The Mall: World War II Memorial

November 2025

The construction of memorials in DC to me seems haphazard, even random. The Lincoln Memorial preceded the Jefferson. A memorial to the Vietnam War preceded those of the Korean War and World War II. Why? Was it that in the case of World War II it had been such a watershed, historic event that the city needed to give it time and distance before constructing a memorial?

Although I am not a fan of crowding the National Mall with more "stuff", I think the memorial is low-key enough not to significantly interrupt L'Enfant's planned vista from the Capitol to the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. Personally, I would have located it on the rump end of Pennsylvania Avenue - now just a parking lot on the west side of the Capitol. A famous avenue ending in the older Peace Monument right below the houses of congress, that location would have enjoyed prestigious placement and interesting possibilities for design.

On a cold November day, I walked past the monument and took a photo. I always think black & white serves such places well. They are not meant to be beautiful - they are to make an impact. Whether or not the World War II memorial succeeds in evoking remembrance so many years after remains in the mind of the visitor. For me, the war was oft-referred to history from a time before my birth. The memorial represents "history" to me.

The World War II Memorial did not come soon enough for many who actually lived through it.