Connecting with History through Taking Pictures
How do you connect with history? Reading about it through a book or news article? Watching a documentary? On foot at a local museum? I connect through taking pictures. So, yes, learning a lot on the day I’m visiting a memorial. But even better, researching when looking back at my pictures, even years later. I’ll see a reference or question a detail in a sculpture or monument. In this case, a list of seemingly endless names made me wonder about the people behind the engravings.
“We knew that war through our feet…we walked every inch of that country.” | Korean War Background
Often referred to as the “Forgotten War”, the Korean War lasted 3 years from 1950-1953. It was fought between North Korea, supported by China, and South Korea, supported by the United States and the United Nations. This war nestled between World War II and the Vietnam War, each lasted longer with a higher death toll. In my experience, both of those wars are still mentioned far more than the Korean War in everyday conversation.
But there’s a strange discrepancy when looking at how quickly monuments were erected. The memorial in Washington, DC for the Vietnam War was dedicated seven years after its end. The memorial for the Korean War was dedicated 42 years after its end. In fact, it the road to building the monument itself was a bit of an ordeal.
The Drama Behind the Korean War Memorial
In 1986, President Reagan approved a memorial for Korean War Veterans. The design was an open competition. In 1989, the winning team from Penn State University was selected but deemed too impractical when going through stages of planning. The winning concept had 38 soldiers (representing months the war was active), in lines moving across the Korean landscape with some soldiers at the sides of a ramp (on guard and various poses) leading to the memorial. Bushes, trees, and water displays were also to be incorporated. This was to give visitors an idea of environment soldiers fought in. It would then lead to a pool of still water (signifying peace) and a wall of inscriptions and images (including listing all the countries involved) as the finale. It was also meant to be going in one direction, despite being completely open in the national mall.
Change of concept
Questions were raised about the number of soldiers, general maintenance (especially of water displays), and even the landscaping to keep the design true to form. It was considered too elaborate and an architectural firm, Cooper-Lecky Associates was tagged in to revise the design in 1989. There was concern this design would be disruptive or isolated from the rest of the National Wall. This same firm also assisted in revising the design for the Vietnam War Memorial. The winning team chose not to work with the new revising team. The concept went from 38 soldiers to 19 and kept them in one place. The landscaping would also be matching the rest of the National Mall. The reflecting pool and mural wall were kept. To keep with the spirit of the original 38 soldiers, the reflection of the black granite mural wall would give the illusion of the 38.
After the complete redesign, the original team sued the Federal government since the revision had been too different but lost the case. Both teams agreed this went beyond a revision and was just two separate ideas. With that, the revising team moved forward.
Moving Ahead—The Work Behind the Korean Wall Memorial
Despite the rocky road to the memorial, the final design was approved in 1992. Frank Gaylord, a WWII veteran, was selected as the sculptor and Louis Nelson, Army Veteran, to etch the mural wall. Frank sculpted 19 soldiers, some of whom were inspired by real-life veterans and others were meant to be creative inspirations hoping to capture the diversity of the veterans. The silver-steel statues are on a diagonal grassy patch called, the Field of Service, and leads to a point.
First Look at “On Patrol”
In September 2024, I visited the Korean War Memorial after my first stop at the Lincoln Memorial. Coming from that direction, a sign introduced the memorial with a little bit of history and the quote mentioned at the top of this post. Walking toward it, the statues could be seen in the distance through the sparse trees with narrow trunks. The first row of soldiers is in the shade under the bushy trees. Most people went straight to the front but would pause as they came close to the statues at the sides.
The good thing about seeing it under the shade, it’s a bit more immersive and anonymous since you’re only seeing the back of the heads. Without a face, these soldiers are anyone you know and love. And at this angle, you’re almost a part of it. At the back of the pack. Seeing the size of the equipment on their backs and weapons on their side, one could see the literal weight on their shoulders. Having to haul items to keep yourself alive during time of war in an unfamiliar country.
The Difficult Weather Conditions in Korean War
The soldiers are wearing ponchos over their equipment and their uniforms are tucked into their combat boots. These were referencing the cold, rainy weather the soldiers fought in in Korea. During winter, soldiers were fighting as temperatures as low as 30 degrees below zero. About 5,000 soldiers suffered frost bite in their first Korean winter.
The American flag as well as the Washington Monument can be seen peeking in between soldiers at certain angles.
The soldiers are in various poses, seemingly frozen in time. These active poses versus traditional stoic pose helps you see the fight itself and the affect it had on the young men. Their faces look tired, hardened, and cheekbones are sticking out. Perhaps a tie-in to not having enough rations, the stress, or pure energy day in and out, fighting. An endless walk.
The Mural Wall at the Korean War Memorial
The mural wall is made of black granite and highly reflecting. It’s easy to spot the reflection of the statues against the wall for the effect of the original design’s 38 soldiers. Louis Nelson etched the images of over 2500 photographs. Graphic design was used to alter sizing and make a uniform shading throughout the wall. From a distance, the images are meant to display as the Korean mountains.
Up close, faces of the men and women that served can be seen, almost in the shadows. They’re grouped by branch of the military as you walk along the wall. In one image there is a Star of David and a cross side by side. Many young faces. During my visit, people walked up and put their hands on the wall, wanting to connect to the monument and history through touch. I have no idea if they had a personal or familial connection to the Korean War. Either way, the respect they had for the veterans showed.
The Pool of Remembrance
At the end of the wall, there was the still water (signifying peace) at the Pool of Remembrance with the American Flag. A sign simply read, “Freedom is Not Free.” A strong statement. Different groups huddled near the sign as I tried getting it a clear shot of it. At one point, I got another shot of it with a different group reflected. The funny thing about that image is that the group huddled were looking away from it. But single person can seen walking, as if straight to it, seemingly stepping up to the plate. On this image I made sure to get the greenery above from the trees, trying to incorporate the environment a bit.
The Wall of Remembrance
The Wall of Remembrance partially encircles the pool, its slanted wall curving as it goes on. Engraved are the names of veterans grouped by military branch. Moved by how endless the names seemed, I took a few pictures knowing I’d look up a couple of veterans out of curiosity. There are over 43,000 names listed on the Wall of Remembrance. Here are two of their stories.
My eye naturally went to Lloyd Carter since I happen to like that first name. I figured I might have to look up a few different sites before I hit the right person but found him immediately. I’m grateful to see various organizations keeping veterans’ info accessible in their honor. However, I only found facts about his service, and not more on his life. Not even a picture, although I’m hopeful to find something after more digging.
Lloyd L. Carter | Korean War Veteran
Lloyd Carter ranked Army First Class and came from Jesup, Georgia. His role was Field Artillery Cannoneer. He had earned a Purple Heart, and various medals from South Korea for his sacrifice. He fought in the Battle of Hoengsong. This battle took two days in February, in which 700 American soldiers lost their lives. Korea and the UN suffered much higher casualties. This was a particularly bad defeat in the Korean War. Carter was taken on the second day of the battle as a Prisoner of War. He was imprisoned for eight months and died October 20, 1951 in South Korea. His body was recovered and buried back home in Georgia. He was 18 years old.
His age stung as that was the last piece of information I found on him. Looking at all the facts about his service through different resources online and reading about this particular battle, I was picturing someone older, perhaps out of hope. Fighting in one of the biggest defeats and taken as a POW at any age is terrifying. But there is an added tragedy in someone so young.
The Battle of Hoengsong is difficult to read through if you happen to be curious. Given I took a photo of the Air Force group, I wanted to pick a name from there too. I chose Elmer T. Biggs.
Elmer T. Biggs | Korean War Veteran
Elmer T. Biggs ranked 1st Lt. in the Airforce and was born in Louisville, Kentucky but lived in Georgia. He served the 6148th Tactical Control Squadron. On January 3, 1952, he was flying north of Cheorwon, North Korea on a reconnaissance mission. He flew a T-6 Mosquito when it was fired upon and crashed. He had one passenger, who was able to parachute out of the plane and thankfully was rescued from a helicopter. Biggs crashed and another aircraft reported he attempted to get up but fell back down from his injuries. He was immediately surrounded by enemy forces and taken as a Prisoner of War. His remains were never found.
Outside of the Korean Memorial in DC, Biggs’s name is also engraved on the Courts of the Missing memorial in Honolulu, dedicated in 1966. I’ve never heard of this memorial before. I’d like to visit it one day. Not exactly related, but this made me think of a simple memorial in the small town of Casey, IL. I had written about it due to an unusual theme the town has to bring people in. But they had a single black chair that was chained off with a sign explaining it was in memory to all veterans Missing in Action and Prisoners of War. At the time, it was noted 91,000 soldiers were missing since World War I. The sign was titled, “You Are Not Forgotten.”
Remember Why you’re at the memorial
These are difficult to read but important when speaking about a memorial. Although I enjoy sharing my experience and pictures, the monuments are honoring people who risked and gave the ultimate sacrifice. It’s only fair to look at the people behind the endless names.
“On Patrol,” featuring statues of soldiers walking out of the trees on the Field of Service is a little unusual. It refused to keep the soldiers stoic or depict them as simply brave. The faces of the soldiers shared how exhausting and difficult it was. You see the bitterness in their young faces. Despite learning a lot and taking it all in the day of, I notice more things as I look back at the pictures. Each time my curiosity leading me to quick searches, and I start getting lost in all the history, anecdotes, and statistics. If you’d like something more in-depth on the making of this memorial, please visit the National Park Service website for information on the korean War memorial.
But seeing the quote again on the introductory sign, it helped explain the statue concept. “We knew that war through our feet…we walked every inch of that country.”
