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World War II
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Service, Sacrifice, Unity, and Victory |
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| The World War II Memorial honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S., the more than 400,000 who died, and all who supported the war effort from home. Symbolic of the defining event of the 20th Century, the memorial is a monument to the spirit, sacrifice, and commitment of the American people. The WWII Memorial serves to remind all of us of the events of the war, but more importantly it honors the people who served. |
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| There are 4,048 gold stars; each one represents 100 American military deaths. That means that more than 400,000 soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and military personnel lost their lives or remain missing in action in World War II. Of 16 million men and women in military service during the time, that number represents 1 death out of every 40. When an American went off to fight, the family often displayed in their window a flag bearing a blue star on a white field with a red border. If one of those dreaded telegrams arrived informing them of their family member's death, they would replace the blue star with a gold one; revealing that family’s sacrifice. “Here We Mark The Price Of Freedom” is inscribed below the Freedom Wall. |
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| During World War II, U.S. military forces fought in two military theaters of operations on opposite sides of the world. Navy ships zigzagged their way across the Atlantic to transport Army and Marine personnel to fight in Northern Africa and Europe against the Germans and the Italians. Likewise, Army, Navy, and Marine units fought a brutal island-hopping campaign across the Pacific against the Japanese. The two forty-three foot tall victory pavilions honor their heroic service and ultimate success and list at their bases many of the major campaigns and battles from each theater of war. |
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OUR DEBT TO THE HEROIC MEN AND VALIANT WOMEN
IN THE SERVICE OF OUR COUNTRY CAN NEVER BE REPAID.
THEY HAVE EARNED OUR UNDYING GRATITUDE.
AMERICA
WILL NEVER FORGET THEIR SACRIFICES.
Quotation by President Harry S. Truman found next to the Freedom Wall |
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The memorial is located at 17th & Independence Ave SW, The National Mall, Washington, DC 20050 |
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