The granite and bronze memorial lies at the eastern end of the Lincoln Memorial's Reflecting Pool.The core of the site is a small Rainbow Pool and fountain, restored after years of disuse, which sits 6 feet below street level. The effect is that the memorial appears to be slightly submerged. From a distance, only the tops of the taller structures are visible. Supporters say that tempers concerns that the project interrupts the vista along Mall.
Fifty-six stone pillars representing the 48 states in the union at the time of the war, seven U.S. territories, including Alaska and Hawaii, and the District of Columbia encircle the newly renovated pool and fountains. But the feeling of enclosure is lessened by the openness between the pillars, through which the trees beyond the perimeter and sky are visible.
Two 43-foot arches stand amid the pillars on the north and south ends to symbolize the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of operations, each with large bronze eagles to represent victory.
At the western end is the Freedom Wall with its 4,000 gold sculpted stars. The 407,316 U.S. deaths they symbolize are roughly seven times the Vietnam War's total and hundreds of times more than Iraq's thus far.
The memorial's architect, Friedrich St. Florian, has said that his design isn't meant to glorify war. Rather, it's to memorialize victory.
"Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. BRANCH OF SERVICE U.S. Navy HOMETOWN Hyannis Port, MA HONORED BY The John W. Kessler Family, Family Friends ACTIVITY DURING WWII AS NAVAL AVIATOR, SERVED IN ENGLAND WITH FIRST NAVAL SQUADRON TO FLY B-24S WITH THE BRITISH NAVAL COMMAND. AFTER COMPLETING HIS TOUR OF DUTY, VOLUNTEERED FOR HIGH RISK ASSIGNMENT ON WHICH HE LOST HIS LIFE AUGUST 12, 1944: PROJECT ANVIL, A MISSION TO DESTROY A GERMAN V-1 ROCKET LAUNCHING SITE IN NORMANDY. POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED THE NAVY CROSS AND AIR MEDAL. "