The National World War II Memorial honors the 16 million men and women who served in the US Armed Services during World War II. Of those, 400,000 paid the ultimate sacrifice of their lives in the struggle.

The oval shaped memorial is located on the National Mall bewteen the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Surrounding the Memorial are 56 17-foot-high columns honoring the 48 states in the US in 1945, plus 7 territories and the District of Columbia. On each end of the Memorial are 43-foot-high triumphal arches. One is inscribed "Atlantic" and the other inscribed "Pacific" to remind us that the war was fought on two fronts. The Freedom Wall along the back of the Memorial has over 4000 gold stars, each representing 100 American servicemen and women who died in the war.