Washington D.C. Monuments and Memorials

    All things are eventually forgotten, but monuments and memorials seem to freeze the passage of time to preserve the memories of events and famous figures. Nowhere is this more evident than in Washington D.C., a city known for having over 100 unique monuments and memorials. Many are larger than life, with towering marble statues of historic figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Others are more lifelike, such as the haunting statues of running soldiers at the Korean War Memorial. Some memorials are more abstract, like the stark white Washington Monument and the massive black wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. But despite the differences in their design, all these monuments and memorials share a common purpose: to remind us of the significance of these past lives and, more importantly, remind us of their relevance to our own lives. Wander the monuments and memorials of Washington D.C. and you will begin to understand the meaning of a quote carved into one of the memorials, the WWI Memorial: “Whether our lives and our deaths were for peace and for a new hope or for nothing we cannot say; it is you who must say this... We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning."