Korean War Veterans Memorial (2024)

FAQs

Why are there 19 soldiers in the Korean War memorial? ›

The 19 statues were created by Vermont sculptor Frank Gaylord and represent an ethnic cross section of America. They include 14 soldiers, three Marines, one sailor and one airman. The troops wear ponchos covering their weapons and equipment which seem to blow in the cold winds of Korea.

Through our searchable Korean War Veterans Memorial Honor Roll database, you can find names, photographs, and a printable certificate for American servicemen and women that died during the conflict. Fill out any known information in the fields below and click the red "search" button at the bottom of the page.

At the Korean War Veterans Memorial, "Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met." Located just southeast of the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial is open 24 hours a day every day of the year.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial has no fees or reservations associated with a visit.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance -- a $22 million project unveiled last summer -- contains more than one thousand spelling mistakes, incorrectly includes nearly 250 troops who died outside of the conflict, and omits about 500 others who should be on it, according to the independent Korean War ...

More than 36,000 American troops died during the Korean War (1950–1953). As of 2024, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) describes more than 7,400 Americans as “unaccounted for” from the Korean War.

In 2020 there were over one million living Korean War Era Veterans. They represented one of the oldest cohorts of Veterans served by VA: their median age was 88, and most of them were in the 85-89 year-old age group. This age profile is important for understanding their current and future needs.

VA Benefits

Korean War Veterans may be eligible for a wide-variety of benefits available to all U.S. military Veterans. VA benefits include disability compensation, pension, education and training, health care, home loans, insurance, vocational rehabilitation and employment, and burial.

California is the leading state when it comes to Korea veterans by state 2022. The state has 145,536 veterans. Given the large population of people in California, the population of Korean war veterans translates to 392 veterans per 100,000 people.

How many US veterans are still alive from the Korean War? ›

On this seventieth anniversary, the Department of Veterans Affairs honors Korean War Veterans. Between 1950 and 1955, 6.8 million American men and women served worldwide. In 2020, there are over 1 million Korean War Veterans. By 2030, the aging Korean War Veteran population is projected to fall below 200 thousand.

Criteria: To be eligible, the veterans must have served during the Korean War from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953. It is also available for the veterans who have participated in UN peacekeeping operations until the end of 1955.

Records of U.S. Military Casualties, Missing in Action, and Prisoners of War from the Era of the Korean War are available through the National Archives. The National Archives has an online searchable database, entitled "Records of American Prisoners of War During the Korean War," documenting the period 1950 - 1953.

If you look very closely at the Mural Wall at the Korean War Veterans Memorial, you'll see an image of a German shepherd embedded in the dark stone. That dog represents all the loyal war dogs who served in the Korean War.

From June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, 54,246 Americans died in support of their country. Of these, 8,200 were listed as missing in action, or lost or buried at sea at the Honolulu Memorial, at the time of the Korean War Courts of the Missing dedication in 1966. In addition 103,284 were wounded during the conflict.

The memorial has several interesting aspects to it including the “Field Of Service” which has 19, larger-than-life-size stainless steel statues of servicemen from all four of the armed forces. The men appear to be a squad on patrol and are dressed in full combat gear.

The wall lists the names of 36,634 Americans, along with 7,174 South Koreans who died under U.S. command while serving in the Korean Augmentation To the United States Army (KATUSA).

The number 38 is important to the design of the memorial because of the 38th parallel and the 38 months of fighting between 1950 and 1953. However, there are only 19 statues, plus a reflective wall that reflects those statues.

Korean War Veterans Memorial facts and figures: The 19 stainless steel soldiers are over seven feet tall. Each soldier weighs nearly 1,000 pounds. The black granite walls next to the soldiers are 164 feet long and weigh more than 100 tons, or 200,000 pounds.