The memorial is in the form of a triangle intersecting a circle. The walls have more than 2,500 photographic, archival images representing the land, sea and air troops who supported those who fought in the Korean War are sandblasted onto the wall. I ended up reading a lot about this memorial because of the “eeriness” of the statues of service members. Within the walled triangle are large stainless steel statues representing a squad on patrol, drawn from each branch of the armed forces; fourteen of the figures are from the U.S. Army, three are from the Marine Corps, one is a Navy Corpsman, and one is an Air Force Forward Air Observer. They are dressed in full combat gear, dispersed among strips of granite and juniper bushes which represent the rugged terrain of Korea.
The most haunting words for me were all the wall near the Pool of Remembrance that read, “Freedom Is Not Free.” At this memorial, instead of listing the names of the fallen service members, it listed the total numbers for the United STates and the United Nations. The United States had 54,246 service members died and the United Nations had 628,833. The United States had 103,284 service members wounded and the United Nations had 1,064,453. The United States had service members 7,140 captured and the United Nations had 92,970. And The United States have service members 8,177 missing and the United Nations have 470,267.
