National World War II Memorial, Washington DC

The WWII Memorial honours the sixteen million who served in the armed forces of the United States during World War II, and especially the more than 400,000 who died fighting in the twentieth century’s greatest conflict. It is located at the eastern end of the reflecting pool just west of the Washington Monument. One of the newest monuments in Washington, it was dedicated by President George Bush on May 29, 2004. The monument sits on 7.4 acres of land and consists of two semi-circles surrounding a large pool and fountain which is about six feet below grade. Each semi-circle is made up of a central arch 43′ high (one representing the Pacific theater, the other the Atlantic theater) flanked by twenty eight granite pillars 17′ in height and representing the American states, districts, territories and other land holdings in 1945. Along the western side of the memorial is Freedom Wall which contains 4,048 gold stars, each representing one hundred people who paid the ultimate price protecting freedom during the war. The Memorial is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year and approximately 4.4 million people visit annually.