Korean War Memorial

I’m not sure why I’m led to revisit and re-edit photos I’ve taken of war memorials over the years. I think this is in part because war has become so sanitized and remote in this country. Even killing is done remotely by drone operators in the US.

I was raised in Quaker communities, which oppose war. The Vietnam War was a significant influence on me as I was coming of age, a high school student at the Quaker boarding school, Scattergood Friends School, in Eastern Iowa. I spent many days, weeks, and months, studying and praying about what to do and eventually turned in my draft cards.

I’ve been developing a new website for my photography.

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My most recent post, “Now shall I walk, or should I ride?” included a reference to this new album about the Vietnam War memorial. It is interesting to see the diversity of the designs of the memorials for this country’s wars. The Vietnam War Memorial is profoundly striking.

Next, I’ve been re-editing photos I took of the Korean War Memorial over the years. For about a decade, I would go to Washington DC as a member of the General Committee of the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), and looked forward to taking photos while I was there.

The Korean War Memorial is very moving, as well. The artist, Frank Gaylord, was an American sculptor who created the 19 stainless steel statues of soldiers and sailors that represent the U.S. military personnel who served in that war (1950-1953).

As with the Vietnam War Memorial, visitors speak in hushed tones, if at all.

The group of life-sized sculptures is very disturbing in several ways. You get the sense of what it would be like to have them come upon you.

But what struck me most was the utter weariness and exhaustion on the soldiers’ faces. Even as a pacifist myself, I am always mindful of the courage it takes to be in the military. I can never fault anyone for making such sacrifices when they believe in the military as the way to protect their country and their loved ones. And are willing to risk life-long, debilitating injury or death.

In the photos below, the mural wall can be seen that depicts the faces of soldiers, nurses, and other personnel who served in the war. There is also one photo of the Pool of Remembrance, which is a shallow circular pool at the apex of the triangle of soldiers. The pool has the names of the countries that participated in the war and the numbers of casualties engraved on its walls.

Gaylord based some of the faces of the soldiers on the men he served with during World War II, such as William A. Callaway and John Erdman. He said he wanted to represent an ethnic cross-section of America and all branches of the military. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Gaylord

You can see my photos of the Korean War Memorial here: https://jeffkislingphotography.wpcomstaging.com/2023/11/17/washington-dc/nggallery/washington-dc/korean-war-memorial