A memorial park is a public space dedicated to commemorating people or events. It typically consists of monuments and statues.
Gold Star family members can have their loved ones’ names inscribed on the granite markers, which evoke tombstones. The site also honors heroic figures from the worlds of philanthropy, women’s rights and law and education.
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War, fought from 1955 to 1975, was one of the most devastating wars in modern history. Over 3.1 million Vietnamese and 58,000 American citizens died in the conflict.
The conflict was a proxy battle for the global Cold War. American leaders believed that if the communist North Vietnamese and Viet Cong captured South Vietnam, it would lead to a domino effect, causing Laos and Cambodia to fall under Communist control.
In 1979, Yale student Maya Lin won a competition to design the memorial for veterans of the Vietnam War. Her design featured a black wall inscribed with the names of those who died or went missing during the war. The memorial was dedicated in 1982. The park also features the Three Servicemen Statue and a monument to women who served in the military.
Korean War
The impact:
Starting in mid-March, construction on the Wall of Remembrance will take place along with a general rehabilitation of the Memorial. The Memorial will remain open during the 18 month project though some areas including the Pool of Remembrance will be inaccessible.
The remembrance of the 1.5 million men and women who died in the Korean War begins here. The entrance to the Memorial features a full-height glass wall that overlooks the stream, outdoor Memorial Wall and excavation. Visitors can also interact with a kiosk containing the Korean War Honor Roll that lists the names of servicemen who died worldwide during this war.
Cold War
The Cold War was not a single event, but rather a continuum of military and intelligence evolution and major social, cultural, and economic changes both within the United States and around the world. The new memorial will embody these complex and interconnected narratives of service, sacrifice, and innovation.
The design by Oyler Wu Collaborative – a Los Angeles-based firm – features a formal structure influenced by the landscape and shaped by it. It emerges from the earth to form a place of reflection and discovery, honoring veterans’ service in the face of perilous uncertainty.
World War II
The World War II Memorial tells the story of America’s greatest military victory. The centerpiece of the memorial is a bronze statue of six marines raising an American flag on Iwo Jima. This iconic image boosted morale for the United States in a critical moment of the war.
Throughout the memorial, granite columns representing each of the 56 U.S. states and territories ring an impressive pool. Sculptures and bas-relief panels, including one honoring Rosie the Riveter, chronicle Americans’ participation in the war, both overseas and at home.
Twin Atlantic and Pacific pavilions symbolize a war fought across two oceans. A wall of gold stars reminds Americans that 400,000 made the ultimate sacrifice in support of freedom and liberty. The memorial attempts to unify public memory of the conflict.
Afghanistan
The forbidding landscape of Afghanistan has made it a prize sought by empire builders for millennia, but its fiercely independent peoples have resisted all attempts to subdue them. In the Islamic Era, Afghanistan’s rulers promoted learning and artistic development.
The Bamiyan Buddha statues, carved into the dappled sandstone of the mountains, stood for more than 1500 years until they were destroyed by Taliban fighters in 2001. Beneath the shards and rubble, geologists and other experts hope to reunite fragments to re-create the colossal buddhas.
The Taliban imposed a strict dress code on women and required them to have a male chaperone (mahram) accompany them in public. These and other restrictive policies are being replaced with the promise of freedom.