On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Good morning everyone,
Let’s start this week out right!
These are from early 2005. I waited for a snow day as that seemed most appropriate. I pretty much had the place to myself, only say one other small group.
My approach was from the north, with the Vietnam Memorial on the left and Lincoln Memorial on the right.
Approaching from the left rear of the memorial. Lincoln Memorial to the right.
This is from the south side, about halfway up facing forward, with the memorial wall to the right.
This is from the front, with the memorial wall to the left. The Lincoln Memorial is to the rear.
This is from the rear, memorial wall to the right.
The last two are from each side; the first facing south, the second facing north toward the Vietnam Memorial.
Debbie(Aussie)
Thank you Alain. This is a very interesting and different memorial.
JPL
Thank you.
low-tech cyclist
Thank you, emrys and Alain, for highlighting this incredibly moving memorial. When I first stumbled across it, maybe 15 years or so ago, I had no idea that there even was a Korean War memorial. It totally stunned me.
It’s a very fitting memorial for the veterans of the Korean War. But really, it’s a memorial to every infantry soldier in every war that was.
The Lincoln Memorial and the Korean War memorial are my two must-visit memorials if I’m at the National Mall.
(Fortunately, they’re practically right next door to each other: if you’re coming down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the Reflecting Pool is directly in front of you, so you can’t go straight ahead without getting wet. If you angle to the left, you’ll find the Vietnam War memorial. If you angle to the right, there’s the Korean War memorial.)
J R in WV
The newer memorials are much more moving than classic greco-roman or European ones. The last time I was in DC with a friend for a DBA class he practically dragged me to the Vietnam Memorial, I was quite reluctant because I knew I would have a highly emotional reaction.
I did. It was a day much like this one we see here, and we went after class in December, so it was growing dark as we parked the rental and walked over to the mall. I have a somewhat unusual family name, but with 50,000+ victims listed on the Wall, I was only mildly surprised to look in the Alphabetical list to find my own family’s last name. I was already crying, so couldn’t start again…
said a creative genius one day many years ago, of the Vietnam War.
Thanks for this, emrys
Phylllis
There is something so haunting about this memorial, particularly early in the day. The combination of the infantry figures along with the faces and images that appear and fade as you walk along the wall combine for an emotional experience. Thank you for sharing.
sab
The weather in these photos is so apropriate for rememberimg the conditions they fought in. MASH the tv show made it seem like they were in southern California.
HinTN
As everyone above has said, the Korean War Memorial is the most powerful testament to the grind of conflict I have ever seen. You can feel the misery of advancing through mud and weather. You can feel the strength of these men simply doing the task that is set before them. It is left to you to ask why humanity has demanded that this task is essential.
ETA: Thank you for these photographs
Duke of Clay
@sab: I agree. I had an uncle in the Korean War, and one thing he emphasized about his experience was the snow and bitter cold. (It is a long story, but as far as I know, I’m the only one he ever told about the war. It was 1968, and I was 20 years old. It was his way of telling me to avoid Vietnam.)
arrieve
Thank you for these beautiful pictures, emrys. The snow is an appropriate setting. My father was a career Marine, fought in both Korea and Vietnam. He told very few stories about Nam, but would not talk about Korea at all.
Fogeyman
If you want to really get the total impact of this memorial, see it at night. It’s meant to show soldiers on night patrol.
Jack the Cold Warrior
As several have pointed out, the Korean War had extremely bad winters, which made for immense misery and death, especially in the first winter in 50-51 when the Chinese attacked and pushed the UN forces back below the 38th parallel.
I had a taste of that as an Infantry officer in Germany, 76-79. So did Cole at his Amored Cavalry unit at the border.
But no one was shooting at us and it was tremendously colder (and still is) in Korea.
Thanks for the pictures, Alain
debbie
Thanks. The soldier’s face in the second to last photo says it all.
Haydnseek
@sab:Actually, MASH the TV show really was shot in Southern California. Thanks for these photos. I had no idea it existed when I came across it. It’s just as moving and emotionally powerful as everyone says.
Phein60
@Fogeyman: Seconded. At night, there are images embedded in the wall behind the statues of the soldiers that seem to come alive as you pass
phein60
@sab: Malibu Creek State Park.
Ruckus
@J R in WV:
I want to go after I retire. I’ve been building up to it, not sure I’m ready yet. Or ever actually will be. Tear off the band aid I guess. I’ve seen the human destruction up close, in the navy hospital for 2 months with mostly marines, decades ago, and you see both physical and mental, which I still see it every time I go to the VA, especially the hospital. A lot of that never goes away. I’ve been out almost 50 yrs and I’m still affected by what I’ve seen.
Ruckus
@sab:
They did show the winters the best they could, filming in southern CA, what with the budget they had and the actual weather. The military goes everywhere no matter the weather. I’ve sailed in the north Atlantic in winter, above the Arctic Circle. ocean temp below 32 deg that fresh water freezes at. Not the same as Korea for sure but still cold and we’d still have to refuel at sea in that weather. Which means outside on deck. Have also crossed the Atlantic in winter and ended up once nearly a thousand miles north of where we were headed because of the weather, with 90 mph winds and 50-60 foot seas for days on end. Not Korea, not Vietnam, but “good” times none the less.