World War II Memorial in Washington, DC

World War II Memorial in Washington, DC

The World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC, honors those who served in the United States Armed Forces during the war. Pictured above is the Atlantic archw, commemorating triumph in the Atlantic theater. Centered in the Atlantic arch, you can see the corresponding Pacific arch.

Recently, I have seen lots of photos and video of our nation’s capital, and it reminded me of our visit there in 2023. I went through some of the photos from that trip, and I found these of the WWII Memorial that I had not previously shared.

World War II Memorial in Washington, DC

The last time I was in Washington, DC, before this trip, the World War II Memorial was not there. But then that previous visit was in 1988, so a lot had changed since that time. I was expecting that we would walk along the Reflecting Pool from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, so I was a little surprised when we came upon this monument.

World War II Memorial in Washington, DC

The World War II Memorial was opened in 2004, which explains why I had not seen it way back in 1988. It was quite impressive to see. And it was an extremely hot day, so several people were cooling their feet in the water at the center of the memorial. I am not quite sure that is what the water was intended for, but that is what it was being used for that day.

World War II Memorial in Washington, DC

This wall at the World War II Memorial contains 4048 gold stars, and each star represents one hundred Americans who died or remain missing in the war. It was a very real reminder of the great price of war. I was thankful that both of my grandfathers were able to return home safely after the wark, as one served in the Navy and the other in the Marines.

World War II Memorial in Washington, DC

Here are two of our group of three, and along with the tiny people in the background, this helps to give a sense of the size of the memorial. It was quite large, but then the war itself was also quite large and is very deserving of a memorial such as this.

Although I was slightly surprised by it, I was glad that we got to see it.

Freedom

As I mentioned above, both of my grandfathers served in the Armed Forces during World War II. And I have known several others who served during that war as well, although most of them have since passed on.

I have also known several others who served in other wars, as well as in times of peace. I am very thankful for all of those who serve or have served to help defend and protect our country. Those who served have sacrificed their personal freedoms, time with family, life at home, and occasionally their very lives, just so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we have.

We enjoy great freedom now, and it is very much a blessing.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. - Romans 13:1 ESV

Blessings

About the Photos

Perhaps when you saw the first photo, you thought, “Another black and white photo post?” But as you can see, I just converted that one photo to black and white, because there was already not much color in it. For the others, I used lots of color, as it was a beautiful day out, even if it was hot. How can you not take advantage of the bold colors of the American flag?

Photo: Each photo is a single Raw exposure, processed in Raw Therapee and GIMP.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS lens
Date: July 27, 2023
Location: Washington, DC

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About Burnsland
Burnsland is Steve Burns, with generous help from his lovely wife Laura. Steve is a husband, father, photographer, webmaster, writer, podcaster, artist, Christian. Steve enjoys sharing his photography, art, and stories through Burnsland.com, from the Burnsland World Headquarters in Tennessee.