National World War II Memorial

World War II was the largest war in history involving at least 30 countries. This is still recent to our history considering that we still have survivors from that era. I will examine the history of the war and how the National World War II Memorial fortifies conventional ideas of unity, freedom, and valor. As well as the history of the monument itself. In this paper I will analyze the National World War II Memorial in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.

World War II happened because of the first World War and the aftereffects of it. Europe’s economy was unstable. Everything has fallen apart and people are searching for relief. They are completely susceptible to anyone willing to offer a solution. People are willing to accept any idea.

There was an open national competition to let people send their designs. The design submitted by Friedrich St. Florian; an architect based in Providence, Rhode Island became the winning design. The preliminary design was approved in 1999. Yet, construction did not start until the year of 2001. “The memorial opened to the public on April 29, 2004, and was dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004” (Introduction). the principal designs features are the memorial plaza and Rainbow Pool which bring all the other elements together. Two 43- foot pavilions serve as markers and entries on the north and south sides of the plaza. There are fifty-six granite pillars which symbolize the unity among the 48 states, seven federal territories, and the District of Columbia. A bronze rope that symbolizes the bonding of the nation connects them all. On the western side of the memorial, there is a wall that has 4,000 sculpted gold stars, each star represents 100 Americans that died in that war. In front of the wall, a stone has written on it, “Here we mark the price of freedom.” The memorial consists of bronze and granite. The designers chose these materials because they are water-resistant, aesthetically appealing, and

One of the three conventional ideas. Unity the state of being joined. America needed to make allies with other countries to make sure of victory and stave off the effects of war. “The common purpose of the Allies was to defeat the Axis powers and create a peaceful post-war world. Its creation was a response to the aggression and unprovoked war the Axis had unleashed upon the world” (Allies and Axis:). This alliance's creation shows unity and is one of the main components seen in the