Memorials Forgotten
The three war memorials on the Mall (World War II, Viet Nam, and Korea) serve to remind us of the many who have died in defense of this nation. Surprisingly, though, none of the three memorials emphasize or feature a main theme of the glory of victory or the supremacy of American military might. Rather, all three are very consistent in emphasizing the burdens undertaken and the prices paid during wartime. It is these reminders of the lives lost in past wars that can potentially prevent future wars from occurring, if only these lessons could be understood and remembered by our political leadership at the times when the drums of war are being beaten by those who advocate a strong policy of American military intervention around the world.
When visiting the three memorials, it is easy to see which one contrasts with the other two. The Viet Nam War Memorial is different because, unlike World War II and the Korean War, the political divide surrounding this war has not been forgotten and is still being debated today. Even though the Viet Nam Veterans Association expressly asked for the Memorial to be non-political, its differences from the other two speak volumes. For example, the World War II Memorial has “Here we mark the price of freedom” inscribed on the ‘Freedom Wall.’ Similarly, at the end of your walk through the Korean War Memorial, you will find the words “Freedom is not free” inscribed opposite the number of casualties sustained in that conflict. At the Viet Nam Memorial, however, you will not find any similar adulating or laudatory words suggesting why we had to go to war. Instead, you will find only the names of the fallen. I believe that this speaks volumes about the legacy of the Viet Nam War and the enduring feeling that most Americans have in terms of the unjust reasons for that war.
The legacy portrayed by the World War II Memorial is in stark contrast to the one portrayed by the Viet Nam War Memorial. The WWII memorial shows how the entire nation was joined in the war effort. Each of the States, plus the District of Columbia, is represented by the 51 pillars surrounding the memorial. Although the memorial makes some allusion to victory (unlike the other two), it mostly shows to what lengths this country had to go to achieve victory. Not lost in the celebration of victory is a memorial to the 400,000 fallen, represented by 400 gold stars, each representing 1000 of the fallen. One reason for the low key, but ever-present, allusion to victory found in the World War II memorial, and not in the Korean or Viet Nam memorials, is most likely that World War II was a cut and dry victory, with the Axis Powers having surrendered to conclude the conflict. In the cases of Viet Nam and Korea, however, these wars did not render a clear cut victor nor a clear cut benefit to mankind.
The Korean War Memorial falls somewhere between the harmonizing and celebratory mood of the World War II Memorial and the sobering and somber mood of the Viet Nam War Memorial. This inconclusive mood is portrayed on the 19 faces of the soldiers featured in the monument. Some are stoic, some seem scared and some are even smiling. The Memorial has no mention of victory, but the words “Freedom is not free” are inscribed at the end directly opposite the number of casualties. The Korean War Memorial makes a point of depicting the racial diversity of the US soldiers who fought in the war (12 white, 3 black, 2 Hispanic, 1 Asian, 1 Native American), along with all the various facets of the military that were involved in the Korean War. Also, surrounding the memorial are marble panels honoring the 17 countries that provided combat support during the Korean War. It seems that those who designed this memorial wanted to depict a theme of domestic and international cooperation, along with the obvious and reoccurring theme of the heavy price of war. In the case of the US, the human price of the Korean War was 54,246 dead, 8,177 missing, 7,140 captured and 103,289 wounded.
In conclusion, our three war memorials serve not as trophies, but as sobering reminders of what happens when our government makes the decision to send young men and women off to war. Although the deaths of those memorialized by these three monuments were honorable ones, they tragically came far too early. One can only hope that future leaders of this country may consider a short walk to the Mall to confront the sober realities of war before they bend to the advice of those who have never paid any price in wartime to spread democracy to the “uncivilized” world by way of rifles, tanks and lucrative defense contracts.