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Wall and Pool of Remembrance Dedicated on July 27, 2022, the Korean War Veterans Memorial’s Wall of Remembrance is a new, permanent addition to the memorial which includes the names of 36,574 American servicemen and 7,114 members of the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KTUSA) who gave their lives defending the people of South Korea. Arranged alphabetically by rank by branch of service, the names create a powerful visual display of the human cost of the war: United States Army 29,857 United States Marine Corps 4,522 United States Navy 688 United States Air Force 1.587 Total US Deaths 36,634 Total KTUSA Deaths 7,174 Combined Deaths 43,808 At the end of the field of service, the point of the triangle enclosing the statues juts into a 128- foot diameter circular pool, just as the Korean Peninsula protrudes into the Korean Strait and the East China Sea. Water feeds into the pool from its bottom and it flows over a stepped weir to give a pleasant rippling sound. Surrounding the pool are 40 Linden trees which create a barrel effect, allowing the sun to reflect on the pool. Nine benches, located under the trees, provide a place for visitors to rest and reflect on the terrible price the youth of the warring nations paid during the war. A stone curb by the pool tells the awful story of the Korean War. Numbers of those killed, wounded, missing in action, and prisoners of war are etched into the curb at the water’s edge: US Dead 54,246 Missing 8,177 Captured 7, 140 Wounded 103,284 United Nations Dead 628,833 Missing 420,267 Captured 92,970 Wounded 1,064,453 Opposite this accounting of the war's cost rests the powerful inscription, inlaid in silver letters: Freedom is Not Free. |
Last updated: July 26, 2022