The Atlanta Veterans Memorial is dedicated to the memory of all the men and women who gave their lives for freedom and in honor of all who served the nation in uniform in times of need to preserve and protect the American way of life. It was erected by the American Legion J. E. Manning Post 258, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 177, and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5870 on November 1, 1990, with support from area veterans, families, and friends. It declares that freedom has never been free and records service and loss in the Spanish American War, from April 21, 1898, to April 11, 1899, with 306,760 serving and 2,446 lives lost; World War I, from April 6, 1917, to November 11, 1918, with 4,734,991 serving and 116,708 lives lost; World War 2, from December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946, with 16,353,659 serving and 407,316 lives lost; the Korean War, from June 25, 1950, to June 27, 1953, with 5,764,143 serving and 54,246 lives lost; and the Vietnam War, from January 1, 1961, to January 27, 1973, with 8,744,000 serving and 58,174 lives lost.