World Wars Memorial

The World War II Memorial is a national memorial in the United States dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. It is located on the Mall in Washington, D.C. The memorial consists of 56 granite pillars, decorated with bronze laurel wreaths, representing U.S. states and territories, and a pair of small triumphal arches for the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, surrounding an oval plaza and fountain. On its short axis is a memorial wall of gold stars representing the fallen within its own reflecting pool, and opposite, a sloped and stepped entrance plaza leading into the oval from 17th Street. Its initial design was submitted by Austrian-American architect Friedrich St. Florian. Opened on April 29, 2004, it replaced the Rainbow Pool at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Dedicated by President George W. Bush on May 29, 2004, the memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. More than 4.6 million people visited the memorial in 2018.