The Iwo Jima Memorial, also known as the United States Marine Corps War Memorial, honors Marines who have died defending the United States since 1775. The Iwo Jima Memorial is located near Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. The Iwo Jima Memorial's 32-foot-tall sculpture was inspired by a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of one of the most historic battles of World War II. Iwo Jima, a small island located 660 miles south of Tokyo, was the last territory that U.S. troops recaptured from the Japanese during World War II. The Iwo Jima Memorial Statue depicts the scene of the flag raising by five Marines and a Navy hospital corpsman signaling the successful takeover of the island. The capture of Iwo Jima ultimately brought the war to an end in 1945. Marine figures at the Iwo Jima Memorial Statue erect a 60-foot-tall bronze flagpole from which a cloth flag flies 24 hours a day. The base of the memorial is made of rough Swedish granite on which the names and dates of each major member of the United States Marine Corps are engraved. Also engraved are the words "In honor and in memory of the men of the United States Marine Corps who have given their lives to their country since the 10th of November, 1775." The Korean War Veterans Memorial is located on the National Mall in Washington, DC. , in West Potomac Park. It was authorized by Congress on October 28, 1986, and construction began in November 1993. It was dedicated on July 27, 1995, the 42nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the war, by Bill Clinton and Kim Young Sam, president of the Republic of Korea. , to the men and women who served during the conflict. The Memorial is operated by the United States National Park Service...... middle of paper...... Vietnam Women's Memorial. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial honors members of the U.S. military who served in the Vietnam War. The main portion of the memorial was completed in 1982 and is located in Constitution Gardens on the National Mall, just northeast of the Lincoln Memorial. The Memorial is managed by the US National Park Service and receives approximately 3 million visitors each year. The memorial was born out of a need to heal the nation's wounds as America struggled to reconcile different moral and political viewpoints. In fact, the memorial was conceived and designed not to make any political statement about the war. The Memorial is a place where everyone, regardless of opinion, can come together and remember and honor those who served. In doing so, the memorial paved the way for reconciliation and healing, a process that continues today.