Each of the 4,048 gold stars on this DC wall stands for 100 American lives

It’s Between Two of America’s Greatest Icons

The World War II Memorial sits on 7.4 acres of the National Mall, right between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Bronze and granite fill the space where the historic Rainbow Pool once stood alone.

The memorial honors 16 million Americans who served in the armed forces during the war and the more than 400,000 who died. It also pays tribute to the millions of civilians who kept the war effort running from home.

The scale hits you first. What it means hits you after.

A Veteran’s Wish Took 11 Years to Build

Congress authorized the memorial on May 25, 1993, after years of pushing through legislation.

Austrian-American architect Friedrich St. Florian won a national design competition run by the American Battle Monuments Commission, and sculptor Ray Kaskey created every bronze element, from the eagles in the arches to the bas-relief panels at the entrance.

Construction started in September 2001 and cost $197 million, most of it raised through private donations.

The memorial opened to the public on April 29, 2004, and President George W. Bush formally dedicated it on May 29, 2004.

Fifty-Six Pillars Carry Every State and Territory

Fifty-six granite pillars curve in a semicircle around the memorial plaza.

Each one carries the name of a state, territory, or the District of Columbia as it existed during the war.

That includes Alaska and Hawaii before statehood, plus the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa.

Bronze wreaths of oak and wheat hang on each pillar, and bronze ropes link them all together. The ropes are deliberate.

They represent a nation that held together when it mattered most.

Two Arches Mark the Atlantic and Pacific Victories

Two large arches anchor opposite ends of the plaza, one north and one south.

The northern arch stands for victory in the Atlantic theater, and the southern arch marks the Pacific.

Step inside either one and you look up at four bronze American eagles gripping a suspended laurel wreath, all sculpted by Ray Kaskey. The World War II victory medal sits inlaid in bronze on the floor of each pavilion.

At the base of each arch’s fountains, inscriptions name the key battles fought in that theater of the war.

Each Gold Star on the Freedom Wall Means 100 Lives

The Freedom Wall faces the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial from the western edge of the plaza. It holds 4,048 gold stars, and each one represents about 100 Americans who died during the war.

During the war itself, a gold star in a family’s window meant someone in that household had been killed in service. A granite marker at the base reads “Here We Mark the Price of Freedom.”

Waterfalls on either side of the wall close in the sound around you, and the space goes quiet even with crowds nearby.

Bronze Panels Tell the War From Normandy to Iwo Jima

Twenty-four bronze bas-relief panels line both sides of the entrance walkway at 17th Street. The 12 on the north side follow the Atlantic front, from the Normandy landing to the Battle of the Bulge.

The 12 on the south side cover the Pacific, including Pearl Harbor, jungle warfare and the flag raising at Iwo Jima. You also see the home front, factory workers and families getting the news about loved ones.

Kaskey based every panel on archival photographs housed at the National Archives.

The Rainbow Pool Sits at the Heart of It All

The Rainbow Pool anchors the center of the memorial plaza and serves as its main design element.

The pool existed on the National Mall long before the memorial went in, and designers restored it at a slightly smaller size to fit the new layout.

Semi-circular fountains at the base of the Atlantic and Pacific pavilions feed water into the pool, and two waterfalls flank the Freedom Wall on the western side.

Stone seating rings the pool’s edge, so you can sit and take in the full sweep of the plaza around you.

Find the Hidden Kilroy Graffiti Before Anyone Else Does

Wartime quotations from military and political leaders appear carved in granite throughout the memorial.

The Announcement Stone at the entrance honors “twentieth-century Americans who took up the struggle during the Second World War.”

But the real hunt is for two hidden engravings of the famous “Kilroy was here” graffiti, the doodle American soldiers scribbled at posts around the world.

They are hard to spot on purpose, and finding them has become a visitor tradition. The graffiti traces back to James J. Kilroy, a rivet inspector at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Mass.

Roosevelt’s D-Day Prayer Now Lives in Bronze

In June 2023, a bronze plaque bearing President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s D-Day Prayer was dedicated at the memorial. It sits in the restored Circle of Remembrance, a landscaped area just north of the main plaza.

Roosevelt delivered the prayer over the radio on June 6, 1944, as Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy.

President Obama signed the World War II Memorial Prayer Act in 2014, directing that the prayer be added to the site. A $2 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. privately funded the entire project.

Search the Registry for a Name You Know

The American Battle Monuments Commission keeps a registry of Americans who served or died during World War II.

You can search it at on-site kiosks near the ranger station on the south side of the memorial, or look up names online before you visit.

People leave personal mementos, photos and letters around the memorial every day, and the National Park Service collects and archives them.

The registry ties the memorial’s massive scale to individual names, and that shift from numbers to people changes the way you walk through the space.

Honor Flights Bring Veterans Back With Cheering Crowds

The Honor Flight Network flies veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit their memorials at no cost.

Earl Morse, a physician assistant and retired Air Force captain, cofounded the program after realizing his elderly WWII veteran patients could not make the trip on their own.

The first Honor Flight launched in May 2005, when six small planes carried 12 veterans from Ohio to Washington. The program has since transported over 300,000 veterans through more than 125 regional hubs.

If you visit the memorial, you may walk right into one of these groups, often surrounded by cheering volunteers.

Walk to Five Memorials Without Moving Your Car

The WWII Memorial’s position on the National Mall puts you within a short walk of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.

The newer National World War I Memorial near Pennsylvania Avenue is also close.

Two Metro stations serve the area, Smithsonian and Federal Triangle, both on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines. You can also reach the memorial by Metrobus routes 32, 34 or 36.

Start here and work your way through a stretch of American history you can cover on foot in a single afternoon.

Visit the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

You can walk through the memorial any time of day or night, 365 days a year, and you won’t pay a cent to get in. It sits at 1750 Independence Ave SW on the National Mall.

Park rangers are on duty from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and run interpretive programs throughout the day. The closest Metro stops are Smithsonian and Federal Triangle on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines.

There is no on-site parking, so take the Metro or a nearby paid garage. The memorial is fully accessible for visitors with mobility needs.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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