are placed throughout the site.
U.S. Marine Corps League Memorial
The Marine Corps League is the only Federally Chartered Marine Corps related veterans organization in America. It proudly credits the founding of the League in 1923 to then Marine Commandant Major General John A. Lejeune and its congressional charter approved by an act of the seventy-fifth Congress of the United States and signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 4, 1937.
A Detachment is the basic unit of the Marine Corps League and usually represents a small geographic area such as a town or county. A Detachment meets regularly for business and provides a focal point for community service projects. Each Detachment has an Honor Guard that can be called upon to perform military honors at funerals, memorial services and dedication ceremonies as requested.
National POW/MIA Recognition Day Memorial
On the third Friday in September, the nation pauses to remember former prisoners of war and those missing in action. The American Legion remains committed to ensuring a full accounting of all service members who have been imprisoned or have gone missing, and it encourages everyone to honor the nation’s POWs/MIAs by supporting efforts to bring them home.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency reports that more than 82,000 servicemembers are still unaccounted for from conflicts since World War Two, with the majority of those missing from the Korean conflict and Vietnam. The VFW urges all Americans to show support by attending POW/MIA ceremonies, setting a special table at their next event or wearing an official POW/MIA flag.
The VFW also urges Americans to write letters of thanks and encouragement to the families of those who endured captivity or who remain missing.