In July 1995, the opinion page of the Washington Post
printed Louis Nelson’s thoughts on the occasion of the dedication of the
Korean War Veterans Memorial.
Remembering the ‘Forgotten War’
We build memorials to remember those who sacrificed so much.
We make pilgrimages to these memorials to search for meaning
and renew our commitment to a higher purpose—to somehow
resolve our inner conflicts and urge ourselves forward to find a
better way…
The mural itself is a portrait of the common soldier…Caucasian,
African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American...In the
three neighboring monuments, war is remembered in three ways:
The Lincoln Memorial commemorates a great leader who led the
country out of Civil War. In a universal sense, it represents all
great leaders.
The Vietnam Memorial mourns those who gave their lives in that
dividing war. In its simplicity of design, in its honor roll of those
who died, it heals and binds the shattered assumptions that
changed our consciousness.
The Korean Memorial remembers those who served and suggests
that we not forget that complex time in history nor the personal.