World War II Memorial History
The World War II Memorial was built to honor the 16 million Americans who served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II, the more than 400,000 who died and the millions who supported the war effort from home. It is located to the west of the Washington Monument and to the east of the Lincoln Memorial in the center of the National Mall. The WWII Memorial was opened and dedicated in 2004.
The Memorial consists of the large Reflecting Pool with fountains, flanked with two large triumphal arches on opposite sides. Each of the arches represents one of the WWII theaters of conflict, the Atlantic theater and the Pacific theater. The pool is surrounded by 56 granite pillars representing the states ad territories of the U.S.
The beautiful bas reliefs on the walls of the memorial exiting to the east also represent both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters.
Numerous quotations from civilian and military leaders join others from historians and memorial builders to help tell the story of the Second World War.
The Freedom Wall is on the west side of the Memorial, with a view of the Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial to the west. The wall has 4,048 gold stars, each representing 100 Americans who died in the war.
Logging the World War II Memorial Cache
In order to receive credit for this cache, please complete the following:
1) Go to the posted coordinates and look over the golden gate. What words and image do you see etched on the back wall behind the golden gate? If you have trouble locating the gate, it is behind the Delaware pillar to the west. Note: If you don't see the golden gate, you are on the wrong side of the memorial. Go around to the outside. Important notes: The answer is not "Atlantic", "Pacific", or a quote and does not start with "Here we mark the price..." The answer is not a pillar. Go around to the other side of the memorial structure to the outside. The hidden message/image is not grafitti. It was a planned part of the memorial.
2) Take a picture of yourself or your GPS at the pillar that represents your home state (for those from the U.S.) OR find a particular favorite of the bas reliefs on either the Atlantic or Pacific sides of the memorial and take your picture there. They are located on the walls leading out of the memorial to the east. I would love to hear the story of why you chose that particular bas relief.
3) Please post a Found it log with your picture attached and then email (please email only) me the answer to number 1. If you don't hear back from me, your online log was approved. Thank you for visiting!
4) Do not post your answer in your log or post any spoiler photos.
5) Please do not log any past visits. Please only log visits after the time of this cache's publication. Thank you!
Honor Flight Chicago
The Honor Flight Network out of Ohio was conceived by Earl Morse, a physician assistant and Retired Air Force Captain. Earl had several WWII veteran patients who had never seen the Memorial that was built to honor them for their service. By the time the Memorial was built, some of the veterans were unable to visit due to financial or physical issues. Earl Morse asked fellow pilots if they would be willing to fly these veterans to see the Memorial. On May 2005, six small planes flew out of Springfield Ohio and 12 veterans were able to experience a day of honor touring their Memorial.
Since that time over 150 hubs have been started all over the country.
Honor Flight Chicago (HFC) was founded in 2008 to recognize America’s senior war veterans by flying them to Washington, D.C. to tour the memorials built in their honor. The one-day, all-expense paid trip is filled with appreciation, tributes, memories and gratitude.
Honor Flight Chicago had it's inaugural flight in June 2008. My dad and my Uncle Dick were selected, with other WWII veterans, to fly.
Dad, Uncle Dick and 58 other WWII veterans woke up and arrived at 4AM at Midway Airport for a 6AM flight to Dulles Airport in D.C. They were greeted there by a crowd of well-wishers waving flags and cheering. They took a luxury bus to the WWII memorial which was built nearly 60 years after the war had ended. They also visited the Iwo Jima, Vietnam and Korean War memorials in the same day.
I was one of the lucky guardians on the trip. I was assigned to accompany Dad and Uncle Dick on their journey and to assist others as needed.
The day was hot and long, but at every stop of the day, people would reach out and thank the veterans for their service. A Navy veteran, visiting the Vietnam memorial, spotted Dad’s U.S.S. Lexington cap and told him about his service on the same carrier.
At the end of the day, the veterans exited the plane and walked down the jetway lined with cheering Southwest airline employees. At the gate there was a military honor guard, and in the lower level, a band, bagpipes and cheering family members welcomed them home. It was a welcome home that not all veterans received on their return from the war.
These veterans were humble and thankful for the day and came home from this emotional day, happy and rejuvenated.
This day was such a wonderful experience that it has changed my life. I now volunteer, working with Honor Flight Chicago to help sign up veterans in the Chicago area. I have met so many wonderful veterans over the past nine years. Honor Flight Chicago is accepting applications from veterans from the WWII War as well as the Korean War and Vietnam War and has been flying Korean War veterans along with WWII veterans since the 2016 season. Honor Flight Chicago hosts seven flights per season with over 100 veterans on each flight. I have also been honored to travel at other times as a Guardian on these trips. Our latest trip was on October 11th, 2017.
Thanks to the National Park Service/National Mall
Since the Memorial's dedication and opening in 2004, The National Park Service has been doing a wonderful job preserving and maintaining the WWII Memorial. With the addition of this Virtual Geocache, I hope to follow their mission by bringing people here for enjoyment, education and inspiration. Not only for those that served in WWII, or are aware of the conflict, but for many generations yet to come.
You can find information on their website to help plan your visit to the Memorial as well as learn about the History and Culture, get information about the Memorial Elements and to view the World War II Registry to search for a particular veteran of World War II. My Dad's registry entry is here.
Special thanks to the NPS/NAMA and Jenn from Groundspeak for their help on getting this cache published.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.
Congratulations to colincorgi on the FTF!