Today is the anniversary of the dedication of a memorial to the men and women who served in “The Forgotten War”.
The Korean War is sometimes called “The Forgotten War”. As an example of that, the Vietnam War Memorial was dedicated in 1982. The Korean War Memorial was not dedicated until July 27, 1995 (the 42nd anniversary of the end of the war). From 1950-1953, over 5 million Americans serve in the war. 54,246 gave their lives. To give some perspective, about the same number died in Vietnam and Korea, and yet the Korean War lasted 3 years and the Vietnam War lasted 9. The Korean War Memorial is a remembrance of those who served and those who died. It was commissioned by Congress in 1986, but it was paid for by private contributions. The main feature is 19 statues of servicemen. Each statue was sculpted by Frank Gaylord. Each is over 7 feet tall. They are made of steel. They march across a rice paddy symbolized by the granite strips and the juniper bushes. The statues are a mix of 13 Army soldiers, 3 Marines, 1 Navy corpsmen, and one member of the Air Force. They are 12 Caucasians, 3 African-Americans, 2 Hispanics, an Asian-American, and a Native American. They carry M-1 rifles, M-1 carbines, BARs, and machine guns. There is also a Mural Wall of black granite designed by Louis Nelson. It is 164 feet long and consists of 41 panels. The panels contain over 2,400 photographs from the National Archives. The wall reflects the statues as though there are 38 of them. The 38 reminds of the 38th Parallel and the 38 months of war. There is a Pool of Remembrance.
https://www.abmc.gov/about-us/history/korean-war-memorial
https://koreanwarvetsmemorial.org/the-memorial/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War_Veterans_Memorial
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