FACES OF WAR

As you approach the memorial, the first things you see are the nineteen soldiers on patrol heading up hill. The use of Juniper bushes in the field is to show the rugged terrain they met. Veterans who visit the memorial view the granite slabs, located in front of each soldier, as obstacles that American soldiers had to overcome. A low granite slab does not do justice to the many obstacles that they had to overcome. The ponchos that each is wearing can only give you a hint as to the miserable weather they faced. The soldiers at the front of the patrol represent the first soldiers sent to the Korean peninsula. Many of the first soldiers were ill equipped and ill trained yet they persevered. American soldiers faced foul weather, rugged terrain, poor equipment, not to mention 54 divisions of communist Chinese soldiers but in the end they were able to overcome all these obstacles.

The soldiers represent a unit on patrol. There is much to see in the field, most of which is not readily apparent to the average visitor. The original design of the memorial was to have 38 statues to represent the 38th parallel. Most of the fighting occurred along this line but due to space limitations the number of statues had to be cut in half.

The highly polished surface of the wall of faces reflects all nineteen soldiers producing a total thirty-eight figures. It is not just the Army represented in the field. All four branches of the United States Military have representatives.

If you look in to the faces of the soldiers you will notice that they represent all different races. Even though the United States had a very segregated society, the armed forces had begun to integrate units. Visitors to the memorial are so awe struck by the soldiers, that before they know it they have missed the other parts of the memorial. Along the north side of the memorial is a low stone wall, on which are engraved the 22 countries that made up the United Nations forces in Korea. Not all the nations participated militarily. Several contributed much needed medical supplies and personnel. These 22 nations felt strongly that their freedom was also being threatened, and was willing to help in whatever way they could.

Along the south side of the memorial is the wall of faces. When the wall is viewed from a distance, the faces form the outline of the rugged hills that are a dominant part of the Korean landscape. The images depicted on the wall were taken from actual photographs of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who participated in the conflict. The faces along the wall represent the support troops it took to keep our foot soldier in the field. We do not often think about those who are behind the front lines. It is somewhat ironic that one of the best-known TV shows about war, MASH, takes place in Korea and is about doctors and nurses in the Korean War.