World War II Memorial

In the presence of Washington and Lincoln, the father and preserver of the nation, Americans honor those who took up the struggle during World War II and made sacrifices to preserve a nation conceived in liberty and justice. The memorial's inscriptions evoke Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, with Franklin D. Roosevelt's call to overcome the invasion and win absolute victory; the shared service and loss of those who fought together, in Chester W. Nimitz's words; the home front labor of families and workers, also voiced by Roosevelt; and Oveta Culp Hobby's recognition that women were measured as citizens in a people's war in which everyone was involved. Inside, quotations recall D-Day on June 6, 1944, with Dwight D. Eisenhower's address to those embarking on the great crusade, George C. Marshall's resolve that the flag be recognized as a symbol of freedom and overwhelming force, Harry S. Truman's tribute to American troops and allied nations in the destruction of the enemy, and Truman's declaration that America will never forget the sacrifices of heroic men and valiant women. Other inscriptions mark the war's end with Douglas MacArthur's words that the guns are silent and the world is at peace, and the Battle of Midway on June 4-7, 1942, where, as Walter Lord wrote, victory against great odds changed the course of the war.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States